A new report states Kentucky has the highest percentage of children in the nation who have had a parent in jail.
The Annie E. Casey Foundation reports that 13 percent of Kentucky children or 135,000 in 2011-12 had a parent incarcerated at some point in their lives. That percentage is nearly double the national average of 7 percent. Tennessee reports 10 percent or 144,000 and Illinois has six percent or 186,000 children that have had a parent in jail. Kentucky Youth Advocates Executive Director Terry Brooks says parental incarceration takes a devastating toll on families and society at large by creating an "unstable environment" for children. The report uses data from the 2011-12 National Survey of Children's Health, the latest available.
