Seneca Family of Agencies

Mission

Seneca Family of Agencies (Seneca) launched in 1985 with a simple but powerful mission: to help children and families through the most difficult times of their lives. Since then, Seneca has grown from a small residential and day treatment program to a provider of a robust continuum of mental health, education, permanency, and juvenile justice services across California and Washington State. Seneca annually supports over 3,500 young people in King and Pierce Counties to heal, learn, and thrive.

Description

Seneca's Washington programs draw upon the inherent strengths of young people and their families to support them in meeting their social-emotional, behavioral, and academic goals.

This past October, the American Academy of Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital Association, and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry declared a national state of emergency in children’s mental health. Stark statistics illustrate the scope of this crisis:

• Between March and October 2020, the percentage of emergency department visits for children with mental health emergencies rose by 24 percent for children ages 5-11 and 31 percent for children ages 12-17.
• There was more than a 50 percent increase in suspected suicide attempt emergency department visits among girls ages 12-17 in early 2021 as compared to the same period in 2019.
• Additionally, many young people have been impacted by loss of a loved one. Recent data show that more than 140,000 U.S. children have experienced the death of a primary or secondary caregiver during the COVID-19 pandemic, with children of color disproportionately impacted.

 Now, more than ever, the wellbeing of young people already stressed by trauma, poverty, and other challenges is at critical risk. Every effort must be made to support families within our community to succeed over the course of this crisis and beyond.

Seneca is known for our commitment and ability to develop robust continuums of care for children that can respond flexibility to meet a family's ever-changing needs by seamlessly scaling up and down in intensity and "following" a child and family wherever needs may arise: in the home, at school, or in the community.

Our programs include:
- School-based supports and programing
- Juvenile Justice Team supporting youth involved in the justice system
- Commercially Sexually Exploited Children Outreach Program
- Outpatient mental health clinic providing care to low-income youth and families
- Wraparound with Intensive Services Program for families who need the highest levels of support