PACE Center for Girls

By Lynn Hoy

Meet Leandra.  She was 13 years old when she came to a PACE Center for Girls because she skipped 52 days of school and received all F’s.  She began drinking at age 5, was suspended in 6th grade for drug use at school and had problems in 7th grade because of disruptive behavior.  Her parents divorced when she was 3 years old, her mother was alcoholic and her stepfather became emotionally abusive.  She struggled with depression and anger and was *Baker-acted twice.  After receiving medications to help with her depression, she improved her grades from all F’s to passing in her classes. 

You’re the parent of a 15-year-old girl with a juvenile record and either truant or suspended from school…or a 13-year-old girl who reads on a second grade level.  You have an 11-year-old who is experiencing problems at home affecting her concentration at school.  Or she’s 17 and angry about everything and with everyone.  Where do you turn?   PACE Center for Girls offers these girls an opportunity for a “do over,” to regain lost academic credits and achieve emotional stability. 

PACE began in the early 1980’s when professionals working in the Jacksonville juvenile court system realized that girls involved in delinquent activities were either being placed in boys’ programs or placed further into the system for their own protection.  Because there were no effective alternatives, in 1985 the PACE concept was developed and implemented in Jacksonville, Florida.  In creating this new alternative to institutionalization or incarceration, PACE designed an effective method to meet the needs of the adolescent at-risk female.  Since its inception, PACE Center for Girls, Inc. has played a critical roll in reducing risky behaviors, increasing school success, improving lifestyle choices, enhancing family relationships, avoiding juvenile justice involvement and changing the lives of over 21,000 at-risk girls.

PACE is considered a best practice model nationally by The Federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.  The National Council on Crime and Delinquency cites PACE as the only statewide program in the country that effectively targets the female juvenile and reduces her involvement in crime.  In addition, the Child Welfare League of America cited PACE Center for Girls as one of the few gender competent programs that has emerged as a model for effectively addressing the complex needs of at-risk girls.  PACE does this by immersing the girls into an environment where they receive individualized treatment planning to address the multitude of specific risk factors they present.  PACE trains girls in goal setting, promotes positive lifestyle selection, teaches life management coping skills and provides a means for improving their academic performance. 

Today, the PACE Center for Girls, Inc. includes 17 Centers throughout Florida, each with its own community Board of Directors and collectively serves 2,300 girls annually.  PACE is a non-profit, non-residential alternative education and counseling center for girls considered to be at-risk of dropping out of school and/or criminal offending. Girls between the ages 11 to 18 who are experiencing problems at school or at home are eligible to receive our services. 

Referrals are accepted from any source, including the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), the Department of Children and Families (DCF), area community agencies, school administrators and counselors, family members and other PACE students.  Girls enrolled at the PACE Centers are primarily from poverty or below poverty level households where there is parental absence due to abandonment, incarceration or incapacity.  These girls are, on average, two years behind their peers in reading and math. They are chronic academic underachievers, with excessive tardiness or truancy, and some have juvenile records and/or mental disorders.  Most have experienced repeated traumas in their lives - homelessness, abuse, abandonment and crime - and have been labeled a “failure” so often that they cease attempting success. 

PACE provides assessment and personal planning, family outreach, and basic education with a 1:12 teacher to student ratio.  Included in our services is a life skills curriculum called “Spirited Girls,” counseling, nursing services, substance abuse prevention services, care management for the girl and her family, and continuing support after transition to public school, military service, a GED preparation program and/or vocational educational opportunities.  We provide opportunities for the girls to visit cultural venues, to participate in civic and community events, to volunteer at local schools and nursing homes, and to become models at fundraising fashion shows.  The typical girl remains in the PACE program 12 to 18 months.

Funding for all PACE programs comes from contracts with each center’s Board of Education and the Juvenile Justice System.  However, this represents approximately 75% of each center’s program costs and the remainder must be raised through community contributions from individuals, businesses and foundations. 

Girls like Amanda turn F’s into A’s and B’s and learn how to plan for their future.  Amelia ceased using drugs and was able to set her goal on graduating from high school.   Crystal stopped skipping school and wants to be a pediatrician.  Kaylee, a chronic runaway, attended PACE faithfully where she received intensive counseling and now wants to be a pastry chef.   Vanessa, a foster care child living in a group home, turned her depression into determination to become an advocate for children in the juvenile justice system. 

These are but a few examples out of the thousands of girls who have been helped by the PACE Center for Girls, Inc.  At the completion of their 2008-2009 fiscal year, 95% of girls transitioning out of a PACE Center had improved their overall academic functioning.  88% remained crime-free after one year, and more than 78% girls are in school or employed three years after transitioning from the program. 

PACE Centers are located throughout the Tampa Bay area.  Visit the PACE Center for Girls, Inc. website at www.pacecenter.org to find a location near you and to learn more about their work with at-risk girls in our community. 

Florida Mental Health Act of 1971 (commonly known as the "Baker Act") is a Florida statute allowing for involuntary examination of an individual.