History

The Roundtable of St. Lucie County,  a 501(c)(3) organization, is a group of  local community leaders in St. Lucie County who work together to accomplish system change that results in improved outcome for youth in our schools and in the community.  The organization does not focus on quick fixes and instead provides a sustained commitment to a research-proven, best practices approach.

The board was created in 1995 by five Chief Executive Officers from the Fort Pierce Police Department, Department of Juvenile Justice, Department of Children & Families, the Children’s Services Council and the City of Port St. Lucie.  Their goal was to develop a comprehensive plan to better the lives of children in St. Lucie County.

In 1999, they secured a grant from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, one of six sites in the State of Florida.  The St. Lucie County Hand in Hand Comprehensive Strategy Plan was established. The Comprehensive Strategy Plan is centered on a “risk-focused” prevention model, supported by 30 years of adolescent problem behavior research by Catalano and Hawkins, which addresses 19 known risk factors that exist in the community.  This plan serves as the foundation of all planning efforts of the Roundtable.

Today’s Roundtable consists of five (5) networks that concentrate on the following key areas: academic success, delinquency prevention, economic sufficiency, substance abuse prevention and teen health. The Roundtable has adopted the Kids at Hope philosophy of “All Children are Capable of Success — No Exceptions.”  The singular focus of each network allows it to develop a strategic plan of action around its specific risk factors through education, system and policy changes and best practices.

Before any information is sent to the Roundtable it is presented to the Steering Committee of providers, youth service agencies, parents, youth, business and civic organizations that sit on multiple networks addressing many different areas of youth risk behaviors.

Each network is headed by a chairperson (who is also an Executive Member of the Steering Committee) tasked with implementing the strategic plan and progress and recommendation reporting. The steering committee reviews recommendations, approves and presents them to the Roundtable. The Executive Director of the Roundtable provides support and technical assistance to each respective Network.

Currently the board members and grants pay the salary of the administrative staff. Networks and initiatives rely on donations. Monthly meetings and email/phone are the forms of communication.