ATLANTIC
CITY - The fourth class of culinary students
graduated today from a collaborative vocational
program between the New Jersey Juvenile
Justice Commission (JJC), the New Jersey
State Parole Board, Respond, Inc., and
Union Local 54. The graduates were joined
by community members; Howard L. Beyer,
Executive Director, JJC ; Robert McDevitt,
President, Local 54; Wilbert Mitchell,
Executive Director, Respond Inc., and
Gregg Lynk, State Director, Behavioral
Interventions, to celebrate the milestone.
The Respond Culinary Program is an innovative
culinary course for residents of the JJC’s
Camden and Campus Residential Community
Homes located in the City of Camden and
Blackwood respectively, and juvenile and
adult parolees at a day reporting center
in Atlantic City, which is operated by
Behavioral Interventions, Inc. The program
provides a myriad of culinary-based vocational
skills to prepare participants for jobs
in the restaurant industry.
“The
JJC is dedicated to realizing the individual
potential of young people and working
to change their futures,” said Howard
L. Beyer, Executive Director, Juvenile
Justice Commission. “The JJC is
stepping up its efforts to help juveniles
transition successfully back into their
communities. By providing them with career
skills, we can help them overcome the
challenges they face once they leave the
structure of the JJC. The Respond Culinary
Program not only provides excellent career
opportunities, but also helps young people
establish relationships in their communities.
This inter-agency and public/private collaboration
is yet another example of combining all
available resources to help enact positive
change in the lives of New Jersey’s
troubled youth and its communities.”
The culinary program is a realistic, work-based
learning experience. The intense 16-week
course allows the participants to experience
everyday situations such as punching a
time clock, and the inspection of their
uniforms by a Chef Instructor, in addition
to sanitary practices and food preparation.
“The
partnership between the New Jersey Juvenile
Justice Commission, the State Parole Board,
Local 54 and Respond, Inc. has brought
creativity in programming and a local
neighborhood-based capacity to the training
of selected students. Respond is looking
forward to the expansion of the program
at the present site and at a larger facility
that is currently under renovations. For
more than 38 years, Respond has worked
with local communities to determine needs
and to provide exceptional services to
children, youth, adults and families.
This partnership highlights what Respond
is about,” said Wilbert Mitchell,
Executive Director of Respond, Inc.
Local 54 provides the curriculum and funding
for this innovative program, which is
managed by a JJC Youth Transition Coordinator,
who was an executive in the food industry
prior to joining the JJC. In addition
to classroom and hands-on kitchen exercises,
the curriculum includes field trips to
the Taj Mahal’s main kitchen and
Borgata’s Pastry Shop located in
Atlantic City, the Hilton Hotel’s
banquet hall in Cherry Hill, and the Sysco
Food Show in Philadelphia, allowing students
to observe the food industry first hand.
Local 54 was awarded a New Jersey Department
of Labor Youth Transition to Work (YTTW)
grant in 2003. One prerequisite of this
grant project was to develop partnership
with schools, post-secondary institutions,
community-based organizations, and employers
to provide apprenticeship opportunities
to New Jersey's youth.
"This project is a perfect example
of partnership at work. Aside from the
conventional training, this program gives
the participantsw confidence in themselves
and instills a work ethic, which many
have never experienced. This program works
together to provide a comprehensive background
in the hospitality industry as well as
life skills,” said Robert McDevitt,
President, Local 54.
“This
marriage is one of mutual respect and
admiration which includes a sense of urgency
to see these young adults succeed and
thrive. Local 54, the JJC, the Parole
Board, and Respond, Inc., an admirable
resource and source of support to the
City of Camden, could not provide these
opportunities without one another. This
relationship should be an example to other
organizations that partnerships do work,”
continued McDevitt.
The students have worked very hard to
achieve the skill level necessary to complete
the program. The JJC, with the help of
its partners in the community, will assist
JJC youth who complete this program locate
employment in the food services industry.
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