Mission

To help children and families through the most difficult times of their lives.
Our work is guided by our agency philosophy of Unconditional Care—a commitment to doing whatever it takes to dismantle the barriers that impact each youth, family, student and community we serve.

The Big Idea

Seneca Family of Agency's Resource Family Program serves foster-involved children and families across Monterey County and the surrounding Central Coast region of California. The program works year-round to recruit, train, and certify families (known as 'resource families') to take on the temporary caregiving role for foster-involved youth in addition to supporting family reunification with family of origin or kin. The program provides ongoing post-placement social-emotional, behavioral, and family functioning services to ensure the success of each placement, as well as well as finalizing adoptions when reunification is not an option. Through ongoing support to youth and families, the Family Resource Program builds the capacity of children and caregivers to strengthen family bonds, grow in resilience, and achieve their permanency goals, regardless of the challenges they may face.

After their mother passed, Isaac Evans found himself a single parent of baby girl Alanna and guardian to her nine-year-old half-brother, Joey. Joey is neuroatypical and nonverbal, and both children have social workers who connected Isaac with Seneca, so he and the kids could benefit from our family ties, guardianship, and permanency services. When asked about Seneca’s support as he leans into caring for Alanna and Joey by himself, Isaac said, “Baby girl is my first biological child, and I don’t have the support of my mother or her mother. So when she [Seneca Staff] comes to help me, she also kind of teaches me how to be a family.”

- Isaac Evans