A Collaboration between PACE Youth Programs Inc & Harris County Juvenile Probation Department
2010-2011

Juvenile offenders and their families residing in Harris County, Houston, TX, face multiple challenges that place them at greater risk for increased violence, drug abuse and incarceration. The average cost to house a youth in Texas Youth Commission facilities jumped to $270.49 in 2008 per day, with the average length of stay of 16.7 months. Based on that figure, Texas taxpayers could pay $98,729 for one youth to spend 12 months in a TYC facility.

There are very few faith-based non-residential programs dedicated to the cause of assisting male or female offenders in Harris County communities. PACE is a diverse, multicultural program that has worked with more than 400 youth referred by the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department for the last five years. These youth had the potential of being committed to the Texas Youth Commission but instead, more than 350 youth successfully completed the PACE program. Without this success rate, the state would have spent $17 million dollars if only half the number of youth had been committed to the Texas Youth Commission, rather than the PACE program.

The PACE program targets both male and female offenders referred to the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department (HCJPD). PACE Youth Programs Inc. provides juvenile offenders with specific opportunities to focus on developing their own (P)roper self-esteem, (A)cademics, (C)hacrater, and (E)mployment by offering educational training, individual counseling, employment readiness, parenting training, weekly meals, field trips and much more. Through the coordinated efforts of PACE and HCJPD, it is our hope that at least 80% of enrolled youth remain arrest-free, saving tax payers millions and millions of dollars per year.

Working together, the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department and PACE Youth Programs Inc. are creating possibilities today for new tomorrows.