Juvenile Justice System and Risk Factor Data - Illinois Criminal ...

Correctional inmates with children
Children with incarcerated parents are more vulnerable to a myriad of social and economic risk
factors that increase their likelihood of offending, according to research. 16 Additionally, parental
criminal histories and general parental criminality are strong predictors of juvenile
delinquency. 17
In FY07, 24,235 adult inmates admitted to the Illinois Department of Corrections had children,
66 percent of the adult inmate population. In FY02, there were 15,190 admitted inmates with
children or 43 percent of the total adult inmate population. The number of adult inmates with
children increased 60 percent from FY02 to FY07. Figure 8 shows the proportion of inmates
admitted to IDOC with children from fiscal year 1997 to 2007.
Figure 8
Percent of inmates admitted to IDOC with children, FY97 - FY07
Percent of admissions with children
75%
65%
55%
45%
35%
25%
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Fiscal year
Cook Northern Central Southern Illinois
Source: Illinois Department of Corrections
The percentage of inmates with children dropped dramatically in FY98 to 44 percent, according
to data available in IDOC admissions files. This decrease continued until FY04, when the
percentage of correctional inmates with children increased to 66 percent. The increase is likely
attributed to a change in the collection and reporting practices of IDOC.
Northern counties experienced the greatest decreases, from 63 percent in FY97 to 34 percent in
FY98, but the figures increased to 60 percent in FY04 (Figure 8). Southern counties remained
relatively stable during the time examined, with an average of 63 percent.
19