Vanessa Quinones joined the St. John’s Residence for Boys team in 2014.

She is responsible for ACS’s Close to Home Non-Secure Placement program which includes two NSP units that support youth adjudicated through the court system using the Missouri Youth Service Institute model (MYSI).  In October 2020, the Residential Treatment Program (RTC) was added to her portfolio.  The RTC serves youth ages 12 to 21+ living on the St. John’s campus who are working towards reunification with a caring adult and/or preparing to transition to independent living.

The MYSI model was designed to promote positive peer pressure in a therapeutic group environment where youth can practice new skills and support their peers.  This model has allowed our youth to think about themselves as part of a group and how their actions affect every group that they are a part of.  The St. John’s close to home staff team play different roles in providing opportunities for empowerment and supporting youth as they work toward internalized change.

Prior to St. John’s, she worked for the Jacob Riis Settlement House for almost 20 years developing, monitoring, and implementing programs for youth ages 5 to 24 years old.  Vanessa developed work-scopes, budgets and engaged in large scale community event planning.

Vanessa is a Certified MYSI trainer and Certified LGBTQ trainer.  She holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration and is a Graduate of the Columbia Middle-Management Program.  She has over 25 years working with youth.  She is a mother of two beautiful daughters and a grandma of two amazing grandchildren.