White House Council on Women and Girls Recent Agency Accomplishments

Providing Girls and Young Women an Opportunity for a Better Future Through Education, Counseling, Training and Advocacy: Through its Social Innovation Fund (SIF), CNCS provides funding for the PACE Center for Girls which operates in non-residential centers in 17 Florida counties. PACE focuses on middle and high school girls involved in, or at risk of becoming involved in, the juvenile justice system. These young women receive comprehensive case management, counseling and therapeutic treatment. They also engage in a life skills management and academic curriculum designed to help them stay out of the juvenile justice system and lead successful lives. Participants stay an average of nine to 15 months, after which they transition to another school, graduate or obtain a GED, or go on to post-secondary education or employment. Once girls leave PACE, they receive three years of follow-up services. During the time frame of the grant, PACE will serve an estimated 647 additional girls by expanding capacity in existing centers and opening two or three new service locations. Consistent with SIF's mission to invest in ideas that are effective and proven to work, CNCS we will help conduct a randomized controlled trial to test the impact of this program. This study will be one of only a few evaluations of gender-responsive programming.