MANCHESTER, Ky. -- A new report says the number of Kentucky women, including mothers, who are incarcerated has skyrocketed.

Kentucky Youth Advocates found between 1988 and 2016, the number of women in prison increased by more than 1,000%. And the number in jail was up more than 700% from 1985 to 2018 - both outpacing national rates.

Stephanie Hoskins, Southeastern Kentucky addiction services supervisor at Volunteers of America's Freedom House, a women's recovery center in Manchester, said drug-related charges are a huge driver of these numbers. She said making substance-use treatment accessible to more women and allowing them to stay with their children, benefits communities.

"Our Freedom House model, it is a two-generational solution. When we care for that mother, and that mother is getting the treatment they need for their substance-use disorder, we're helping them start their new life over," Hoskins said. "And we're also giving hope and possibility to their children, that they're going to get their mother back."

One in 10 Kentucky children has had at least one parent incarcerated, the third-highest rate in the nation. Studies show this can trigger a host of negative consequences for kids, from greater risk of housing instability to behavioral issues and low grades in school.

Cortney Downs, policy and advocacy director at Kentucky Youth Advocates, said when a woman is a child's primary caregiver, courts should consider community-based alternatives for nonviolent offenses, such as substance-use treatment, vocational training and parenting classes. She added even a relatively brief period of time when a parent is in prison can have traumatic psychological effects on children.

"These kids still really love their parents. From the engagement that we've done, we don't really get a lot of kids who are like, 'I just don't want to be around them,'" Downs said. "There's this intense love that they still have, this desire to still be at home with their parents, of wanting to maintain that connection and that relationship with them."

Christina Compton, lead peer support intake supervisor at Freedom House, said mothers in recovery there can live with their children up to age 17. She said prior to a mother's incarceration, kids are more likely to have lived with her, and often then end up staying with relatives or friends or are placed in foster care.

Compton said she believes in order to break the cycle of addiction, it's critical families stay together.

"So, that eliminates the need of outside-of-family placement," Compton said. "A lot of times, we help them navigate their DCBS cases, and it keeps the children in a safe and healthy environment."

She added the impact on communities could be profound, given the scale of the problem. The report says between 2017 and 2019, in every Kentucky county, at least one-third of people incarcerated in state custody were parents.

Mississippi prisons often lack resources to treat people who are incarcerated with substance-use disorders adequately but a nonprofit organization is offering alternative programs focused on treatment instead of incarceration.

The Magnolia State has one of the highest incarceration rates in the nation, with more than 1,000 people per 100,000 residents behind bars.

Christina Dent, founder and president of End It For Good, said they invite people to support approaches to drugs prioritizing life, preserving families and promoting public safety.

"We do education out in the community - with citizens, with advocates, with policymakers - to help them understand why a punitive criminal justice approach to drugs and addiction has not produced good results and why a health-centered approach would produce much better results," Dent explained.

It is estimated more than 578,000 people in state and federal prisons in 2022 had a substance-use disorder in the year prior to their admission, according to the Prison Policy Initiative.

Dent emphasized they recommend lawmakers look at other alternatives to stop reactionary approaches resulting in Mississippians paying harsher penalties for crimes such as drug possession.

"Shift away from increasing penalties," Dent urged. "Another thing that we could do would be to reduce penalties or recategorize penalties for something like drug possession. We would love to see a shift from treating drug possession as potentially a felony to drug possession being a misdemeanor. "

Dent noted such an alternative approach would allow individuals impacted to more easily regain employment, support their families and reintegrate into society. She added felony convictions create lifelong barriers to employment and self-sufficiency.


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April is Second Chance Month and many Nebraskans are celebrating passage of a bipartisan voting rights restoration bill and its focus on second chances.

Legislative Bill 20 restores voting rights to those convicted of a felony upon completion of their sentence, eliminating the two-year waiting period.

Jason Witmer, policy fellow at the ACLU of Nebraska, said the change will promote success for formerly incarcerated Nebraskans. He pointed out it also will increase the likelihood of the state meeting the objectives Gov. Jim Pillen and the Department of Corrections have committed to.

Nebraska became the fourth state to join "Reentry 2030," a national initiative of the Council of State Governments focused on strengthening programs and removing obstacles for those reentering society after incarceration.

"The more somebody can have their rights in place for them, the more invested they are in the society," Witmer contended. "The more invested you are in your community and your society, the more likely you are to succeed. And the right to vote is fundamentally part of reintegrating into society. It's your civil voice."

Reentry 2030 aims to have all 50 states commit to improving outcomes for formerly incarcerated people. Nebraska's goals include increasing GED completion and college coursework by those in Nebraska prisons, and reducing recidivism 50% by 2030.

Pillen allowed the measure to become law but stated it contains "potential constitutional issues" which could lead to a legal challenge.

Nebraska's recidivism rate for those who left prison between 2019 and 2022 was nearly 30%.

Witmer noted it is at least partly attributable to the challenges people face upon leaving incarceration.

"You did the time, and then you come out and find out, 'Oh, I can't vote. Oh, housing is almost impossible to get. Oh, I can't work here,'" Witmer outlined. "Suddenly you don't feel like you're a part of any of this."

Across the country, 37 other states restore voting rights to those charged with a felony either immediately after incarceration or after completing parole or probation. Two states and the District of Columbia allow people to vote while incarcerated.

A new website aims to help Kentuckians just out of prison re-enter their communities and find job training, employment and recovery services.

April is Second Chance Month - and according to the Prison Policy Initiative, about 60% of formerly incarcerated individuals are jobless.

Gov. Andy Beshear said the website - secondchance.ky.gov - is meant to cut bureaucracy around job searching, and tie resources together in one spot to make it easier for people to get back on their feet.

"We are not our worst day," said Beshear. "When we look at how many people have a criminal record in Kentucky, this is the right thing to do. But it's also necessary from a workforce standpoint."

In 2021, lawmakers passed legislation that tasked the Kentucky Department of Corrections with issuing certificates of employability to people who successfully complete programs while incarcerated.

It also helps increase access to state-issued IDs for those leaving prison.

The website includes information on resume help, job searches and local reentry services.

Beshear said eventually, the site will contain a comprehensive list of employers - such as Kentucky State Parks, which is a participant in second chance employment.

"If they need to find resources on how to get that next level of education or workforce training," said Beshear, "and then ultimately be able to see a list of employers that are willing to look at them for second chance employment."

Businesses in the Commonwealth can also find information about programs that can aid in hiring and retaining more second-chance employees - including the Fair Chance Academy, Kentucky Transformational Employment program, Prison-to-Work Pipeline, and Jobs on Day One programs.