Our Mission
To sustain a team of county and business leaders who mobilize resources to improve the education, health, safety, nutrition and care of all children in St. Lucie County.
Our Vision
We envision a community where county leaders, businesses and residents are united to provide all children of St. Lucie County the resources they need to thrive, be successful and achieve their full potential.
About Us
The Roundtable of St. Lucie County, Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization, is a group of St. Lucie County leaders who work together to accomplish system change that results in improved outcomes for youth throughout St. Lucie County. The Roundtable does not focus on “quick fixes.” Instead, it identifies and implements research-based, comprehensive solutions to achieve and sustain long-term success for St. Lucie County youth.
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 of St. Lucie County, 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. Since 1995, the board has grown to include chief or executive level officers from approximately 30 community organizations.
In 1999, the Roundtable of St. Lucie County was one of six sites in the State of Florida to secure a grant from the national Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). Under the grant, the Roundtable conducted a county–wide assessment of data relating to St. Lucie County’s children, and developed a comprehensive plan called St. Lucie Hand in Hand to reduce risk factors and problem behaviors facing St. Lucie County youth. The comprehensive St. Lucie Hand in Hand plan is centered on a “risk-focused” prevention model, supported by over 30 years of adolescent problem behavior research by Dr. David Hawkins and Dr. Richard Catalano. For the past 23 years, St. Lucie Hand in Hand has served as the foundation for all of the Roundtable’s activities.
Today’s Roundtable consists of five (5) Networks that concentrate on the following key areas: Academic Success, Kids at Hope, Child & Adolescent Health (5-2-1-0 and SafeKids), Child Welfare & Juvenile Justice (Crossover Youth Practice Model), Economic Sufficiency (Bridges To Prosperity), and Safe Neighborhoods (IGNITE Youth Alliance and Lincoln Park Advisory Committee). 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 change, and comprehensive environmental strategies. In addition to these five networks, the Roundtable directs the following four initiatives: Kids at Hope, Youth Leadership St. Lucie, IGNITE Youth Alliance, and Drug Free St. Lucie. Please visit their pages to learn more about the amazing work our initiatives are doing in our community.
Working together, the Roundtable and its partners have achieved significant success in St. Lucie County:
37%
PREGNANCIES AMONG 18-19 YEAR OLD TEENS HAS DECREASED FROM 45.5 PER 1,000 BIRTHS IN 2014 TO 28.5 PER 1,000 BIRTHS IN 2021
30%
FIGHTING BEHAVIOR AMONG MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS HAS DECREASED FROM 8.6% IN 2014 TO 6% IN 2022
86%
EARLY INITIATION OF MARIJUANA USAGE AMONG HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS HAS DECREASED FROM 15.6% IN 2014 TO 2.2% IN 2022
72%
PAST 30-DAY ALCOHOL USE AMONG MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS HAS DECREASED FROM 22% IN 2014 TO 6% IN 2022
29%
GRADUATION RATES HAVE INCREASED FROM 73.2% IN 2013-14 TO 94.5% IN 2020-21
61%
AFRICAN AMERICAN INFANT MORTALITY HAS DECREASED FROM 18.5 PER 1,000 BIRTHS IN 2014 TO 7.1 PER 1,000 BIRTHS IN 2021
38%
REDUCTION OF CHILDREN (AGED 0-17 YEARS) BELOW THE POVERTY LEVEL FROM 28.2% IN 2014 TO 17.3% IN 2021
50%
NON-FATAL DROWNINGS-ER VISITS DECREASED FROM 8 IN 2014 TO <5 IN 2020
16%
ER VISITS FROM NON-FATAL UNINTENTIONAL FALLS (AGES 1-5 YEARS) DECREASED FROM 5,809 IN 2014 TO 4,880 IN 2021