Kentucky has the highest percentage of children who have had a parent in jail. A report released April 25 by the Annie E. Casey Foundation puts that figure at 13 percent, nearly double the national average of 7 percent.
That means there are 135,000 kids in the state who have had a parent who has been incarcerated.
Terry Brooks is Executive Director of Kentucky Youth Advocates. He says one of most important ways to address that problem is job training for the parents.
“Are there some things that we could do, while that citizen is locked up, to think about when you get out, where can you go to work, what skills do you need, can we use your time in prison to develop those skills?” says Brooks.
Local communities can provide employment opportunities when parents are released from jail. Brooks says the number of incarcerated parents in Kentucky is a call to action.
“There are faith communities, whether that’s in Bowling Green or Somerset or Owensboro, there are nonprofit groups and there are civic minded other organizations of folks, that could really take this on as a ministry or a witness or a service project to make a difference with these families,” says Brooks.
He says such efforts would help create a much more stable family life for Kentucky children.
Brooks is pleased Kentucky lawmakers passed a bill this year that he thinks will help parents get jobs when they’re released from jail.
It allows people convicted of certain lower level felonies to have their record cleared five years after they’ve completed their sentences.
