Parents in prison cause problems for Oklahoma children

Then that mother is sent to prison, leaving another child with a parent behind bars.

This bleak cycle likely happens at a higher rate in Oklahoma than any other state, a new report shows.

Oklahoma incarcerates more women per capita than any other state, and their children are five times more likely to end up in prison than their peers, according to the annual Kids Count Factbook from the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy.

Lawmakers are taking notice of the issue as they grapple with an underfunded, overcrowded state prison system.

The report states more than half of the nearly 26,000 people in state prisons are parents whose imprisonment means their children face a higher risk of going to prison themselves than their peers.

Policymakers want to stop that domino effect, particularly when it comes to locking up mothers who committed nonviolent crimes.

"It's very clear to me that in Oklahoma, we can no longer afford to go down the path that we're on related to incarcerating nonviolent female offenders," said House Speaker-designate Kris Steele, R-Shawnee.

Without a mother

For nearly two decades Oklahoma has incarcerated women at a rate higher than any other state. About 190 of every 100,000 adult women in Oklahoma are in state prisons.

"It's like a cloud over the child," said Linda Terrell, executive director for the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy.