Families, Housing and Youth

'There were 72.5 million children in the United States in 2022, which was 0.4 million less than in 2021. The total number of children is projected to increase to 78.2 million in 2050. In 2022 (the latest year of data available at the time of publication), there were fewer children in the 0–5 age group (22.4 million) than in the 6–11 age group (24.2 million) or the 12–17 age group (25.8 million).

"Since the mid-1960s, children have decreased as a proportion of the total U.S. population. In 2022, children made up 22% of the population, down from a peak of 36% at the end of the Baby Boom, in 1964. Children’s share of the population is projected to continue its slow decline through 2050, when children are projected to make up 20% of the population.

"Racial and ethnic diversity has grown dramatically in the United States in the last 3 decades. This growth was first evident among children. In 2022, 49% of U.S. children were White, non-Hispanic; 26% were Hispanic; 14% were Black, non-Hispanic; 6% were Asian, non-Hispanic; and 6% were non-Hispanic “All other races.”

"This population is projected to become even more diverse in the decades to come. Whereas the percentages of children in most of the other racial and ethnic origin groups have declined, the percentage of children who are Hispanic has grown substantially, increasing from 9% of the child population in 1980 to 26% in 2022. In 2030, less than half of all children are projected to be White, non-Hispanic. By 2050, it is projected that 39% of all children will be White, non-Hispanic; 31% will be Hispanic; 14% will be Black, non-Hispanic; 7% will be Asian, non-Hispanic; and 9% will be non-Hispanic 'All other races.'"

In 2021, there were 2,000 kids under the age of 18 held in jails, and approximately 85% of them were being held as adults.⁸⁴ While some states refuse to adopt a policy to house juveniles separate from adults, many have acknowledged the immense potential for harm.⁸⁵

• Approximately 292 children were held in adult prisons in 2021, an 85% decline over 10 years (see Table 33).
• More than half of all children in adult prisons were held in just five states: Florida, Connecticut, Ohio, Mississippi, and Arizona.
• Children housed in adult jails/prisons are 36 times more likely to commit suicide than those placed in juvenile facilities. ⁸⁶

However, regardless of their place of containment, they are at increased risk for physical and psychological harm by confining young people, cutting them off from their families, disrupting their education, and exposing them to further trauma and violence. These practices harm their development and have, in most cases, lifelong negative consequences.⁸⁷ For this reason, juvenile courts and facilities are most appropriate and more cost-effective for children and youth facing incarceration, as their exposure to adult facilities increases the risk of suicide, sexual assault, and re-arrest later in life.⁸⁸

Some statutes mandate the sight and sound separation between children and adults in adult correctional facilities to protect children from acts of sexual and physical violence, a policy which subjects thousands of youths to solitary confinement and significant psychological trauma. Incarcerating youth can be counterproductive in that it undermines public safety, damages young people’s physical and mental health, and impedes their educational and career success.⁸⁹

The United States persists in incarcerating children and youth despite overwhelming evidence of its ineffectiveness in steering them away from further system involvement.⁸¹ Although the number of youths arrested and incarcerated has declined significantly between 2000 and 2020, the decline is not spread equitably across all demographics. Children of color are especially vulnerable to overcriminalization and therefore overrepresentation on every front:

• Of the 265,600 children arrested in the United States in 2021, 1 in 3 were Black children, though Black children constitute only 15% of the nation’s youth population.
• Fully two-thirds (67%) of children in the juvenile justice system are children of color (see Table 35). 
• 41% of youth in custody (ex. juvenile justice and detention centers, jails and prisons) are Black. ⁸²
• Black youth are more likely to be in custody than White youth in every state but Hawaii.
• The national youth placement rate of 114 per 100,000 masks a massive racial disparity. The Black youth placement rate of 315 per 100,000 eclipses the White youth placement rate of 72 per 100,000. ⁸³
• Only 7% of child arrests were for violent crimes.

