March is Women’s History Month. One way to celebrate is to recognize the benefit women in diversion programs can bring to the workplace. As of 2020, Oklahoma ranked second in the nation for the number of women incarcerated, according to The Sentencing Project, a nonprofit research organization dedicated to criminal justice reform. Thanks to the creation and utilization of diversion programs across the state along with commutation efforts and the passing of legislation that reduces long prison sentences for minor, nonviolent drug offenses, considerable progress has occurred in recent years.
However, more can be done statewide to increase fair-chance hiring, including for the hundreds of women in diversion or alternative sentencing programs. With at least 3% of Oklahoma’s children having at least one parent in prison, and children with at least one incarcerated parent being six times more likely to become incarcerated themselves, it’s easy to see that the incarceration of women is both cyclical and possibly, intergenerational. That is why incarceration is included as 1 of 10 ACEs (adverse childhood experiences) that make adult success exponentially more challenging. We know Oklahoma has higher ACE scores than other states, which negatively affects Oklahoma’s educational outcomes and health. Additionally, Oklahoma’s high ACE scores stifle progress in the labor market and ultimately the economy, public safety and community flourishing.
With 150 of every 100,000 women currently incarcerated across the state of Oklahoma, one can only imagine how our state economy would fare if these women were included in the workforce. Yet, these are not just women; the vast majority of them are mothers. In fact, according to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, more than two-thirds of incarcerated women are mothers. Incarcerated mothers are more than three times more likely than fathers to have been the only parent in the household at the time they were incarcerated, which destabilizes the home. A child experiencing this type of destabilization is likely to experience other trauma that will result in a higher ACE score in their future.
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