Grandparents rights differ state to state but if not exercised they can be removed from regulation in the state code. Iowa finally after much debate passed a Iowa Grandparents Rights bill through the Iowa Senate in March of 2007 and it became part of the Iowa Code in July of 2007. You can find it in the Iowa Code under 600C.
Michigan has a National Grandparents Rights Organization that has fielded many emails and calls from Iowa grandparents wanting to know what they could do to have their plight in Iowa brought more to the public eye. Grandparents use to be a big part of family life but as society has changed with the times and the baby boomer generation is now nearing retirement the social scene has changed. Many grandparents have been shut out of their grandchildrens’ lives for reasons that vary from divorce, new spouses, single parenting or simply spite. Grandchildren become pawns in a game for control.
Department of Human Services (DHS) stands with the parent on issues of Grandparents Rights so if you are a grandparent seeking assistance in visitation to grandchildren they are not the agency to contact. Many times a grandparent is turned downed when seeking custody of grandchildren when a parent loses their rights because of age or low income and the grandchild is placed in a foster home or possibly put up for adoption. Legal assistance was expensive and attorneys had little to stand on with no legislation in place until recently.
Iowa Grandparents Rights allows the grandparent to petition the courts for visitation and opens the doors for custody issues.