Lowcountry Forever – National Youth Advocate Program – May 17, 2026

LOWCOUNTRY FOREVER – May 17, 2026
GUEST: Luiz Juarez, Retention & Growth Coordinator and John Small, Licensing Coordinator
ISSUE: Foster Care/Foster Parenting
May is National Foster Care Month and in South Carolina now there are as many as 3,000 children searching for Foster Care. John Small, a Licensing Coordinator with the National Youth Advocate Program, provided an explanation of what foster care is and how NVAP works to match children with a foster family. Small shared the characteristics of an ideal foster family and the steps a family needs to take to get started. Luiz Juarez, the organization’s Retention & Growth Coordinator, discussed the misconception about foster care people may have as well as the emotional challenges foster children face. Both spoke about the end goal of foster care being, when possible, the reunification of the family.

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