Leaders seek to bring Florida PACE program to Macon to help at-risk girls

Macon Judicial Circuit District Attorney David Cooke has made a $150,000 commitment to bring the PACE Center for Girls — a program for at-risk girls — to Bibb County.

The Florida-based network of 19 centers provides academic preparation and therapeutic services to girls at risk of juvenile delinquency, according to a Monday news release.

“Census Bureau statistics designate Macon-Bibb County as one of Georgia’s most challenged areas for middle and high school aged girls, with high school drop-out rates, juvenile arrest rates, and poverty rates near the top for the state,” according to the release.

A group of state and local leaders — led by Cooke, Georgia House Judiciary Chairman Wendell Willard, United Way of Central Georgia CEO George McCanless and Macon-Bibb County legislative delegation Chairman Bubber Epps — are working to bring the program to Macon. A news conference is scheduled for June 20 at the district attorney’s office in Macon to discuss Cooke’s donation and the next steps for bringing PACE to Macon.

"We have a well-earned reputation for being tough on crime, but it is even more important that we are tough on preventing crime,” Cooke said Monday. “That's why we are making this contribution to PACE, to prevent crime and save the futures of at-risk girls in our community.”

PACE Chief External Affairs Officer Nona C. Jones said the program is focusing on expanding to Georgia and additional states in the future. Macon’s center would be the first in the state.

As an alternative to incarceration, PACE has a 90-percent success rate for participants even one to two years after they leave the program, Cooke said.

“The goal is to send them back to their public school, but with the skills and support they need to succeed,” he said.

PACE centers operate year-round with nine months being the average length of stay. As many as 150 to 200 girls can be served annually, Jones said.

“The impact is tremendous because, when girls who were previously disengaged from education or on a path toward juvenile delinquency successfully complete PACE, they graduate from high school, go on to college or gainful employment and contribute to their community,” she said.

Since 1985, PACE has helped more than 37,000 girls, according to the news release.

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This story was originally published June 13, 2016 at 9:26 AM with the headline "Leaders seek to bring Florida PACE program to Macon to help at-risk girls."