Families at the Intersection of the Criminal Justice and Child Protective Services Systems

In this article, we first describe the incidence and prevalence of incarceration and CPS involvement in the United States. Second, we outline the reasons that the same individuals and families may be at risk for involvement in both systems and review the limited existing research examining links between incarceration and CPS involvement. Third, we use unique longitudinal data from Wisconsin, spanning from 2004 to 2012, to describe intergenerational and intragenerational overlap in the two systems. Specifically, we calculate (1) the proportion of all CPS-involved children who have an incarcerated parent; (2) the proportion of incarcerated adults who have a CPS-involved child; (3) the proportion of incarcerated young men and women who were involved in the CPS system as adolescents; and (4) the proportion of CPS-involved adolescents who subsequently became incarcerated. We conclude with a discussion of potential directions for future research as well as implications for practice and policy.