Chris (Linda Blair) is put into juvenile detention at 14 years old because she keeps running away from home, so her parents sign for her to be a ward of the state. The movie follows the humiliations, ignored pleas — including a horrifying rape —, and in-and-out pattern that turns Chris from a misunderstood child to just another kid in the system
From a filmmaking standpoint, very little makes this stand out. Linda Blair does a good job with the material, and I do think it tries to replicate lived experiences from these detention centers, but “women in prison” movies are far too numerous for this one to shine that much. I believe Linda Blair was in at least two more after this, albeit as a consenting adult
Incidentally, this is the first “suggested by” credit that I’ve seen