Juvenile inmates cook up job success

Colorful balloons proclaiming “It’s your day!” decorated a room permeated by the smell of bacon-wrapped chicken and grilled vegetables.

Seven of 48 juveniles at the Red Rock Academy, a state detention facility in Clark County, were about to graduate Wednesday from a new culinary program offered by Hospitality International Training.

“I knew it was a step at being successful in changing my life,” a 17-year-old inmate, whose name was not released, said of the program.

Participants went through a six-week program and had to pass a test to graduate. They each received a postsecondary education certificate and a national certification valid for five years.

They were trained by professional chefs and, as part of the program, learned about food safety and sanitation practices.

The Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority paid the $1,900 tuition fee for each student, said Tony Scillia of Hospitality International Training.

The program is designed to give participants the skills necessary to get a job in the food industry and work their way up.

The program has also been offered to adults on parole and probation and to inmates at the state’s Corrections Department, Scillia said.

Hospitality International has partners in the community, and since it began to offer the program in Nevada last year, it has been able to place about 80 percent of graduates, Scillia said.

Lonnie Wright, executive director of Hospitality International, told the graduates that those business partners “want them to be an asset, not a liability.”

“We can get in the door, but you have to close it and keep that job,” he said during the ceremony.

Clark County Commissioner Lawrence Weekly, who was the keynote speaker, told the juveniles to be thankful for the new opportunity.

He told them that they can start as a cook in the food industry and move on to one day owning a restaurant or to even have a television cooking show.

“Dream big, think big, don’t let anybody deter you,” he told them.

Las Vegas resident Jose Macedo, father of the 17-year-old inmate who praised the program, said he was proud of his son.

Macedo said he has raised him alone since his son was 8 years old.

His son, who will turn 18 in December, was hanging out with the wrong people, he said.

He ended up at the facility for possession of marijuana, Macedo said.

“I feel very confident because I can see that he really wants to make it this time,” he said. “He really wants to change.”

Macedo said he hopes the program will be a gateway to a job for his son.

He said his son likes to cook and would like to own a restaurant.

“He’ll hopefully become a chef,” he said.

The program will be offered at the Spring Mountain Youth Camp beginning next month through a partnership with the Clark County Juvenile Justice Services Department.

The certification that the youth received Wednesday won’t be affected by the provisional license that Hospitality International Training holds from the Nevada Postsecondary Education Commission, said David Perlman, commission administrator.

Hospitality International had a provisional license that expired in May. At that point, it was recommended that the license be terminated because Hospitality International was not meeting state regulations, Perlman said.

Hospitality International was not doing required record-keeping related to attendance and transcripts, he said.

But the commission decided to give Hospitality International a three-month extension to make corrections in practices.

The postsecondary entity brought Andrew Nixon, director of compliance, on board to help with the issues, which he said have been corrected.

On Aug. 6, the entity expects to receive its full license from the commission.

Contact Yesenia Amaro at yamaro@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0440. Find her on Twitter: @YeseniaAmaro.