C4 mental health nonprofit struggles with late paychecks 5 years after similar crisis

CBS News

2 days ago

Passionate mental health providers are fed up after multiple paychecks were delivered late, and they say it feels like déjà vu on top of it.
CBS News Chicago has covered financial problems at the very same nonprofit before.
At an all-staff meeting last week, Kerri Brown, the chief executive officer of the nonprofit Community Counseling Centers of Chicago — also known as C4 — said he knew everyone wanted to know about what was going on with payroll.
"It has caused all types of anxiety, financial pain and stress to you guys," Brown told the staff.
The meeting was recorded by someone whose loved one had just quit, after several weeks of emails with "difficult news" from Brown.
"Temporary financial challenges," for the behavioral health provider led to late paychecks over and over.
"Your job is supposed to be like the most stable thing," said a former C4 higher-up.
"A dip in revenue" is how Brown initially explained the payroll problem.
But the former higher-up, who asked to remain anonymous, could not stomach not knowing when her hard-earned cash would be in hand.
"You kind of go into a panic," she said. "You're in shock because you're trying to think of all the things you had planned."
Staffers were provided with letters to give to landlords and other bill collectors, confirming the delay in salaries for June.
The problem persisted through July. In August, C4 began offering hardship assistance for rent late fees, overdraft or insufficient funds fees, utility shutoffs, and evictions or foreclosures.
Another ex-employee said she had issues with her medical care, because C4 did not pay her health care premiums on time.
"There's, you know, good workers there that are helping people in the community, and, you know, and no one deserves this," she said.
This was not the first time C4 has run into financial issues. In 2019 and 2020, CBS News Chicago produced several stories that dug into C4's finances. Clinicians at that time also sounded the alarm on delayed paychecks.
CBS News Chicago's reporting inspired the Illinois Attorney General's office to open an investigation.
Five years later, the same questions are cropping up again — despite promises that the problem had been solved long before.
"It was mentioned to me in an interview that I may see some reports from years ago about financial issues or struggles that the organization had, but that they were well beyond those," the former higher-up said.
CEO Brown assured staff and CBS News Chicago that the nonprofit will weather the latest storm.
"We're not in a place of shutdown," he told staff at the meeting.
This time around, the money problems came up because unexpected flooding and broken heating and air conditioning systems decimated C4's rainy day fund.
Brown said a reversal of hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding that "were certainly not our fault" also hurt.
Another problem was that C4 was put on State of Illinois' "do not pay' list for about six months due to a late audit. That is now resolved, though some money still needs to be processed.
The former higher-up said "at least 30 people" have resigned from C4 at this point.
After a two-and-a-half-week wait for their July 25 paychecks, the therapists that remained were thanked for their "continued patience and commitment."
"It's one thing to have a, you know, positive outlook in the darkness of things," said the second former employee. "It's another to ask people to buy it."
Brown spoke with CBS News Chicago a few times by phone, but declined several opportunities to do an on-camera interview. He did issue this statement:
"C4's story is a story of resilience, and unwavering commitment. C4's turnaround began four years ago, when C4 was losing $350-$400k per month. Despite that starting point, in the last 4 years since, this is the first occurrence of any payroll delays. In fact, C4 has been on sound financial footing. We've had three straight clean audits. We have diversified our revenue streams. C4 has significantly expanded its reach and presence in the community. We have grown in some of the most challenging times. We have repaired and restored our reputation and standing in the community by being an innovator in the industry, creating high profile, high impact therapeutic models.
"Yes, we experienced tight cash flows in 2025. We had a series of large, unexpected borderline tragic events to include separate major flooding events and multiple HVAC replacements and other infrastructures issues/repairs that represented significantly large expenses. Additionally, there were unexpected obstructions of receivables and reversals of some funding channels that were not our doing and certainly not our fault. This is a mere snapshot in C4's existence; however, if you look at the entire story, you will know that this one moment does not define us!
"C4 stands with Chicago's most vulnerable, delivering mental health, crisis, and substance use intervention where it is needed most. Like many nonprofits in these disruptive times, we face challenges. These hurdles are real, but they are not bigger than our mission or our determination. We continue to take decisive steps to strengthen C4 for the long haul.
"We will work and overcome these temporary challenges and are grateful for our employees for their patience, commitment, and understanding."