"• Although 62 percent of children arrested in the U.S. were white, children of color were nearly two times more likely to be arrested than white children.⁵ Black children were two and a half times more likely.⁶ 

"• In 2017, the residential placement rate for children of color was more than two times that for white children nationwide and more than four times that for white children in 18 states and the District of Columbia. Black children were committed or detained at nearly five times the rate of white children.⁷ 

"• Two-thirds (67 percent) of children in the juvenile justice system were children of color: 41 percent were Black and 21 percent were Hispanic (see Table 34). 

"• Children of color are also disproportionately transferred to the adult criminal justice system, where they are tried and prosecuted as adults. In 2017, Black youth represented 54 percent of youth prosecuted in adult criminal court but only 15 percent of the total youth population.⁸ Black youth are nine times more likely than white youth to receive an adult prison sentence; American Indian/Alaska Native youth are almost two times more likely and Hispanic youth are 40 percent more likely.⁹"

"Boys, youth with disabilities and LGBTQ youth also come into disproportionate contact with juvenile and adult criminal justice systems.

"• In 2017, the residential placement rate for boys was more than five times that for girls. Eighty-five percent of children in residential placement were male.¹⁰

"• At least 1 in 3 youth in the juvenile justice system has a disability qualifying them for special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)—nearly four times the rate of youth in public schools. Less than half receive special education services while in custody.¹¹

"• The percent of LGBTQ children in the juvenile justice system (20 percent) is more than two times that of LGBTQ youth in the general population (7-9 percent); 85 percent are children of color.¹²"

"• Nearly half of state prisoners (47%) and more than half of federal prisoners (57%) reported having at least one minor child.

"• In state prison, about 58% of females were parents with minor children, compared to 46% of males.

"• Nearly 3 in 5 females (58%) and males (57%) in federal prison were parents with minor children.

"• Nearly 1.5 million persons age 17 or younger had a parent who was in state or federal prison in 2016.

"• Parents in state or federal prison had an average of two minor children each.

"• An estimated 19% of minor children with a parent in state prison and 13% with a parent in federal prison were age 4 or younger."

"• Parents in state prison had 1,252,100 minor children, and parents in federal prison had 221,600 minor children (table 2).

"• In state prison, fathers reported 1,133,800 minor children and mothers reported 118,300.

"• In federal prison, fathers reported 208,200 minor children and mothers reported 13,400.

"• Among state prisoners, an estimated 3 in 5 white (60%) and Hispanic (62%) females and about 1 in 2 black (50%) females were mothers with minor children (table 3).

"• In state prison, 48% of black males, 51% of Hispanic males, and 40% of white males reported having a minor child.

"• Nearly 7 in 10 Hispanic (67%) females in federal prison were mothers with minor children, compared to about 1 in 2 white (49%) and black (54%) females.

"• Among federal prisoners, about 3 in 5 black (64%) and Hispanic (64%) males and 3 in 10 white (34%) males were fathers with minor children.

"• The average age of a minor child among parents in state prison was 9 years old (table 4).

"• Among minor children of parents in state prison, 1% were younger than age 1, about 18% were ages 1 to 4, and 48% were age 10 or older.

"• The average age of a minor child among parents in federal prison was 10 years old.

"• An estimated 13% of minor children of federal prisoners were age 4 or younger, and 20% were ages 15 to 17."

"In the Seattle area, the increase in methamphetamine use has paralleled an increase in methamphetamine-involved deaths, many of which also involved opioids.³⁵ Although we did not find that people who primarily use goofball were more likely than others to experience an opioid overdose or stimulant overdose/overamp, several behaviors associated with overdose were higher in this group including more frequent injection and injecting alone. Moreover, people who primarily use goofball were the most likely to witness opioid and stimulant overdoses, highlighting the critical importance of engaging this group in overdose prevention services. Fortunately, naloxone possession was also highest in this group, suggesting that these efforts have been successful."

"The current research reinforces previous conclusions that SDT [Student Drug Testing] is a relatively ineffective drug-prevention policy (Goldberg et al., 2007; Sznitman, 2013a; Yamaguchi et al., 2003). On the other hand, interventions that improve school climate may have greater efficacy. Indeed, 'whole school' health promotion efforts and interventions that work with students, teachers, and parents to develop positive school staff–student relationships and promote students’ security have been found to reduce substance use (Bond et al., 2004; Fletcher et al., 2008).

