Prison for Children (1987)

John Parsons is a recently orphaned teenager living on the ranch where he was raised in rural New Mexico. When his older brother and legal guardian Chris dies in a tragic roundup accident, John is sentenced to a residential juvenile facility to live until his 18th birthday. Despite the cruelties of a corrupt system and prison life, two idealistic counselors fight for change, even to the point of putting their careers at risk, before it's too late.