Bronx

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.

Forty-two out of 59 New York neighborhoods have seen risks to children’s well-being increase overall since the previous year, according to a new report released by the Citizens’ Committee for Children (CCC), a nonprofit advocacy group.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s point person overseeing the rollout of the juvenile justice reform known as “Raise the Age” will leave his post this month to join the staff of a major foundation.

In an unmarked building at a busy Bronx intersection, New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) is trying something new. On the fourth floor, the child welfare agency has decorated a sunny room with fake pink flowers and lined the walls with metal shelves of canned and boxed food.