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Tennessee among states with most incarcerated parents [Tennessean.com]

 

One in 10 children in Tennessee currently have or have had a parent in prison, according to a new Kids Count report.

Tennessee is tied with five other states in third place for the highest prevalence of children with incarcerated parents, with Kentucky in first and Indiana in second.

"It really cuts across all geographic, all socioeconomic classes," said Linda O'Neal, executive director of the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth. "It’s a reality for everyone."

O'Neal correlates the high number to parents who "wind up in jail" due to mental illness or substance abuse.

Having a parent in jail is one of the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) that affects a child's development, creating lifelong impacts on mental and physical health. It also is often a cycle — children with incarcerated parents are more likely to become incarcerated themselves.



[For more of this story, written by Jen Todd, go to http://www.tennessean.com/stor...ed-parents/83339280/]

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