From Cradle to Jail in America

America is failing its most vulnerable children.

The United States does not provide a level playing field for all children and does not protect all young lives equally, says a recent report by the Children's Defense Fund. Poor children and children of color, in particular, "already are in the pipeline to prison before taking a single step or uttering a word," the report states. Many youth in juvenile detention facilities have never been on the track to college or a successful life. "They were not derailed from the right track; they never got on it," the organization says.