National Center for Juvenile Justice

When a young pregnant mom informed her prenatal care providers that she had smoked marijuana to relieve stress, nausea and poor appetite, they didn’t seem concerned. But after the birth of her son a few years ago in a Bronx hospital, a test of the baby’s urine came back positive for cannabis, and the hospital quickly called child welfare authorities.

The number of youth arrested in America has been cut in half in the past 10 years, though an alarming racial disproportionality still exists when it comes to arrests for violent crimes, according to a report released by the U.S.

For three straight years now, a federally-commissioned study on the transfer of juveniles into the criminal court system has been delayed. But it looks like we might finally see this thing in 2017.