Lumos was founded in 2005 to help children in institutions and promote family-based care.
The organization was originally established by Rowling as the Children’s High Level Group. It later adopted the name Lumos, referring to the light-producing spell in the Harry Potter stories. The charity works internationally on reforming systems that place children in orphanages or other residential institutions.
Lumos argues that children generally develop better when they can grow up in families or family-like settings, with appropriate community support. Its work includes research, advocacy, and projects intended to replace institutional care with family and community services.
The charity’s name connects its public identity with Rowling’s fiction, but its work is focused on real-world child protection. It has operated in countries including Moldova, Bulgaria, and Haiti, and has campaigned against the separation of children from families because of poverty or disability.