Adam McFadden pled guilty to federal charges announced today that he misused his financial authority and committed fraud during his tenure as executive director of Quad A for Kids. This guilty plea is unrelated to separate federal charges to which he pled guilty earlier this year.

“We are deeply disappointed and saddened by Adam McFadden’s abuse of our trust,” said Jennifer Leonard, president and CEO of Rochester Area Community Foundation. Quad A is a program of Rochester Area Community Foundation Initiatives (RACFI).

Immediately after discovering initial evidence of financial impropriety, RACFI fired McFadden and launched a full-scale, independent audit that started in early March. Forensic auditors reviewed several thousand pages of documents and turned them over to federal authorities to investigate.

The charges and plea deal specify that over a period of several years, a sum estimated to be at least $131,000 was gradually siphoned from Quad A operations through a series of fraudulent expense claims filed by McFadden.

The plea agreement announced today contains a mandatory restitution order requiring McFadden to repay what he stole, but it is not clear if or how soon those funds would be returned to RACFI. Insurance claims are also proceeding.

“The fact that hundreds of children might have lost the opportunity to be in safe and   supportive after-school programs because of the self-serving acts of one individual was a real possibility for a while. Thanks to the remarkable efforts of many, essential state funding was renewed and the staff hiring process has been completed for the 2019-20 school year,” Leonard said.

Quad A’s after-school programs, which most recently served 500 students at five Rochester City schools in 2018-19, are preparing to open at Schools 2, 4, 16 and 34 within the next few weeks.

Our forensic audit into McFadden and his tenure at Quad A is now complete. The details of exactly what happened, when, and how are in the hands of the federal authorities who announced the charges and plea agreement today.

“The audit took a lot longer than we anticipated. But we wanted to make absolutely certain that we identified the totality of the misappropriation for authorities and could reassure Quad A’s many loyal supporters that this incident is behind us,” Leonard said.

The Board of Directors and staff also have reviewed and amended RACFI policies and procedures to include additional safeguards.

Quad A was able to complete the school year and support successful student competitors in local and world Soap Box Derby championships, an engaging STEM activity offered by Quad A’s after-school programs.

“For more than a decade, Quad A has been a well-regarded after-school provider, collaborating with several schools in the Rochester City School District. Through his actions, McFadden tarnished the name and reputation of Quad A,” Leonard said. “Despite these challenges, we are proud of the terrific work done throughout Quad A’s 25-year history, and we look forward to its continued positive influence on children across the community.”

September 2019

Rochester native Isaac Bliss, who has spent his entire professional career serving youth and adults, is the new executive director of Quad A for Kids. This after-school program serves about 400 students and their families at four Rochester City School District schools.

Bliss succeeds Vincent J. Alexander III, who served as interim executive director of Quad A since March before taking on the role of extended day learning director at Eugenio Maria de Hostos Charter School in Rochester. Alexander offered to assist with the leadership transition at Quad A as a consultant for a few more months. We thank him for his leadership and support!

For the past 14 years, Bliss has been involved in youth-serving organizations. While at the State University College at Brockport, he was working toward a degree in broadcast journalism when he became a part-time life coach for an after-school program at The Community Place. “This experience made me realize that youth development was my true passion,” said Bliss.

In his role as a master observer for Children’s Institute, he helped to evaluate the quality of youth development programs throughout greater Rochester. From there Bliss joined Community Place full-time, first as a program coordinator for its After-School Academy, and later as prevention coordinator, manager of programs, and finally director of family & youth services.  

For the past four years, Bliss has worked for the City of Rochester’s Department of Recreation and Youth Services providing oversight and direction to R-Center directors and site supervisors. In addition to this youth work, he recently began facilitating job training for adults by helping them to navigate employment opportunities while directing the flower City AmeriCorps program. He also teaches the next generation of youth workers as an adjunct professor and service-learning community mentor at Nazareth College’s Community Youth Development program. 

Bliss has an associate’s degree from Monroe Community College, a bachelor’s degree from SUNY Brockport and a master’s degree in strategic leadership from Roberts Wesleyan College.