Pace Center for Girls plans a groundbreaking July 24 for its new facility at 425 College Drive in Orange Park.
The nonprofit provides education, mental health counseling and social services to help keep girls out of the juvenile justice system.
The Clay County center will offer advances in technology for girls and staff, designated space for social services and individual, family and group counseling and therapies, and outdoor natural space.
Pace began in 1985 with one center in Jacksonville serving 10 girls. The organization has grown to 21 centers in Florida that each year serve more than 3,000 girls.
Pace is recognized as a model for reducing recidivism and improving school success, employment and self-sufficiency for girls by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Children’s Defense Fund, National Mental Health Association, National Council on Crime and Delinquency, and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.