By Anneli Barcenas-Cuellar

Youth impacted by child welfare and juvenile justice systems often experience separation from family as more than just a disruption; it can become a lasting source of isolation and loss. When connections are fractured over time, the impact on youth’s sense of belonging and well-being can be profound. Seneca’s National Institute for Permanent Family Connectedness (NIPFC) is grounded in the belief that something fundamentally different is possible. Every child has a family – and when systems are intentional and persistent, family members can be found. 

NIPFC grew out of the California Permanency for Youth Project, an initiative launched in 2002 by the Stuart Foundation and the Walter S. Johnson Foundation. It began as an effort to build a national permanency movement and produce research and policy guidance for leaders across the country before evolving into NIPFC (formally established in 2010). The driving recognition behind its founding was simple but urgent: Too many children were exiting care without the family connections they needed to thrive, and the systems meant to serve them were too fragmented to fix it alone. 

Rooted in Justice, Dignity & Unconditional Care

NIPFC’s approach reflects Seneca’s commitment to Unconditional Care, a treatment philosophy that integrates attachment, learning, and systems theories to address young people’s complex needs. These principles are relationship centered, strengths based, family-focused, and are foundational to NIPFC’s permanency work. 

At the center of NIPFC’s mission is a vision of permanency that prioritizes dignity, cultural identity, and lifelong belonging. Research and decades of practice have shown that the single factor most closely associated with positive outcomes for youth is meaningful, enduring connection to family. Legal outcomes or placements alone cannot replace lasting relationships. 

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As NIPFC Trainer Mike Mertz, M.S. shares: “Unconditional care means for the rest of one’s life – not for as long as they’re receiving services.” 

That distinction really matters. Seneca and NIPFC recognize that agency-provided care, however dedicated, is ultimately time-limited. The goal is not to replace family but to restore and strengthen the connections that will outlast any program or placement. 

Building Family Networks that Last 

NIPFC advances permanency through Family Network Building, an approach that prioritizes authentic family engagement and shared decision making. Courts, agencies, and community partners are encouraged to align around a clear and singular primary goal – that every youth should exit care with a family network that can love and support them wherever they may live. 

Family is broadly defined by the youth and those they trust and may include relatives, non-related extended family, and chosen adults who hold vital roles in their lives. NIPFC draws on long-established discovery methods and one of the most comprehensive family search services in the United States. They combine these tools with collaborative engagement strategies grounded in curiosity, cultural humility, and respect. This work is influenced by the Family Finding model developed by Kevin Campbell, which has shaped national permanency practice and informed federal policy – including the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008. 

NIPFC treats family finding as a continuous action, not a one-time search.

“At first it was, ‘No, we looked for family.’ Well, yeah, you looked, but how about looking,” explains NIPFC Director Bob Friend, LCSW. “And then when you find, how about engaging, and welcoming, and encouraging, and supporting, and involving?”

When families need additional support, professional services are used intentionally to strengthen, not replace, family capacity. The goal is to help youth build an asset base that allows them to thrive without continued court involvement. 

Training & Supervision to Support Change 

NIPFC provides training, coaching, and implementation support to child welfare, juvenile justice, mental health, disability services organizations, and court systems nationwide. Training incorporates experiential learning activities that help practitioners better understand the experiences of the youth and families they support. Ongoing coaching and consultation are essential to support sustained practice change. 

A key insight driving NIPFC’s systems-level work is that lasting change requires alignment across institutions, not just within a single agency. 

“Historically some of these departments have not talked to each other and haven’t been required to,” Bob says. “It was permitted to have differences and to not have to resolve them. That harms kids and families.”

To address this, NIPFC works with judicial councils and presiding judges, whose institutional authority uniquely positions them to convene and align multiple partners around shared permanency goals. 

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“The head of social services can say let’s all get together but there’s no force behind that. When the presiding judge says, ‘We’re all doing this,’ everyone’s going to do it,” Bob adds.

Supervision is also emphasized as essential to lasting reform. NIPFC supports supervisors with tools and coaching that reinforce a shift away from historically system-centered approaches and toward relationship-driven, family-centered practice. 

Strong Foundations for the Future 

NIPFC’s reach extends across the country and beyond, with training partnerships in Australia, consultation with legal teams in California and Oregon, and a legacy of supporting federal policy change. Together, Seneca and NIPFC are advocating for a future where permanency is not the exception but the expectation and where no child exits care without connection and support. 

“Doing ‘whatever it takes’ goes beyond meeting the young person’s service needs at any given time, and is much more around building lasting teams of support,” Bob explains.

To learn more about the National Institute for Permanent Family Connectedness, visit the NIPFC website or contact [email protected].