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.

A large percentage of Missourians who could to have their criminal records "expunged" have not done so, despite the effects expungement -- referred to as "clean slate" -- can have on earnings and opportunities.

Missouri House Bill 352 would make the expungement process automatic for eligible individuals.

Lindsey Baker, research director for the Missouri Budget Project, stressed expungement already exists, and making it automatic would not change the type of qualified offenses.

"Folks who are eligible, for the most part, are going to be folks with lower-level, nonviolent offenses," Baker pointed out. "Violent crimes, higher level offenses, are not eligible for expungement."

Baker explained once records are expunged, they do not appear on public records but are still available to law enforcement.

Research shows the average annual wage increase for those who have their record expunged is more than $4,000. A Missouri Budget Project report estimates this could lead to an additional $2.9 billion in economic activity for the state.

Opponents believe potential employers and others have the right to know a person's criminal history, and some fear it increases the chance a person will commit another crime. Currently, 10 states have clean-slate laws in place, including Oklahoma, and others have legislation pending.

Baker noted many individuals whose records are not expunged struggle to get hired at all, leading to high rates of unemployment.

"For those who are able to secure employment, often they're prevented from reaching their full earning potential because they may only be able to get hired in those fields with lower wages and lower benefits," Baker emphasized.

The Missouri Budget Project's report showed the percentage Missourians' wages would increase after expungement would vary, with women experiencing the highest increase of roughly 30%, compared with 17% for men. For Black Missourians, the increase would be an estimated 25%, compared with 18% for white Missourians.

Baker added the 2022 changes in the state's marijuana laws contribute to it being the perfect time for enacting Clean Slate.

"What really makes sense about this is that we already are putting together an automatic expungement system for marijuana here in Missouri," Baker remarked. "The courts are already going to have to do this."

In 2021, more than 500,000 Missourians were eligible to have their records expunged, but fewer than 1% of them did so. House Bill 352 was introduced by Rep. Phil Christofanelli, R-St. Peters.

California will soon become the first state in the nation to offer health insurance to income-eligible individuals who are incarcerated - starting 90 days prior to their release. The feds just agreed to match funds spent on Medi-Cal or CHIP for people leaving jail, prison or juvenile correctional facilities.

Hagar Dickman, senior attorney at the nonprofit Justice in Aging, said it is in everyone's interest to set justice-involved people up for success.

"The idea is to ensure that people are connected with services prior to their release, and individuals with mental-health needs and substance-abuse disorder also can have their medication given to them prior to the release," Dickman said.

Previously the feds would only reimburse the state's Medi-Cal expenses for people upon their release. In addition, the state passed a law last fall put people's Medi-Cal into suspension instead of terminating it while incarcerated. Now their status will be reactivated without them having to reapply.

This is not just a health initiative, it's an equity initiative - since a disproportionate number of people of color face incarceration, Dickman said. And it puts people on stronger footing as they re-enter society.

"This is really an important way to combat the significant effects of mental illness, mental health issues, and substance abuse in the jails particularly in light of both high rates of homelessness and also suicide and overdose as people are released," she said.

The move is part of the larger project called Cal AIM
which will modernize Medi-Cal - and allow it to cover things like housing supports, since secure housing is considered a social determinant of health.

The Louisville Metro Police Department engaged in patterns of conduct which violated people's civil rights, said a U.S. Department of Justice report released Wednesday.

The result of a nearly two-year long investigation, the document outlines repeated excessive use of force and unlawful search warrants.

Corey Shapiro, legal director for the ACLU of Kentucky, said for years officers have targeted Black people for minor offenses such as wide turns and broken taillights, while serious crimes such as sexual assault and homicide went unsolved. He pointed out officers videotaped themselves throwing drinks at pedestrians from their cars, insulted people with disabilities, and called Black people "monkeys," "animal" and "boy."

"The style of policing that LMPD engaged in was very aggressive, very targeted against Black people, and also against vulnerable people like those with disabilities," Shapiro stated.

The report also highlighted the city's flawed accountability system for addressing misconduct by its officers. Since the 2020 shooting death of Breonna Taylor by police, the city has implemented some reforms, including banning no-knock search warrants.

Shapiro note it is likely the city will enter into a consent decree with the Justice Department, requiring the police department to make legally enforceable changes. He believes city officials also need to reckon with the affected communities and involve them directly in the solution-building process.

"The Black community, which has been harmed and essentially terrorized for years, the city needs to look to them and find out what are the solutions that they want," Shapiro urged.

The Louisville Metro Police Department report is one of eight investigations into law enforcement agencies opened by the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, including the Minneapolis Police Department, the Phoenix Police Department, and the Louisiana State Police.


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