"Certainly, schools are important as social and learning environments affecting not only academic achievement but also health behaviors. Young people whose relationships with their fellow students and teachers lack respect are more likely to initiate and escalate use of drugs, as evidenced in this and other studies (Fletcher et al., 2008) and to be subject to other mental health problems (Blum and Libbey, 2004; Catalano et al., 2004; LaRusso et al., 2008). Therefore, the potential consequences of poor school climates for young people’s health are far reaching and deserving of attention."

"The increase in U.S. incarceration rates means that a sizable number of children experience parental incarceration. Between 5 million and 8 million children have had a resident parent (most often a father) incarcerated in jail, state prison, or federal prison, and this number excludes children with parents under other forms of correctional supervision such as probation or parole (Murphey & Cooper, 2015). A growing research literature conceptualizes parental incarceration as an adverse childhood experience (ACE) with considerable deleterious consequences for children's wellbeing (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2015). Children exposed to parental incarceration, compared to their counterparts not exposed to parental incarceration, experience disadvantages across behavioral, educational, and health outcomes (for reviews, see Foster & Hagan, 2015; Johnson & Easterling, 2012; Murray, Farrington, & Sekol, 2012).

"Importantly, given social inequalities in exposure to criminal justice contact, many children of incarcerated parents are a demographically and socioeconomically disadvantaged group even prior to the experience of parental incarceration. For example, parental incarceration is more common among children of disadvantaged race/ethnic groups; about one-fourth (24%) of Black children and one-tenth (11%) of Hispanic children experience parental incarceration by age 17, compared to 4% of White children (Sykes & Pettit, 2014). Parental incarceration is also concentrated among children living in households with incomes below the poverty line, children of unmarried parents, and children residing in disadvantaged neighborhoods (Foster & Hagan, 2015; Wakefield & Wildeman, 2013)."

"RESULTS: Positive, significant associations were found between parental incarceration and 8 of 16 health problems (depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety, cholesterol, asthma, migraines, HIV/AIDS, and fair/poor health) in adjusted logistic regression models. Those who reported paternal incarceration had increased odds of 8 mental and physical health problems, whereas those who reported maternal incarceration had increased odds of depression. For paternal incarceration, with the exception of HIV/AIDS, larger associations were found for mental health (odds ratios range 1.43–1.72) as compared with physical health (odds ratios range 1.26–1.31) problems. The association between paternal incarceration and HIV/AIDs should be interpreted with caution because of the low sample prevalence of HIV/AIDs."

"24 states and the District of Columbia consider substance use during pregnancy to be child abuse under civil child-welfare statutes, and 3 consider it grounds for civil commitment.

"23 states and the District of Columbia require health care professionals to report suspected prenatal drug use, and 7 states require them to test for prenatal drug exposure if they suspect drug use.

"19 states have either created or funded drug treatment programs specifically targeted to pregnant women, and 17 states and the District of Columbia provide pregnant women with priority access to state-funded drug treatment programs.

"10 states prohibit publicly funded drug treatment programs from discriminating against pregnant women."

"Compared to teens who have five to seven family dinners per week, those who have fewer than three family dinners per week are twice as likely to say they expect to try drugs (including marijuana and prescription drugs without a prescription to get high) in the future (17 percent vs. 8 percent)."

"Children exposed to parental incarceration were more likely to have other ACEs than children not exposed to parental incarceration. For example, only 14.3% of children exposed to parental incarceration had no other ACEs, compared to 72.2% of children not exposed to parental incarceration. Further, among children exposed to parental incarceration, about 28.9% experienced one other ACE (compared to 19.4% of children not exposed to parental incarceration), 21.2% experienced two other ACEs (compared to 5.5%), 16.4% experienced three other ACEs (compared to 1.8%), and 19.3% experienced four or more other ACEs (compared to 1.2%).

