Short Term 12 je varna hiša za otroke in mladoletnike iz problematičnih družin. Zgodbo spremljamo skozi oči mlade svetovalke Grace, ki z mešanico nepopustljivosti, strasti in sočutja skrbi za manjšo skupino najstnikov. Vsi ti otroci imajo svoje zgodbe in Grace se skupaj s kolegi poskuša približati tem poškodovanim mladim dušam in jim stati ob strani v njihovi kritični fazi odraščanja. Ko v dom pride Jayden, ki je v kartotekah socialnih delavcev označena za posebej problematično najstnico, Grace v njej prepozna deklico z resnimi problemi, zato ji nameni posebno pozornost.
At a foster-care facility for at-risk teenagers, Grace is a young counselor trying to do her best for kids who often have been pulled from the worst kinds of home situations. Even then, life is not easy as Grace and her colleagues care for kids who are too often profoundly scarred, even as they try to have lives of their own. Now, things are coming to a head as Grace readies for marriage even as some her charges are coming to major turning points in their lives. To cope, Grace will have to make difficult perceptions and decisions that could put her career, and more importantly her charges, at dire risk.