Drunk driving child protection laws fall into two distinct tracks. The first raises the criminal penalties, and often the level of the offense itself, when an impaired driver is caught with a child in the vehicle. The second, a newer wave known as Bentley’s Law, orders a convicted drunk driver who kills a parent to pay child support to that parent’s surviving children. Most of this law is made at the state level, and the details vary widely.
DUI With a Child in the Vehicle
As of 2025, 44 states and Washington, D.C. have laws that increase penalties for impaired driving when a minor is in the car.1Responsibility.org. DUI Child Endangerment Laws The two states without a dedicated statute are South Dakota and Vermont, though prosecutors there can still bring general child endangerment charges.
Some states treat the child’s presence as a sentencing aggravator, adding fines or jail time on top of the underlying DUI. Others elevate the charge itself from misdemeanor to felony. Alaska, Arizona, Indiana, Missouri, New York, Oklahoma, and Texas are among the states that make it a felony.2MADD. DUI Child Endangerment
The age of the protected child is not uniform. It runs from under 12 in Kentucky to under 19 in Oklahoma, with most states drawing the line somewhere between 14 and 16. Beyond the base charge, common enhancements include doubled minimum sentences, mandatory ignition interlock installation, added fines, community service (often at programs serving children), and automatic license suspension.2MADD. DUI Child Endangerment
New York’s Leandra’s Law
The most-cited model is New York’s Leandra’s Law, formally the Child Passenger Protection Act, which took effect on December 18, 2009. It’s named for 11-year-old Leandra Rosado, who was killed while riding in a car driven by an intoxicated adult.3New York State Unified Court System. Leandras Law Child Passenger Protection Act
The law creates a tiered felony structure keyed to what happens to the child:
- A first-time DWI (BAC.08 or higher) or drug-impaired driving with a child under 16 in the vehicle is a Class E felony, punishable by up to four years in state prison.3New York State Unified Court System. Leandras Law Child Passenger Protection Act
- Causing serious physical injury to that child passenger is a Class C felony, punishable by up to 15 years.
- Causing the child’s death is a Class B felony, punishable by up to 25 years.
Leandra’s Law also requires every person convicted of a DWI offense in New York to install and maintain an ignition interlock device, criminalizes tampering with the device, and directs arresting officers to notify Child Protective Services whenever the impaired driver is the child’s parent, guardian, or custodian.4New York State Assembly. Assembly Announces Leandras Law Legislation
How Other States Compare
Michigan treats a first offense of operating while intoxicated with a passenger under 16 as a misdemeanor carrying up to a year in jail and fines of $200 to $1,000. A repeat offense, or one within seven years of a prior conviction, becomes a felony punishable by one to five years and fines up to $5,000.5Michigan Legislature. MCL 257.625
Texas classifies DUI with a passenger under 15 as a state jail felony, with 180 days to two years in prison and a fine up to $10,000. Arizona treats it as a Class 6 felony carrying at least one year of mandatory imprisonment for a first offense and fines up to $150,000.2MADD. DUI Child Endangerment
Bentley’s Law: Child Support From the Driver Who Killed a Parent
A separate line of legislation, known generally as Bentley’s Law, requires a convicted impaired driver who kills a parent to pay child support to that parent’s surviving minor children. The name comes from Bentley Williams, whose parents Cordell Williams (30) and Lacey Newton (25), and four-month-old brother Cordell Williams II, were killed on April 13, 2021, in a drunk driving crash on Highway 30 in Jefferson County, Missouri. The driver, David Thurby, was convicted in January 2023 of three counts of second-degree involuntary manslaughter. Bentley’s grandmother, Cecilia Williams, has led the push for the legislation.6MADD. Statement on Bentleys Law
How Tennessee’s Version Works
Tennessee was the first state to enact one of these laws. In 2022, Governor Bill Lee signed HB 1834, formally titled “Ethan’s, Hailey’s, and Bentley’s Law.” The Tennessee version also honors Ethan and Hailey, children of fallen Chattanooga Police Officer Nicholas Galinger. The bill passed unanimously in both chambers.7MADD. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee Signs Ethans Haileys and Bentleys Law
Under Tennessee’s law, a court sentencing a defendant for vehicular homicide or aggravated vehicular homicide by intoxication must order the defendant to pay child maintenance to the victim’s minor children. The key rules:
- Payments continue until each child turns 18 and graduates from high school.
- The amount is set by the court based on the child’s financial needs, the resources of the surviving parent or guardian, and the child’s accustomed standard of living.
- If the defendant is incarcerated and unable to pay, payments must begin within one year of release.
- If the surviving parent or guardian obtains a civil judgment before sentencing, no separate maintenance is ordered. If the civil judgment comes later, the maintenance obligation is offset by the judgment amount.8Tennessee General Assembly. HB1834 Bill Information
Which Other States Have It
Since Tennessee acted, five more states have enacted their own versions: Kentucky, Texas, Maine, South Dakota, and Utah.9North Dakota Legislative Branch. Frank Harris MADD Testimony Kentucky’s version, called Melanie’s Law after Melanie Hull, who was permanently disabled by a drunk driver in 2022, was signed on April 4, 2023. It goes beyond the original template: it applies not only when a parent is killed but also when a parent is disabled or permanently disabled by a DUI offender, and it provides for enforcement through local child support offices.10Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. SB 268
The idea has moved quickly through state legislatures. A 2022 Connecticut research report already counted at least ten states with pending bills.11Connecticut General Assembly. Bentleys Law Research Report In 2024, proposals were introduced in at least a dozen states in a single session, including Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, New Jersey, South Carolina, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.12Alabama Reflector. Drunken Drivers Would Have to Pay Child Support for Victims Kids Under These Laws As of March 2025, Montana and Hawaii each had a bill that had passed one chamber and was awaiting the other.9North Dakota Legislative Branch. Frank Harris MADD Testimony
Is There a Federal Drunk Driving Child Protection Act?
No federal law by that name is on the books. The closest proposal was the Drunk Driving Child Protection Act of 1990 (S. 2545) in the 101st Congress, which would have amended the federal Assimilative Crimes Statute to add a mandatory one-year prison sentence and a $1,000 fine, on top of state penalties, for driving under the influence with a non-driving minor in the vehicle. It also proposed higher penalties for operating a common carrier while impaired with a child aboard.13GovTrack. S 2545 Drunk Driving Child Protection Act of 1990 The bill never advanced beyond introduction.
Because there is no federal statute directly on point, DUI child endangerment and drunk driving child support are governed almost entirely by state law. The specific offense level, age cutoff, and support formula that apply to any given case depend on the state where the offense occurred.
How Well These Laws Work
The scale of the underlying problem is significant. In 2023, 1,019 children aged 14 and younger died in motor vehicle crashes in the United States, and 253 of those deaths, roughly one in four, occurred in alcohol-impaired driving crashes.1Responsibility.org. DUI Child Endangerment Laws A 2004 CDC study found that only 32 percent of child passengers in alcohol-impaired crashes were properly restrained.
Research by Kelley-Baker and Romano published in 2016 found that existing DUI child endangerment laws have not, on their own, been effective in reducing child fatalities, citing gaps in enforcement and low public awareness. MADD and Responsibility.org have argued that consistent prosecution and public visibility are what make these laws work as a deterrent.