The state should investigate the Los Angeles County sexual assault settlement

By Curtis Chambers and Regino Torres Jr., especially for CalMatters

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Last year, Los Angeles County agreed to pay a record $4 billion to settle thousands of claimsof sexual abuse in county juvenile facilities and foster homes. Nine people recently told the Los Angeles Times they were paid to judgeand a man said a false malpractice claimwas filed without his consent. There are many points of view to the argument. This is from the unions representing the workers. One from a children’s lawyer is here.

A recent report by The Los Angeles Times raised concerns about potentially false claims related to Los Angeles County $4 billion sexual assault settlement. This should serve as a wake-up call to state leaders.

This is not just a local problem.

Los Angeles County is a political subdivision of the state of California and receives substantial state funding to operate its juvenile and adult justice systems. When failures of this magnitude If it happens, the state has not only the power to act, but also the responsibility.

AFSCME Local 685 and Teamsters Local 986 represent the probation officers and supervisors who do this work every day. These workers supervise youth, protect communities and work in increasingly difficult conditions.

They are also now dealing with the consequences of a settlement process that denied them the most basic element of justice – the ability to defend themselves.

The county approved a $4 billion settlement with no testimony, no evidentiary hearings and no meaningful independent review. Thousands of claims were settled as a class action, and the employees involved were never given an opportunity to respond.

Now that questions are emerging about the legitimacy of some claims, the consequences of this approach are becoming clear.

Accountability matters. Survivors deserve justice.

But fairness requires a process that distinguishes between substantiated claims and those that are unverified or false. When this distinction is lost, public trust is eroded and the state’s justice system is weakened.

The state cannot take its eyes off it.

For years, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has mismanaged the probation department by freezing hiring, chronic understaffing and policy decisions that weakened the workforce. Today, the department faces approximately 700 vacancies and a staffing shortage approaching 30%.

Even more troubling, the county has failed to build a sustainable workforce. In a recent hiring cycle, only 88 applicants were hired out of more than 8,500 applicants. Entry-level officers can wait up to a decade for promotion.

At the same time, more than half the field workforce is nearing retirement age and the county has refused to provide safety retirement, forcing employees to work longer hours than their counterparts in other jurisdictions.

These are not isolated management issues. These are policy choices that directly affect the state’s ability to provide safe and effective juvenile and community supervision systems.

The consequences are already obvious. A court is now considering whether to place the Los Angeles County Juvenile Department under receivership. That alone should cause immediate concern in Sacramento.

The state has the tools and the obligation to act.

First, the California state auditor must conduct a full forensic audit of the settlement process. Billions of taxpayer dollars, including funds that intersect with state-supported systems, were committed without sufficient transparency or scrutiny.

Second, the Legislature should hold oversight hearings to examine how this agreement was negotiated and approved and whether state funding streams are being used in a manner consistent with accountability and public safety.

Third, the state must condition future funding on measurable improvements in staffing, recruitment, retention, and operational stability. If the county cannot maintain a functioning probation system, the state must require corrective action.

Finally, safeguards must be established to ensure that future large-scale claims processes include independent review and basic due process protections. No public servant shall be reappointed to this position.

This is about more than one settlement. It is about whether California will ensure that its local partners operate systems that are fair, accountable and capable of delivering justice.

Los Angeles County’s failures now affect not only the workforce and residents, but the integrity of the broader state system. The warning signs are clear.

This article was originally published on CalMatters and is republished under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives license.