"Table 2 presents descriptive statistics of ACEs for two groups of children: those who experienced parental incarceration and those who did not experience parental incarceration. Children exposed to parental incarceration had more ACEs than those not exposed to parental incarceration (2.06 compared to 0.41, p < 0.001). Children exposed to parental incarceration were also more likely to report any ACE (85.7% compared to 27.8%, p < 0.001). Children exposed to parental incarceration were nine times more likely to experience household member abuse (31.9% compared to 3.4%, p < 0.001) and violence exposure (20.3% compared to 2.3%, p < 0.001). They were eight times more likely to experience household member substance problems (45.5% compared to 5.8%, p < 0.001); five times more likely to experience parental death (11.8% compared to 2.5%, p < 0.001); and four times more likely to experience household member mental illness (24.1% compared to 6.4%, p < 0.001) and parental divorce or separation (72.7% compared to 20.5%, p < 0.001)."

"Compared to teens who say their parents know a great deal or a fair amount about what’s really going on in their lives, teens who say their parents know very little or nothing at all are (Figure B):
"• One and a half times likelier to have used marijuana (21 percent vs. 13 percent); and
"• One and a half times likelier to have used alcohol (40 percent vs. 24 percent)."

"The prevalence of any PI [Parental Incarceration] was 12.5% with the 95% confidence interval (CI) of 11.3% to 13.8%. The distribution of incarceration status by category was: neither parent (87.5%, 95% CI: 86.2%–88.7%), father only (9.9%, 95% CI: 8.9%–10.9%), mother only (1.7%, 95% CI: 1.4%–2.0%), and both parents (0.9%, 95% CI: 0.7%–1.2%). A significant association was found between race and PI. Black and Hispanic individuals had the highest prevalence of PI, 20.6% and 14.8%, compared with 11.9% for white individuals and 11.6% for those classified as other. Pairwise comparison indicated the black and white prevalence rates were significantly different."

^{Note: Regarding study sample size: "The current study used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), a 4-wave longitudinal study following a nationally representative probability sample of adolescents in grades 7 through 12 in the 1994–1995 school year.46 The first 3 waves of Add Health data were collected from April to December 1995, from April to August 1996, and from August 2001 to April 2002. The fourth wave of data was collected in 2007 and 2008. The full sample for Wave 4 included 15 701 or 80.3% of the eligible participants from Wave 1. The response rates for Waves 1, 2, 3, and 4 were 79.0%, 88.6%, 77.4%, and 80.3%, respectively. The mean ages of participants during the 4 waves of data collection were 15.7 years, 16.2 years, 22.0 years, and 28.8 years, respectively.}

"The current study was based on 14,800 participants who were interviewed during Wave 1 and Wave 4 and have a sampling weight. Of the 15,701 participants who participated in both Wave 1 and Wave 4 interviews, 14,800 participants have a sampling weight at Wave 4 interview that could be used to compute population estimates. For data analysis, data describing participants’ sociodemographic characteristics from Wave 1 of the Add Health study were combined with Wave 4 self-reported health outcomes and PI history."

"• In 2012, past month use of illicit drugs and cigarettes and binge alcohol use were lower among youths aged 12 to 17 who reported that their parents always or sometimes engaged in supportive or monitoring behaviors than among youths whose parents seldom or never engaged in such behaviors. For instance, the rate of past month use of any illicit drug in 2012 was 7.6 percent for youths whose parents always or sometimes helped with homework compared with 18.1 percent among youths who indicated that their parents seldom or never helped. Rates of current cigarette smoking and past month binge alcohol use also were lower among youths whose parents always or sometimes helped with homework (5.1 and 5.9 percent, respectively) than among youths whose parents seldom or never helped (12.8 and 13.4 percent)."

"An estimated 809,800 prisoners of the 1,518,535 held in the nation's prisons at midyear 2007 were parents of minor children, or children under age 18. Parents held in the nation's prisons -- 52% of state inmates and 63% of federal inmates -- reported having an estimated 1,706,600 minor children, accounting for 2.3% of the U.S. resident population under age 18."

"Among white children in 1980, only 0.4 of 1 percent had an incarcerated parent; by 2008 this figure had increased to 1.75 percent. Rates of parental incarceration are roughly double among Latino children, with 3.5 percent of children having a parent locked up by 2008. Among African American children, 1.2 million, or about 11 percent, had a parent incarcerated by 2008."

