The Effect of Criminal Justice System on Children of the Incarcerated

The effect of criminal justice system involvement on the children of the incarcerated is not well understood. There have been no evaluations examining whether pre-trial confinement worsens child health. We study how specific decisions by the courts and other criminal justice agencies affect child wellbeing during follow-up. We use North Carolina (NC) statewide administrative criminal court and incarceration data for the years 2005-2016 and link parents to their biological children through birth records. Our study uses instrumental variables (e.g., prosecutor’s prosecution rate and judge’s conviction rate) to examine whether holding other factors constant, harsher penalties for criminal offenses imposed by the courts (and also more restrictive pretrial confinement terms) affect children’s health and/or Medicaid spending. We will present preliminary findings.