New Grant Awarded for Life Course and Intergenerational Effects of Criminal Justice Involvement: Identifying risks, the search for resilience, and the impact of the rise in opioid misuse and the Covid-19 pandemic

Megan Kurlychek, Associate Director at the CJRC, and her colleagues were recently awarded a grant for the Life Course and Intergenerational Effects of Criminal Justice Involvement: Identifying risks, the search for resilience, and the impact of the rise in opioid misuse and the Covid-19 pandemic from The U.S. Department of Justice. The project team consists of Dr. Megan Augustyn at The University of Texas at San Antonio, as Principal Investigator, Dr. Megan Kurlychek, as Co-Principal Investigator, and Kimberly Henry at Colorado State University, as Co-Investigator. This project seeks to extend data collection for The Rochester Youth Development Study (RYDS) and its intergenerational extension, the Rochester Intergenerational Study (RIGS). The original focal participants of RYDS are reaching their late 40s, and it is now possible to examine how patterns of risky behavior persist and/or desist in mature adulthood as well as examine the social, economic and health consequences associated with these behaviors. This work will help to better understand patterns of offending over the life course and will examine the impact of parental behavior on child outcomes as these youth transition into adulthood and face unique contextual circumstances (e.g., the opioid epidemic and COVID-19 pandemic). This study will have important implications for understanding the ongoing risk and potential deficits of this cohort as they enter late adulthood to inform future policy.