A Collaboration between P.A.C.E. Youth Programs, Inc & Harris County Juvenile Probation Department - 2008-2009

Youthful Offenders returning to their families and communities residing in Harris County face multiple economic challenges that place them at greater risk for increased violence, drugs, mental health problems, and incarceration.  The recidivism rate for children with mental health and substance abuse in Harris County is 30%- 40% greater than other counties in Texas.  There are very few faith-based non-residential programs in existence, and even fewer are dedicated to the cause of assisting youthful offenders in their re-entry back into their Harris County communities.  Out of 400+ youthful offenders residing in Harris County who were paroled three years ago from Texas Youth Commission, 273 were re-arrested by June 30, 2005 and 167 had already been re-incarcerated, according to Dr. Chuck Jeffords, Research Director at TYC.  Youthful Offenders referred to the Harris County Juvenile Probation are no better off.  Four out of 10 have an educational disability, mental illness, or mental retardation. 26% of Harris County detainees required substance abuse treatment according to CHILDREN AT RISK 2004 Indicators.

The average cost of housing a child at TYC facilities is $197.00 per day, with the average length of stay of 20.4 months. That’s $71,905.00 per year. The PACE program has worked with youth referred to the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department for over four years.  These youth had the potential of being committed to the Texas Youth Commission but instead, 282 youth successfully completed the PACE program. With this success rate, the state would have spent over $10 million if only half the number of youth had been committed to the Texas Youth Commission rather than the PACE program. 

One of the goals of the PACE program is to reduce the disproportionate minority representation of youth referred to the juvenile justice system by lowering recidivism among those youth who have been released from county juvenile correctional facilities in Harris County. The PACE program will target youthful offenders, both male & females referred to the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department. Because the majority of these youth need special services and additional resources that are, at best, scant, according to the National Association of Child Advocates group, the PACE program can provide these youth with one year of aftercare that starts even before they are released from the juvenile justice system. Working with the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department, PACE will provide 150 youthful offenders specific opportunities to focus on developing their own (P)roper self-esteem, (A)cademics, (C)hacrater, and (E)mployment in order to give them vision and goals that go beyond just getting off probation.  Through the coordinated efforts of PACE and HCJPD, at least 80% of the youth being released are expected to remain arrest-free, saving tax payers an additional $ 3 million per year.

The attached chart compares the recidivism of youth assigned to PACE vs that of their control group. As can be easily seen, the recidivism of the PACE youth was considerably less than that of the control group at all time periods. Overall, the difference was statistically significant,even when empirically controlling for differences between the groups on the recidivism predictors. Thus, being enrolled in the PACE program is positively correlated with success on parole.

Dear Mr. Holloway:

It is the intent of this letter to communicate full and unconditional support of PACE Youth Programs, Inc. as it seeks funding from the Child Care Council of Greater Houston for the outstanding delinquent juvenile prevention services provided by PACE.

The Texas Youth Commission Community Involvement Program is composed of four primary initiatives: Mentoring, Tutoring, Chaplaincy Services and Community Resource Councils. The goal of mentoring is to develop a trusting, supportive relationship between a mature adult and a carefully matched youth, who is encouraged to reach his/her potential, discover his/her strengths and develop self-confidence. Our agency carefully analyzes the impact of each of these program initiatives, specifically on the recidivism rate of juvenile offenders.

Our Research Department determined a 4.3% reduction in recidivism resulting from mentoring relationships in our institutions, and an even greater reduction among paroled youth who completed the Houston-based PACE Mentoring Program. Dr. Chuck Jeffords, our TYC Research Director determined, "The recidivism of the PACE youth was considerably less than that of the control group at all time periods. Thus, being enrolled in the PACE program is positively correlated with success on parole."

While the PACE accomplishments of FY03 have been gratifying, there remain hundreds of young people who desperately need a volunteer mentor assigned to them. Without a doubt – PACE is doing a job few other organizations are willing to attempt, and PACE is doing it exceedingly well! We need the continued involved of PACE working with our juvenile offenders on parole in Houston. We realize this good work comes at a cost; therefore, we earnestly appeal to the Child Care Council of Greater Houston to grant your funding request.

Sincerely,
Tammy Vega
Manager of Ancillary Services
http://www.tyc.state.tx.us/programs/volunteer_fy2003.html%20

PACE is a multidimensional family re-entry and re-socialization program for juvenile offenders.We are helping young men and women between the ages of 12-21 stay out of jail and off the streets by providing them with one year of concentrated strategies for building their own personal developmental assets in order to minimize their chances of re-arrest or re-incarceration. A structured 14-17 week curriculum with one-on-one personally matched coaches will help prepare juvenile offenders for re-socialization and relationship-building. In addition, PACE provides interventions and support for parents of these youths. The Texas Youth Commission has documented results showing PACE youth recidivism rate being nearly 20 points lower than recidivism of youths not enrolled in PACE.

PACE has major bi-partisan support from both Republicans and Democrats; it is also generating the support of faith-based as well as secular organizations and leaders such as A.I.G. American General, J.P.Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Energy Alloys, University of Houston, Texas Juvenile Prevention Center, The PacifiCare Foundation, and others. In PACE's first five years, 154 youth have enrolled, 115 completed, 23 either rearrested or reincarcerated since April 26, 2001 and 16 referred to another program, released due to attendance or relocated. 100 volunteers have been cleared and certified to work with PACE. The estimated dollar value of volunteer time is $18.04 per hour. Since, Jan 3, 2001, men & women have volunteered 6074hrs representing the equivalent value of $109,574.96 as in-kind service. We have received a total of $118,500.00 from Individuals, Banks, Foundations and the Federal Government."The average cost to house a child at TYC facilities jumped to $ 155.02 in 2003 per day with the average length of stay being 22.4 months. We have saved taxpayers from the State of Texas over 6.1 Million Dollars. We are currently preparing to reach 150-200 families 2007.