Of his five children, Kathleen and Dickie have most directly affected his job. Kathleen is twice charged with DUI; he uses his clout as a police officer to make the first charge disappear, but he eventually realizes that he has to let her face the consequences of her actions, and she is sentenced to community service. Kathleen then steals her father's credit card and gives it to her boyfriend, who rings up thousands of dollars in charges. She is later arrested for breaking and entering and robbery, at which time doctors and her family realize that she suffers from bipolar disorder, which is a condition she shares with her paternal grandmother, Bernadette. When she faces prison time, Stabler reaches out to his mother for the first time in three years and asks her to tell Kathleen about her illness so she will get help. After speaking with her grandmother, Kathleen agrees to treatment. She later becomes an advocate for sexual assault victims, and in one episode, helps her father on a case.