"The growth of incarceration in America has intergenerational impacts that policy makers will have to confront. According to this analysis, more than 1.2 million inmates — over half of the 2.3 million people behind bars — are parents of children under age 18. This includes more than 120,000 mothers and more than 1.1 million fathers. The racial concentration that characterizes incarceration rates also extends to incarcerated parents. Nearly half a million black fathers, for example, are behind bars, a number that represents 40 percent of all incarcerated parents.

"The most alarming news lurking within these figures is that there are now 2.7 million minor children (under age 18) with a parent behind bars. (See Figure 9.) Put more starkly, 1 in every 28 children in the United States — more than 3.6 percent — now has a parent in jail or prison. Just 25 years ago, the figure was only 1 in 125.

"For black children, incarceration is an especially common family circumstance. More than 1 in 9 black children has a parent in prison or jail, a rate that has more than quadrupled in the past 25 years. (See Figure 10.)

"Because far more men than women are behind bars, most children with an incarcerated parent are missing their father.37 For example, more than 10 percent of African American children have an incarcerated father, and 1 percent have an incarcerated mother."

"Paternal incarceration, however, was found associated with a greater number of health outcomes than maternal incarceration. Also, paternal incarceration was found to be associated with both physical and mental health problems, whereas maternal incarceration was found associated only with poor mental health.
"For paternal incarceration, with the exception of HIV/AIDS, larger associations were found for mental health as compared with physical health outcomes. Caution should be taken in understanding the significance of the finding related to HIV/AIDS, given its low overall sample prevalence and wide CI. If this is a true association, it may be related to paternal HIV/AIDS status and other risk factors related to father absence. Given the high correlation between HIV/AIDS and incarceration, increased odds of HIV/AIDS in offspring could come from perinatal transmission. However, social factors may also explain this relationship."

"As shown in Table 2, bivariate analyses indicate PI [Parental Incarceration] was significantly associated with 8 of the 16 health conditions (heart disease, asthma, migraines, depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD], HIV/AIDS, and fair/poor health). With the exception of heart disease and HIV/AIDS, individuals who reported neither parent had an incarceration history had the lowest prevalence rates of these 8 health conditions. Individuals who reported father incarceration only had the highest prevalence rates of 3 of the 8 health conditions (heart disease, HIV/AIDS, and fair/poor health); whereas individuals who reported mother incarceration only were highest on 2 conditions (depression and anxiety) and individuals who reported incarceration of both parents were highest on 3 conditions (asthma, migraine, and PTSD)."

"Since the drug conviction question was first added to the financial aid form during the 2000-2001 school year, 189,065 people have had their applications rejected because of their answers to it. The government has periodically released data on the number of students affected nationally. DoE released the state-by-state data last week, in response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by the nonprofit organization Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) and a subsequent lawsuit brought by the student group against the government."

"Mothers in state prison (58%) were more likely than fathers (49%) to report having a family member who had also been incarcerated (table 11). Parents in state prison most commonly reported a brother (34%), followed by a father (19%). Among mothers in state prison, 13% reported a sister and 8% reported a spouse. Six percent of fathers reported having a sister who had also been incarcerated; 2%, a spouse.

"While growing up, 40% of parents in state prison reported living in a household that received public assistance, 14% reported living in a foster home, agency, or institution at some time during their youth, and 43% reported living with both parents most of the time (appendix table 11). Mothers (17%) held in state prison were more likely than fathers (14%) to report living in a foster home, agency, or institution at some time during their youth. Parents in federal prison reported lower percentages of growing up in a household that received public assistance (31%) or living in a foster home, agency, or institution (7%). These characteristics varied little by gender for parents held in federal prison.

"More than a third (34%) of parents in state prison reported that during their youth, their parents or guardians had abused alcohol or drugs. Mothers in state prison (43%) were more likely than fathers (33%) to have had this experience. Fewer parents (27%) in federal prison reported having a parent or a guardian who had abused alcohol or drugs."

