About John R. Seita, Ed.D.

Meet John..... John --- Age 12 when he was ordered by the Court to leave Cleveland. He was put into long-term residential care in Michigan.

Dr. John Seita is a former at-risk youth who beat the odds. Abused and neglected, he was removed from his mother's home at age eight and spent the remainder of his childhood and adolescence in multiple foster homes and group care settings. His journey through children's institutions and countless foster homes was a litany of degradation and humiliation. In 1973, the year he turned 18, John graduated from Michigan's child welfare system to a life of homelessness and shoplifting on the streets of East Lansing Michigan.

But now Dr. Seita is an associate professor of social work at Michigan State University and is a new breed of professional. Having spent time as a youth in the child welfare system, he is now working to change that system. He feels strongly that foster care "alumni" can and should have a positive impact on the child welfare system. Dr. Seita's rare and unique insights can help one understand the defiance often hidden in youth. There are few trainers and speakers nationwide who have lived in the dependent care system and now share both their insider's view and the latest research in positive youth development, resilience, strength based approaches and brain research. His practical views are blended with inspiration and hope.

Dr. Seita received his B.A.. M.Ed. and Ed.D. from Western Michigan University. Before entering academia, he worked in Kalamazoo County Human Services Department, Calhoun County Community Mental Health, Riverview Residential Treatment Center, Rainbow House, and Calhoun County Juvenile Home. He also served as program director for W. K. Kellogg Foundation providing leadership to initiatives which serve youth. He has an extensive list of publications including journal articles and technical papers. He has published three books, Kids Who Outwit Adults (2004), God Is In the Kitchen and Other Everyday Miracles: A Daughter's Gift and a Daddy's Love (2000), and In Whose Best Interest: One Child's Odyssey, A National's Responsibility (1996).