(AP) A new report has concluded that Kentucky has the highest percentage of children in the nation who have had a parent in jail.
Citing a report released Monday by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, The Courier-Journal reports that 13 percent of Kentucky children – 135,000 – reported in 2011-12 that they had a parent incarcerated at some point in their lives. That percentage is nearly double the national average of 7 percent.
Kentucky Youth Advocates Executive Director Terry Brooks says parental incarceration exacts a devastating toll on families and society at large by
creating an “unstable environment” for children, with the effects being long-lasting.
The report uses data from the 2011-12 National Survey of Children’s Health, the latest available.