A statewide Florida nonprofit that teaches adolescent girls how to stay out of trouble has been awarded a three-and-a-half million dollar grant. The PACE Center for Girls intends to use that money and matching funds to both expand services and commission a study of its effectiveness.
The grant is a mix of federal dollars and money from the nonprofit Edna McConnell Clark Foundation. Along with two other organizations nationwide, PACE won the grant for its potential to help at-risk youth.
In a news release, PACE officials say they’ll conduct a rigorous cost-benefit analysis. They say that data will help the program prove that it should be a national model for what works when it comes to helping troubled young people turn their lives around and become productive adults.
PACE operates 17 centers throughout Florida and has served more than 20,000 girls since opening in 1984.