Turner Padget Insights
Celebrating 200 Families: Why the Healthy Grandparents Program Matters More Than Ever
Posted On January 9, 2026
Recently, I had the profound honor of being presented with a commemorative painting in celebration of a remarkable milestone: the 200th grandparent adoption/custody case through Augusta University’s Healthy Grandparents Program. The painting included the names of the children whose lives have been permanently changed through this work—each one a reminder that behind every legal proceeding is a child who now has stability, safety, and a place to belong.
Holding that piece was humbling. Each name represented far more than a legal outcome. It represented love, resilience, and family.
A Program Built on Family, Not Systems
The Healthy Grandparents Program exists to support grandparents and great-grandparents who step in to raise their grandchildren when parents are unable to do so. These caregivers often find themselves navigating sudden and overwhelming challenges—legal, financial, emotional, and health-related—while trying to give their grandchildren a sense of normalcy.
The program’s mission is simple but powerful: to keep families together and children out of foster care whenever possible, while supporting the well-being of the grandparents who so selflessly say “yes” when it matters most.
Through case management, health and wellness services, education, and legal assistance, the program helps families move from crisis to stability—and, in many cases, to permanency through adoption.
Why Adoption Matters
For many grandparents, adoption/obtaining legal custody is not just a legal formality. It is the key to being able to:
- Enroll a child in school without unnecessary barriers
- Make timely medical decisions
- Provide emotional security and long-term certainty
- Plan for the future with confidence
Every adoption and custody case finalized through this program means a child no longer has to wonder where they belong.
Reaching 200 grandparent adoptions is not just a number. It represents 200 children who now have permanent, legally recognized families.
Why This Work Is Personal to Me
As an attorney, I regularly handle custody and adoption matters. But my work with the Healthy Grandparents Program has been especially meaningful because it sits at the intersection of law, compassion, and community.
Grandparents often step into these roles unexpectedly—at a stage of life when they thought they were finished raising children. Yet time and again, they rise to the occasion with extraordinary love and determination. Helping them navigate the legal process is one way I can support the immense responsibility they have taken on.
A Moment Worth Celebrating—and Continuing
This milestone is worth celebrating, but it is also a reminder that the need continues. There are grandparents quietly stepping up every day. There are children who still need permanency. And there is important work ahead.
