Rash by Pete Hautman

The USSA, the United Safer States of America, is a nation obsessed with safety: Safety helmets for walkers! But it needs an underclass: Someone has to do the dirty work. Harsh laws that keep some safe also ensure that a sizeable portion of the population, like many of Bo's family, will end up in prison factories. Bo ends up in one with a seriously psycho warden. (Reminiscent of Sachar's Holes)