Unconditional care.
It’s not just what we do, it’s who we are.
“I feel a huge sense of pride and honor to work for an agency that not only cares about the communities they serve, but who also truly cares for their employees. For Seneca to be recognized means that we take the time and energy to understand the complexities of what it means to keep sincerity, compassion, and motivation alive.” ~ Staff, Oakland
The mission of Seneca Family of Agencies (Seneca) is to help children and families through the most difficult times of their lives. Seneca was founded in 1985 from a belief that all youth are capable of success, belonging, and happiness when provided thoughtful supports that are responsive to their unique needs and experiences. Starting as a small residential and day treatment program for the Bay Area’s most struggling youth, we aimed to address the failure of public systems to adequately meet the needs of youth impacted by profound trauma, loss, and disability. Far too often these youth ended up isolated from their families, peers, and communities, being moved between treatment settings that lacked the capacity to help them heal and thrive. Our agency’s founding commitment of providing Unconditional Care — doing whatever it takes to support a youth’s success without the option to give up — has driven our efforts for more than three decades.
Seneca’s impact as a 2017-18 Top Workplace
92 staff received professional development scholarships, empowering them to expand their learning.
4,627 youth and families received support in a community setting.
67 staff selected to participate in Seneca’s three embedded graduate programs.
98% of the adoptions that Seneca facilitates are successful and permanent. (National average is approximately 75%).
17,000 youth and families served by Seneca’s Unconditional Care last year.
“This award validates that we are an organization full of gifted and compassionate people and my greatest wish is that in the future, our staff will be able to say they helped to break the cycles of poverty, isolation, disconnection, abuse and neglect that has impacted our children, their families and our communities for generations,” says Seneca CEO and Founder, Ken Berrick. Unconditional Care is both our philosophy and practice. It is the most important thing that we teach and learn every day. It’s not just what we do, it’s who we are.