Culinary Program Holds Graduation

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.

For more information on the JJC, please visit www.njjjc.com