For Kam and Kaylen, pretrial incarceration on a money bond was devastating, and its lasting impact continues to this day. Kam was arrested in the fall of 2018 in DuPage County and ordered to pay a $150,000 D bond. The $15,000 he needed to secure his freedom was well beyond what his partner and the mother of his child, Kaylen, could afford to pay. Even when Kam’s bond was reduced to $75,000 D, Kaylen still couldn’t afford to pay the 10% amount of $7,500. This meant that Kam has now spent nearly six months in jail pretrial, and the consequences for Kaylen and the kids they are raising (Kam’s daughter and Kaylen’s son from a previous relationship) have been just as challenging.

Kam and Kaylen’s daughter is 18 months old and has health conditions that have resulted in hospitalization several times. With Kam in jail, Kaylen has been responsible for taking their daughter to all of her appointments and hospital stays. As a result, she ended up losing her job because she could not work enough hours. Kaylen now has to drive for a rideshare company to pay her daughter’s medical bills and put food on the table. Because Kam is not around to pick the kids up from daycare and school, Kaylen’s childcare responsibilities restrict the kinds of part-time work she can obtain. Even everyday household activities, such as getting the kids ready in the morning or putting them to bed have become significantly more burdensome because Kaylen is the only parent present. Kam and Kaylen’s daughter currently sees her father only once a week through a plate glass window at the jail. Kaylen’s son, who Kam has helped raise as his own, is struggling without a father-figure in his life.

If Kam or Kaylen were wealthier, Kam would be home right now, helping to take care of the people he cares about most while his case proceeds.