"Thirty-seven percent of parents held in state prison reported living with at least one of their children in the month before arrest, 44% reported just prior to incarceration, and 48% reported at either time (table 7). Mothers were more likely than fathers to report living with at least one child. More than half of mothers held in state prison reported living with at least one of their children in the month before arrest, compared to 36% of fathers. More than 6 in 10 mothers reported living with their children just prior to incarceration or at either time, compared to less than half of fathers.
"Parents held in federal prison were more likely than those held in state prison to report living with a child in the month before arrest, just prior to incarceration, or at either time (appendix table 7). Mothers in federal prison were more likely than fathers to report living with a child."

"Among male state prisoners, violent (47%) and property (48%) offenders were less likely to report having children than public-order (60%) and drug (59%) offenders (table 6). For women held in state prison, violent (57%) offenders were less likely than drug (63%), property (65%), and public-order (65%) offenders to be a mother.

"The prevalence of being a parent differed by gender and offense for inmates held in state and federal prisons. For state inmates, female (65%) property offenders were more likely to be a parent than male (48%) property offenders. In federal prison, male (69%) drug offenders were more likely than female (55%) drug offenders to report having children.

"Among men held in federal prison, drug offenders (69%) were more likely than property (54%) and violent (50%) offenders to report having children (appendix table 5). Public-order offenders (62%) were also more likely than violent offenders to report having children. For women in federal prison, the likelihood of being a mother did not differ by offense."

Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) in the US operate under a "One Strike" policy regarding drug use that is so over-reaching that even drug use by a guest can be grounds for eviction. According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, "The 1998 amendments of the 1996 Extension Act provisions on ineligibility of illegal drug users and alcohol abusers confirm that a PHA or owner may deny admission or terminate assistance for the whole household that includes a person involved in the proscribed activity. With respect to a PHA or owner's discretion to consider rehabilitation for a household member with the offending substance abuse problem, the rule would permit a PHA or owner to hold the whole household responsible for that member's successful rehabilitation as a condition for continued occupancy and avoidance of eviction."

"In determining eligibility for Section 8 and other federally assisted housing, the Housing Opportunity Program Extension Act of 1996⁴⁰ and the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998⁴¹ require local housing authorities to permanently bar individuals convicted of certain sex offenses and methamphetamine production on public housing premises.⁴² The federal laws also give local public housing agencies discretion to deny eligibility to virtually anyone with a criminal background, including: 1) people who have been evicted from public, federally assisted, or Section 8 housing because of drug-related criminal activity for three years; and 2) anyone who has engaged in any drug-related criminal activity, any violent criminal activity, and other criminal activity that would adversely affect the health, safety, or right to peaceful enjoyment of the premises.⁴³ Local housing agencies have the authority to: 1) identify which crimes make an applicant ineligible for public housing; 2) decide whether they will consider arrests not leading to conviction in eviction proceedings; 3) decide how long to deny housing assistance to people with criminal records; and 4) determine what, if anything, qualifies as rehabilitation for purposes of lifting the bars to public housing. Thus, local authorities have wide discretion in determining how restrictive, or inclusive, their policies regarding admission of people with criminal records will be."

"Few proposals [to drug test applicants and recipients of TANF - Temporary Assistance for Needy Families] suggest child well-being improvements as a result of drug testing, though provisions for protective payees for children’s benefits are intended to ensure funds are spent on children’s needs. Proposals that sanction families by definition reduce the income available to the family and may therefore decrease child well?being. Sanctions and benefit decreases have been shown to increase the risk that children will be hospitalized and face food insecurity.⁴² An Idaho analysis also suggests that children may be harmed unintentionally by drug testing programs because parents may refuse to apply for benefits knowing they will face drug testing or may refuse to complete treatment.⁴³ On the other hand, deterrent effects of drug testing may lead welfare applicants to reduce drug use, with potential positive effects for children."

"The Higher Education Act of 1965,¹ as amended, provides for the suspension of certain federal higher education benefits to students who have been convicted for the possession or sale of a controlled substance under federal or state law.² The controlled substance offense may be either a felony or a misdemeanor. Federal higher education benefits that are denied to such individuals include student loans, Pell Grants, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, and the Federal Work-Study program.³
"The Higher Education Act [HEA] provision outlines different periods for which such drug offenders are ineligible to receive certain federal higher education benefits, depending upon the type and number of controlled substance convictions. The period of ineligibility begins on the date of conviction and ends after a specified interval."

