In 1980, members of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judgeslobbied Congress to reinstate their formal power to send kids to detention for status offenses. Congress passed an amendment that said that if a kid disobeyed the judge's original requests, or "valid court orders," the judge could now put that kid in detention. Some states have since dropped the use of this loophole, but Kara's home state of Virginia is one of 26 states that still use it, along with the District of Columbia.
Richard Ross' photos first appeared in his 2015 book, Girls in Justice. For more, visitjuveniles-in-justice.com.
Hannah Levintova is a reporter in Mother Jones' DC bureau. You can email her at hlevintova[at]motherjones[dot]com. For more of her stories, click here.