At 48, having raised three children now in their 20s, Jeanette Byrd is back in a world of diapers, day care and cartoons.
In the last two years, Byrd’s 3-year-old granddaughter and 1-year-old grandson were placed in her care by the Department of Children and Family Services, and now she’s on the path toward permanent guardianship of the children.
“If I can’t, then who will?” Byrd said of her decision to take care of her grandchildren.
The kids — energetic toddlers who are quick to offer a toy, a hug or one of their tiny Nike sneakers — are two of more than 10,000 young people in DCFS care who live with relatives, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois.
Byrd had to go through a lengthy process to get certified as a guardian for the kids while also holding down a job as a fire inspector and, more recently, studying for her bachelor’s degree in health care administration online. She went through a background check process she said was similar to what she already had to do for her job, and took hours of classes on parenting to be able to receive support from the state. The state licensing procedure allowed her to receive benefits including about $1,300 a month in financial assistance.