"In early 2006, SSDP and our allies forced Congress to scale back the law, so that only people who are convicted while in college and receiving financial aid will have their eligibility taken away. Now, people who got convicted before they decided to go to college will be able to move on with their lives and earn an education.
"During the Higher Education Act Reauthorization process of 2008, Congress further scaled back the penalty, making it easier for students with drug convictions to regain eligibility for financial aid. Previously, students had to complete a government-approved treatment program, which are often more expensive than tuition at state universities or community colleges. Now, students have to pass two unannounced drug tests administered by a government-approved treatment program, without completing the program itself.
"CURRENT STATUS
"Unfortunately, college students who get convicted will still lose their aid, and many of them will have to drop out. Statistics and common sense tell us that it simply doesn’t make sense to pull students out of school if we want to reduce drug abuse and encourage young people to become successful citizens.
"In July 2009, Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) introduced the Removing Impediments to Students’ Education (RISE) Act into the 111th Congress. The bill, which has substantial support, would simply repeal the aid elimination penalty.
"In September 2009, The House passed the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, which included language that would repeal the Aid Elimination Penalty for students convicted of drug possession offenses. If this becomes law, only students convicted of drug distribution offenses will lose their aid eligibility. Rep. Souder (R-IN) attempted to introduce an amendment that would roll back this reform. Ultimately, in the face of overwhelming opposition to his amendment, he withdrew it."

"The risk factors were stronger predictors of substance use outcomes compared to the protective factors, regardless of grade level or substance use type. In particular, the individual and peer risk factors were strongly related to lifetime and recent use of cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana. Among the protective factors, the strongest associations with substance use were found in the community domain. Several age-related differences in the associations were also found, suggesting that family and community factors were more salient among younger grades whereas peer and school factors were stronger among older adolescents."

"Compared to teens in families with strong Family Ties, teens in families with weak Family Ties are:
"• Four times likelier to have tried tobacco;
"• Four times likelier to have tried marijuana; and
"• Almost three times likelier to have tried alcohol."

"Despite our findings that 30% of the children in our study tested positive for drugs of abuse in their hair, we found that the vast majority were in good health at the time of examination, which was within 1 to 2 weeks from their removal from their homes [in which marijuana was grown]. The rates of the mostly minor health issues observed were well within the range expected in Canada and other developed countries."

"Among our cohort of children presented here [in this study], however, the majority of the parents were not known to be using illicit substances themselves and, on the basis of our clinical assessments, appear to be able to parent their children adequately. It is not likely that the production of drugs, particularly marijuana, hinders effective parenting much more than actual drug use, yet the differences in the ways these cases are handled suggest that police and child protection agencies perceive the former to be of greater concern with respect to child safety than the latter."

"In terms of alcohol, some (19, 20) but not other (21) studies have linked parental alcohol and substance use to adolescent initiation of alcohol use. Several studies (14, 22) have identified disruption of family structure and social networks that use alcohol as a risk factor for initiation of alcohol use. Although there are few comparisons of the role of familial and social network determinants in the initiation of licit drug use, a cross-sectional study of 2,017 high school students found that social network characteristics were more important than familial characteristics in explaining cigarette and alcohol use (16).
"Thus, characteristics of one’s family during childhood and adolescence (including poor relationships between parents and children, parental educational attainment, and possibly parental substance use) appear to be the primary social factors associated with smoking and alcohol initiation. However, characteristics of families may be less important in specific groups where other social circumstances, including social network use of substances or recent migration, may be more important."

"Other studies that have assessed initiation of multiple substances confirm the observation that adverse childhood family conditions are associated with a greater likelihood of initiation of cigarette use (13, 14). Conversely, positive parental-adolescent relationships have been associated with a lower risk of cigarette use (15), although this finding is not universal across studies (16). Smoking behavior of social network members and protobacco media influences also have been shown to be important determinants of age at smoking initiation (17)."