County Youth Services Commission

Meetings


  • 2nd Tuesday of the month, bimonthly starting in February
  • YSC Meetings start at 3:00pm
  • Meetings are located in the Cape May County Superior Courthouse
  • 9 N Main Street CMCH, NJ 08210

 

 

Members


  • Judge Susan Sheppard - Presiding Judge - Family Part of Superior Court
  • Jeffrey Pierson - County Commissioner
  • John Thomas - Family Division Manager
  • Pat Devaney - County Mental Health Administrator
  • Connie Price - JJC Family Court Liaison
  • Jeffrey Sutherland - County Prosecutor
  • Nancy Hudanich - Superintendent Technical Schools District
  • John Roy - Cape Atlantic INK
  • Peter Belasco - County Drug & Alcohol Director
  • Joe Faldetta - Cape Assist
  • Sharnett Clark - Chief Probation Officer
  • Dr. Judith DeStefano-Alan - County Superintendent of Schools
  • Erik Shenkus - Public Defender
  • Steve Schuck - Acenda
  • Maria Hadley - JJC Family Court Liaison
  • Hillary Brown -  Youth Shelter
  • Joel Mastrommarino - DCP&P District Office Manager
  • Anne Garrison - Jersey Cape 
  • Donna Groome - County Human Services Director
  • Lieutenant Joseph Landis -  County Prosecutor's Office
  • Richard Jackson - Youth Detention Center Director
  • Marianne White - Mobile Response & Stabilization Services
  • Robert Schober - Atlantic Cape Family Support Organization
  • Anna Cannella - Coastal Prep
  • Jennifer Valentine - Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA)
  • Gary Hrynoweski - The Lighthouse Church
  • Miguel Williams - JDAI Research and Reform Specialist
  • Gina Blevins - JDAI Research and Reform Specialist
  • Shirley Robinson - Cape May County Family Division
  • Joann Thompson - Cape May County Probation 
Purpose
The purpose of the Youth Services Commission is to consolidate, plan, implement, monitor, and evaluate community based services for juveniles charged or adjudged as delinquent, and delinquency prevention programs. As such, the Commission administers the following grants:
  • Family Court Funds
  • State/Community Partnership Funds
  • JDAI - Innovations Funds
The Youth Services Commission meets bimonthly on the 2nd Tuesday of the month. Membership is prescribed by NJAC13:90-2.4 which necessitates representation from a wide range of public and private community-based organizations, and includes the Family Court Judge, the County Prosecutor, and the Public Defender.
 

Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative
In 2013, the Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative (JDAI) was launched in Cape May County. The objectives of JDAI are to:

  • Improve conditions of confinement
  • Minimize the number of youth who fail to appear in court or re-offend pending adjudication
  • Redirect public funds toward successful reform strategies
  • Reduce the number of children unnecessarily or inappropriately detained