10/29/18 – 5:09 A.M.

Hancock County’s juvenile and probate judge has concerns about the number of babies born in the area with drugs in their system. Judge Kristen Johnson says she’s worried about losing two generations to the heroin epidemic; people currently battling addiction and their children.

Chief Deputy clerk of court Becky VanScoder says the juvenile court handled 89 cases of abuses and neglect through September 30th of this year. Those cases include newborns who tested positive for heroin, cocaine, or other drugs. The court only handled 40 abuse and neglect cases in 2017.

Johnson says it is also possible for a baby to be born addicted, but not result in a court case.

She adds that when kids born with drugs in their system reach kindergarten they start to display problems. It’s not clear whether the problems result because they are born with drugs in their system, or if they are the result of an unstable home life.

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