Walking Spanish Down the Hall

This is an interesting story about "mentally ill" foster kids being shackled when brought to court for hearings not related to any crimes. It is difficult to determine quite what is going on, though. The author, for example, claims that in some states:

...children have a right to be free of shackles in court, lacking a specific danger.

...which seems right. But the story also quotes a spokesperson saying:

The fabric restraints are only used when a patient is determined to be a flight risk...

Can one be a flight risk without any specific danger of flight? It does seem strange to shackle kids just to bring them to court to discuss foster care. But it doesn't seem that odd to shackle 'em if there's evidence they may try to take off.