Manley Hosts Monthly Legislative Advisory Committee for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Featuring Giamanco Law Partners Guest Speakers

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – State Rep. Natalie Manley, D-Joliet, continued her efforts to support grandparents raising grandchildren in Illinois during a recent meeting of the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Legislative Advisory Committee (Grand LAC). Attorneys Joe Giamanco and Melisa Quinones, of Giamanco Law Partners, spoke about guardianship, family law and estate planning. 

Rep. Manley hosts these legislative advisory committees to identify areas where policy solutions could help.

"For anyone raising children not their own , and for grandparents it’s even more difficult. It’s a complex situation,” Rep. Manley said. “We were all so grateful to Joe and Melisa for spending their time with our committee. They were able to offer direction for these daunting circumstances.”

The grandparents at the meeting shared  issues affecting them across multiple State agencies and local governments. They emphasized the need for legislation to reduce the burden of adopting or receiving guardianship of a child.

Manley hosts this committee to discuss legislative ideas to better equip new guardians with knowledge of their rights and available resources. For example, one issue that can be difficult for families is that children in state custody will lose state health insurance upon adoption, which can discourage grandparents from adopting. Additionally, grandparents who overcome financial hurdles to adopt often struggle to provide necessary resources, especially for children with special needs.

With more than 70,000 grandparents raising grandchildren in Illinois, Manley identified the potential for legislation to help address the needs of this population and created GrandLAC in 2022. The committee served a central role in crafting the bill that Manley introduced as HB0780 to establish the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Pilot Program. The bill was approved by the IL House and Senate, and for its signing into law, Governor J.B. Pritzker came to Will County on Aug. 2, 2023.

HB0780 requires IDoA to establish and administer the program in Will County from Jan. 1, 2024 through Jan. 1, 2027. To this end, Senior Services Center of Will County, one of the 13 Area Agencies on Aging (AAA), designated an intake coordinator to connect grandparents raising grandchildren to relevant services and resources provided by the various State agencies.

In addition to Grand LAC, Rep. Manley also hosts three other legislative action committees: Retirees LAC (RLAC), Women’s LAC (WLAC), and Neurodiversity LAC (NeuroLAC), which discusses neurodiversity.

Anyone interested in participating in Rep. Manley’s legislative advisory committees may contact her district office at repmanley@gmail.com or 815-725-2741 (call or text).

Pictured: GrandLAC members speak with Rep. Manley and Attorneys Melisa Quinones and Joe Giamanco of Giamanco Law Partners.