PACE Center for Girls in Hillsborough County has been serving the community since 1998. PACE Hillsborough opened its doors in Tampa serving 40 girls and, with community and state support, grew to serve more than 2,100 girls to date with their academic and social service needs. Currently, PACE Hillsborough serves 60 girls in the day program monthly, an additional 120 girls in the Reach Regional South Tampa Bay program and employs a staff of 30. PACE Center for Girls, Inc. is a nationally recognized and research based model that features a balanced emphasis on academics and social services with a focus on the future for middle and high-school aged girls and young women. The foundation of PACE is the gender-responsive culture, providing a safe environment that celebrates girls, services that take into account how girls learn and develop, and staff that understand the lives of girls and can respond to their strengths and challenges. With a demonstrated record of success, PACE uses a holistic, strength-based and asset building model specifically responsive to the needs of girls and which is recognized as among the most effective programs in the country for keeping girls from entering the juvenile justice system.