Parent contact with Criminal Justice System

A parent’s interaction with the Criminal Justice System can have a large impact on the

family dynamic and the child’s development (Wakefield & Montagnet, 2019). Criminal

and legal trouble can be traumatic for both parent and child as well as potentially

causing the parent to spend substantial time away from their child in the event of

incarceration or lengthy trials. Additionally, the setbacks from interaction with the

Criminal Justice System, such as loss of employment opportunities, reputation

damages and incarceration, may lead to longstanding obstacles that influence the

trajectory of the parent’s and child’s life. Therefore, it is important to collect this

information to be able to compare outcomes across different levels of interaction

with the Criminal Justice System. As the status of this variable may have changed in-

between waves, it is advantageous to capture again at this wave, as well as capturing

the impact that any change may have had on the developing child.

Recommendations for Cohort 24 at age 3:

•Repeat items on the parent’s interaction with the Criminal Justice System from Cohort 24 at age 9 months.

Parental Principal Economic Status