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Los Angeles County has agreed to a historic $4 billion settlement for victims of sexual abuse that occurred within its juvenile facilities, marking the largest payout of its kind in the United States. This decision, made unanimously by the Board of Supervisors, represents a significant step towards addressing long-standing grievances.
The victims, many of whom were minors in county-operated detention centers and foster homes since 1959, will see compensation for the suffering they endured. Approximately 7,000 claims have been submitted, with the majority originating from incidents reported between the 1980s and 2000s. A notable number of these claims are linked to the now-defunct MacLaren Children’s Center in El Monte, where allegations surfaced about staff drugging and sexually abusing children for years.
Despite facing budget constraints, exacerbated by the January wildfires attributed partly to mismanagement, the county plans to utilize its rainy day fund and issue 25-year bonds to fund this extensive settlement, which is projected to be disbursed over the next five years, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.
Board of Supervisors chair Kathryn Barger expressed her deep dismay, stating, “I never would have imagined persons hired to be the safety net and care for the most vulnerable could or would abuse their position and power in this way. It angers and sickens me.”
This settlement, reached on April 4, reflects the findings that county officials neglected to adequately screen for potential predators in their facilities and failed to effectively discipline known abusers. It eclipses the previous record set by the Boy Scouts of America’s $2.46 billion settlement, underscoring the severity of the issue at hand.
L.A. County chief executive Fesia Davenport noted that the settlement will divert hundreds of millions of dollars from potential investments in community resources such as parks, libraries, and public social services, affecting budgetary allocations until 2050.
In addition to this monumental settlement, the county is currently grappling with a two-day strike involving over 50,000 workers, who are expressing their dissatisfaction with ongoing contract negotiations. Davenport acknowledged that the settlement, compounded by an estimated $2 billion in wildfire-related costs and potential federal funding cuts, will complicate these discussions.
Source
www.thewrap.com