Grandfamilies

Greenlight Family Services was founded in 2003 to provide legal aid for the growing population of grandparents raising their grandchildren across Illinois.  Our dedicated staff specialize in empowering the intergenerational connection within grandfamilies to enure that children and caregivers alike can thrive.

Many grandparents take on the role of caregiver because of unforeseen circumstances, such as the death of a parent, substance abuse, deportation, incarceration, and more. Grandparents may struggle with the unexpected emotional and financial burden of caring for their grandchildren. Despite their unique challenges, research shows that intergenerational connections positively impact both grandparents and their grandchildren.

However, grandparents find themselves without the legal rights to enroll their child in school and obtain medical information or benefits for them unless they complete an adoption or guardianship. Greenlight partners with the Illinois Department on Aging and the Illinois Bar Foundation to eliminate legal barriers by offering sliding-scale adoption and guardianship services from our outstanding legal team.