“The Shadow Penal System for Struggling Kids”

Photo by Maggie Steber / VII for The New Yorker. Portrait of Emma Burris. Before Emma arrived, fifteen and pregnant, her parents signed a contract giving Teen Challenge unconditional control of her.

Maggie Steber’s photography is included in The New Yorker’s story about the Christian organization Teen Challenge. The organization, made up of more than a thousand centers, claims to reform troubled teens. But is its discipline more like abuse?