The two key findings from this analysis are that this group is neither a distinct group from children of male offenders nor is it a homogenous group. First, the majority of youth in the population whose mothers had been involved with criminal justice authorities also had fathers who had been arrested. Secondly, distinguishable subgroups of youth with meaningfully different parent and family risk profiles were identified. The two most prevalent problems in the backgrounds of this group of youth were poverty (61.5 percent) and maternal mental health problems (54.9 percent). These findings point to the lack of basic information currently available about prevention and intervention programs for children whose mothers become involved in the criminal justice system. In order to effectively help children whose mothers become involved with the criminal justice system, it is important to understand their differing needs. Data was used from the Great Smoky Mountains Study (GSMS), a longitudinal epidemiologic study of youth from 11 rural counties in western North Carolina. Tables, references