May is National Foster Care Month

There are over 6,000 children in foster care in the Bay Area and 60,000 in California. I think foster parenting is one of the most important way you can contribute to making the world a better place and have a tremendous impact on a child's life. This topic is very close to me since my mother participated in foster care for two decades and made the lives of dozens of children better.

Seneca Family of Agencies was founded 30 years ago in the Bay Area and is headquartered in Downtown San Jose. The agency helps at-risk children and families in the region with a multitude of challenges. Below is a profile of one of their San Jose foster parents, Ryan Adams. For more information on how you can get involved, please visit the Seneca Center website.

Ryan Adams (San Jose) has a passion for youth and a deep commitment to serving others. Prior to becoming a foster parent, Ryan worked with youth in Paraguay for two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer and resided for another two years in a Zen Monastery in Monterey. He was also a Seneca employee before becoming a foster parent, and his time at Seneca has been evenly divided among residential, community, and school based programs. He is especially committed to ensuring that all youth receive the highest degree of care, regardless of their level of need. His curiosity and dedication to creating long-lasting, healthy, and impactful relationships with relationships with youth led Ryan to take the lead on permanency related issues, advocating for contact with biological/natural supports. In March 2015, Ryan, with the help of Seneca's Intensive Treatment Foster Care team, successfully transitioned his first foster youth through Seneca's PLUS program - a six month intensive treatment foster program geared toward youth with the highest level of need - from his care back to his home with his biological family. Ryan continues his role as a PLUS Parent and has recently welcomed a second foster child into his home.