8 O’Clock Buzz host Bob Jacobson interviews studio guests Ken Taylor, Executive Director of Wisconsin Council on Children and Families and Linda Ketcham, Executive Director of Madison Area Urban Ministry (MUM) regarding a new Kids Count report on the impact on children of having incarcerated parents and about work MUM is doing to address the problem in our community.
According to the new KIDS COUNT policy report, A Shared Sentence: The Devastating Toll of Parental Incarceration on Kids, Families and Communities, 88,000 children living in Wisconsin have experienced the separation of a parent who served time in jail or prison. Nationally, more than 5 million children have a parent that has been incarcerated. The effects of incarceration, the report says, can have as much impact on children’s well-being as abuse or domestic violence.