D.C. Code § 16-2337

In addition to the powers and duties prescribed in section 11-1722 , the Director of Social Services shall have power to take into custody and place in detention or shelter care, in accordance with this subchapter, children who are under his supervision as delinquent or in need of supervision, children on probation and under the Director’s supervision, when the Director has reasonable cause to believe they have violated one or more conditions of their probation, or children who have run away from agencies or institutions to which they were committed under this subchapter.