Children's Exposure to Recent Family Member Criminal Legal System Involvement

The growth of the US criminal legal system has broad implications for individual and societal economic and social well-being. Although this system primarily targets adults, children may experience adverse consequences from the criminal legal contacts (CLCs) of their parents and other family members.

To examine the prevalence of children's family member CLCs within the past year and past 5 years and how prevalence varied across relationship type, child age, and cohort period.

This cross-sectional study created 2 samples (a courts sample and an incarceration sample) using secure criminal legal system records from 24 states and US Census Bureau surveys and administrative data between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2021. Children were linked to parents and other family members using birth records and household surveys, and then family members were linked to criminal legal system records. Data were analyzed between July 15, 2023, and March 1, 2025.

Family CLCs.

Mean prevalence rates of family CLCs were estimated for 4 types of recent (prior year and prior 5 years) family CLCs, including charges, convictions, felony convictions, and postadjudication incarceration, across family relationship (parent vs overall), child age (0-17 years), and cohort period (2000-2021).

The final courts sample included 371 100 000 observations for family charges and convictions linked to 43 490 000 unique children (56.7% aged 0-9 years and 43.2% aged 10-17 years; 50.7% boys), and the incarceration sample included 784 200 000 observations linked to 76 610 000 unique children (58.0% aged 0-9 years and 41.9% aged 10-17 years; 50.7% boys). Between 2000 and 2021, 15.0% of children had a family member charged within the past 5 years. In addition, 11.6% of children experienced a family member's conviction, 3.6% a family member's felony conviction, and 1.4% a family member's incarceration within the past 5 years. Parent CLCs constituted a substantial proportion of children's family CLCs (73.0%-78.7%) across 5-year exposures, with 11.8% of children experiencing a parent's CLC within the past 5 years. Overall prevalence varied little by age, although parent CLCs were somewhat higher in early childhood. Prevalence of family CLCs among children increased substantially between 2000 and 2019 from 6.6% to 19.6% for past-5-year family criminal charges.

This cross-sectional study found pervasive and increasing rates of children experiencing family CLCs. Given the adverse consequences of family CLCs for children, these findings have profound implications for child and adolescent well-being and the professionals who work with them.