Bittersweet Justice: Los Angeles County UPDATED

Occasionally there is justice for those negatively affected by the child welfare and adoption systems. Unfortunately, it is usually bittersweet and much too late. This will serve as REFORM Talk’s justice files.

“The Payout Follows a $4 Billion Settlement Earlier This Year and Covers Thousands of Claims Alleging Decades of Abuse in County-Run Youth Facilities.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has unanimously approved an $828 million settlement to compensate victims of childhood sexual abuse in the county’s juvenile and foster care facilities, just six months after authorizing a separate $4 billion settlement over similar claims.

The settlements address allegations that county staff sexually abused thousands of children in their care, with incidents dating back as far as 1959. More than 11,000 victims were identified across both settlements, most involving abuse that occurred during the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s.

The lawsuits were made possible by Assembly Bill 218, which extended the window for survivors of childhood sexual abuse to file civil claims, even after the statute of limitations had expired.

County Chief Executive Officer Fesia Davenport previously described the $4 billion payout as one of the “mounting financial challenges” straining the county’s budget. The settlement contributed to $88.9 million in spending cuts enacted earlier this year.

Meanwhile, the Board has directed county attorneys to investigate claims of potential fraud related to the earlier $4 billion settlement, after reports surfaced that some individuals may have been paid to file false lawsuits as part of the mass litigation.”

LA County Approves $828 Million Settlement for Juvenile and Foster Care Sex Abuse Victims
[West Side Today 10/31/25]

 

 

 

Update:“Victims of childhood sexual abuse at MacLaren Hall in Los Angeles County may now be eligible to file civil lawsuits and pursue significant financial compensation. MacLaren Hall, once a county-run facility for children in crisis, has become the focus of widespread legal action after hundreds of former residents came forward with disturbing accounts of sexual abuse, neglect, and systemic mistreatment.

In response to over 6,000 claims of abuse across multiple juvenile institutions, Los Angeles County recently approved a landmark $4 billion sex abuse settlement, one of the largest payouts for institutional abuse in U.S. history. A large number of those claims stem from abuse at MacLaren Hall[aka MacLaren Children’s Center], which operated for decades with little oversight and became a symbol of institutional failure because of the horrors that occurred there.”

MacLaren Hall Sex Abuse Lawsuits
[Lawsuit Information Center 8/14/25 by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.]

“The County of Los Angeles (“The County”) has been named in a civil action today alleging that at least one dozen individuals were sexually assaulted as children while housed at MacLaren Children’s Center (“MacLaren Hall”), an emergency shelter placement facility that it operated for more than four decades in the City of El Monte. ”

“”MacLaren Hall was run like a child prison, with sky-high walls, barbed wire fences, floodlights, and massive gates and doors guarded by probation officers,” said Adam P. Slater, Founding Partner of Slater Slater Schulman LLP. “It was a literal house of horrors for the children who were brought there, often taken from an abusive home only to be re-abused at MacLaren. The County of Los Angeles had one responsibility – to protect and care for vulnerable children, but these children were sexually abused by the very people who were supposed to protect them and ignored by other adults when they reported the abuse. Hundreds of children who lived at MacLaren are still suffering from the unimaginable trauma they experienced within its halls.”

“The County of Los Angeles systematically failed to protect the welfare of the children in its care at MacLaren Hall for four decades,” said James W. Lewis of Slater Slater Schulman. “It was overcrowded, dirty, and inhumane. Through a total lack of supervision, and by failing to respond to reports of abuse, the County stood by as hundreds – if not thousands – of society’s most vulnerable children entrusted to its care became victims of sexual assault. They had a responsibility to adequately and properly investigate, hire, train and supervise the staff at MacLaren Hall, and yet they only started performing background checks two years before it closed, resulting in an astounding 17 people being deemed unfit to work with children. It’s unconscionable.”

‘House of Horrors’: Twelve Former Residents of MacLaren Hall Sue Los Angeles County for Failing to Protect Them From Sexual Predators at Children’s Emergency Shelter
[PR Newswire May 17, 2022]

Update 2:“Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman is seeking to temporarily halt payments from the county’s more than $4 billion child sex abuse settlement, arguing that a large number of claims may be fraudulent while his office continues an ongoing criminal investigation.

Hochman filed an application in Los Angeles County Superior Court asking a judge to halt settlement payouts until Dec. 31, 2026, while investigators examine what he described as “significant allegations of fraud” tied to the historic agreement. A hearing on the request is scheduled for Monday in downtown Los Angeles.

The settlement, approved by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in 2025, resolved more than 11,000 claims of sexual abuse allegedly suffered by people who were housed in county juvenile halls, foster homes and children’s shelters.

It is considered the largest child sex abuse settlement in U.S. history.

In a statement released Thursday, Hochman said his office believes fraudulent claims could account for as much as 81% of those seeking compensation from the settlement fund. He argued that pausing payments would help protect legitimate victims and preserve the integrity of the process.

“This intervention is critical to safeguarding the rights of the legitimate child abuse survivors,” Hochman said. “It will also help ensure that individuals who have allegedly filed fraudulent claims are held accountable for exploiting the horrific abuse and trauma experienced by genuine survivors.”

According to a report by the Los Angeles Times, Hochman’s office opened its inquiry months after the settlement was announced, following allegations that some plaintiffs fabricated abuse claims or were never in county custody. The Times also reported finding several individuals who said they were paid small amounts of money by recruiters to file lawsuits against the county, with some admitting they made up their allegations.

The district attorney’s request would apply only to claims stemming from county juvenile halls, which represent the majority of the lawsuits, and would not affect cases involving foster care facilities or the now-shuttered MacLaren Children’s Center, according to the Times.

The move has drawn criticism from some plaintiffs and their attorneys, who contend that abuse survivors have already undergone extensive vetting and have faced repeated delays in receiving compensation. Some claimants have reportedly taken out loans against their anticipated settlements while awaiting payment.

Attorney Patrick McNicholas, who represents roughly 1,000 claimants, told the Times that many survivors are frustrated by the latest attempt to delay payouts. Others questioned how the district attorney’s office arrived at its estimate that more than 80% of claims could be fraudulent.

Hochman said identifying and removing ineligible claimants would ultimately ensure that legitimate survivors receive a larger share of the settlement funds.

A judge is expected to hear arguments on the proposed payment freeze on June 15.”

L.A. County D.A. seeks halt to $4 billion sex abuse settlement payouts amid fraud probe

[KTLA 6/12/26 bye Lilly Dallow]