A report from the conservative, free-market group Kentucky Forum for Rights, Economics and Education, or KY FREE, finds the state would save $74 million in direct incarceration costs, and $740 million annually through indirect socioeconomic costs, if parents had alternatives to prison time.
Sarah Durand, KY FREE's vice president for government affairs, said the consequences of going through childhood without a parent are lifelong.
"If we can keep families together by getting families the help that they need," she said, "we know that that increases the likelihood of children being successful."
One in 10 Kentucky children has experienced a parent's incarceration, which is considered an Adverse Childhood Experience. Experts have said these children are at increased risk of poverty, behavioral problems and poor academic performance.
Earlier this year, Kentucky lawmakers proposed the Family Preservation and Accountability Act. It aimed to reduce the number of primary caregivers behind bars, but stalled in the Legislature. Durand said it offered pathways for people who were nonviolent primary caregivers to avoid incarceration.
"It would ask the courts to consider an alternative sentencing program instead of incarceration," she said. "Maybe they need educational, vocational training in order to improve their situation in life. Maybe they need therapy. Maybe they need substance-abuse treatment."
Durand added that policymakers concerned about strained state budgets should consider the wide-ranging impact on communities when parents are locked up.
"When you look at the long-term consequences and expenses of not trying to keep families together," she said, "it's pretty eye opening."
KY FREE advocates for pretrial diversion programs, which focus on counseling or community service, mental health and veterans treatment courts, and drug court programs as alternatives to incarceration.