How do children cope with having a parent behind bars? A new study from the Annie E. Casey Foundation finds 10 percent of Michigan children have an incarcerated parent. We talk about the impact on families -and potential solutions- with Alicia Guevara Warren of the Michigan League for Public Policy.
A new study out this week finds Michigan has one of the highest parental incarceration rates in the country.
The report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation reveals fully 10 percent of all Michigan children have at least one parent behind bars. That’s the third highest rate in the nation.
The report revealed that from 2011 to 2012, just over 5-million children in the U.S. had a parent in prison. Officials say this is a conservative estimate, because it does not account for children whose fathers were sentenced to prison before they were born.
The emotional and economic impacts to families and children are huge. We talk about the issue with Alicia Guevara Warren, the Kids Count project director for the Michigan League for Public Policy.