Catie Moore
There is a complicated overlap between children’s welfare and criminal justice systems, meaning one will likely cause the other. For instance, the goal of child welfare systems includes the well-being, safety, and permanence of children and families. However, national data shows that foster systems fail to support youth adequately.
What the Statistics Say
According to a series of research by the University of Michigan, four in ten U.S. children grow up with at least one convicted parent. That is, in households where a parent or co-residing adult spent time in prison, was convicted of a felony, or faced at least one criminal charge. It would seem the system is instead punishing parents by removing them from their children’s lives, thus putting them at risk of future criminal involvement. This is why the services of law firms like Adams & Bischoff prove so invaluable in overturning criminal convictions.
The Bureau of Justice Statistics estimates that less than one in forty children have at least one parent in prison yearly. However, severe data limitations had hampered prior efforts to quantify the extent of justice spillovers and crime in households. Furthermore, federal data collection has been unable to track intergenerational spillovers and capture non-incarceration events within families that leave the nuclear family model. This has resulted in a lack of data on how many kids fall into this category.
The Impact on Children
The fact that the estimates reach close to half of the children in the U.S. is problematic. It should remind the government and justice system about the failures of their public policies. Meanwhile, even if the government succeeded in completely overhauling the justice system today, the damage done will continue for decades to come. Apart from the high rates of intergenerational exposure, child exposure in the U.S. population is heterogeneous. Over sixty percent of Native and Black American children with less-than-median income have twice the rate of white children.
According to Brittany Street, an assistant economics professor at the University of Missouri, early childhood experiences and circumstances can affect a child in more ways than one. For instance, circumstances in early childhood are vital to the life outcomes a child will experience. The alarming problem is that the model experience for minority U.S. children is due to indirect exposure to the criminal justice system. The implications of these findings are critically important for the criminal justice policy and overall U.S. social policy.
Meanwhile, researchers have established that early life exposure correlates significantly with a range of negative outcomes of child development. These outcomes include cognitive difficulty, teen crime and death by 18 years of age, lagging in school, and teen fertility. These complications can still arise when controlling various factors, including age, birthplace, household income, sex, and race.
Furthermore, the justice system is also a major factor in the intergenerational propagation of racial disparities and economic inequality in the United States. Strong evidence, such as estimated relationship with child outcomes, expansive prevalence, and demographic heterogeneity, backs this statement.
How Defense Attorneys Protect Family Rights
Criminal defense attorneys play a critical role in ensuring that the rights and well-being of children affected by a parent’s criminal conviction are well protected. By fighting aggressively to overturn the conviction or actively promoting alternatives like diversion programs or rehabilitation instead of incarceration, they help prevent separation. Defense lawyers would also ensure that the potential ripple effect on children, such as their parents losing custody or parental rights, is minimized by including these conditions in the sentences. Hence, they aim to keep the family together even when dealing closely with attorneys in family law by striking a balance between justice and the preservation of the family unit.
Conclusion
If you or any of your family members are dealing with the impact of a criminal conviction, it’s always a good idea to look for professional legal assistance. Having a seasoned team of lawyers on your side can play a major role in minimizing the impact on your children and pushing for solutions that protect your rights as a parent, as well as their well-being. The right attorney could be the difference between a guilty conviction and freedom!
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