J.K. Rowling’s charity focused on ending the institutionalization of children is called Lumos.
Rowling founded the organization in 2005, originally under the name Children’s High Level Group. It was renamed Lumos in 2010. The charity works internationally to help children move from institutions and orphanages into family-based or community-based care, where appropriate.
Lumos argues that institutional care can expose children to neglect, developmental harm, and separation from families. Its work includes supporting family preservation, foster care, adoption systems, community services, and reform of child-protection systems. The organization’s name refers to the light-producing spell in the Harry Potter stories, although its work is a real-world humanitarian project.
The charity was inspired partly by Rowling’s interest in children living in institutions and by campaigning around children’s welfare in Europe. Its programs and research address institutionalization as a global issue rather than one limited to a single country.