Juvenile facility sexual abuse lawsuits, state by state

Legal accuracy check

Chris Schroeder, Esq.

Florida Bar #520381 · D.C. Bar

First published October 5, 2026 · Last checked October 5, 2026

How pages are checked

Cases by state

Each state below has its own section, with the courts, counts and deadline rules that apply there. Select a state to jump to it.

Who may be able to file

These suits are brought by adults who say they were sexually abused as children while held in a juvenile detention center, a state youth prison, a probation camp or a privately run residential program. Some plaintiffs were in custody in the 1970s. Others left in the last two years. Most sue the government or company that ran the facility, on the theory that it failed to screen, supervise or respond to staff, rather than suing only the person who abused them.

Whether a particular person may be able to file depends on the state, the type of facility, when the abuse happened and who ran the facility at the time. A state-run youth center and a county juvenile hall a few miles away can follow different rules. So can a private operator under contract with the state. No one can say from a general page whether a claim is possible; a lawyer has to look at the dates. For background on how institutional cases work, see our juvenile detention overview and the institutions hub.

Deadlines that apply

Deadlines here vary more than in almost any other kind of abuse case, because most defendants are governments. Three patterns repeat across the states on this page.

First, many states removed or lengthened the deadline in recent years but made the change apply only to abuse after a set date. Washington’s no-limit rule covers abuse on or after June 6, 2024. Oregon’s covers claims arising on or after June 26, 2025. California’s covers assaults on or after January 1, 2024. Older abuse in those states follows the earlier rule.

Second, some no-limit laws reach only the person who committed the abuse, not the institution. Nevada’s NRS 11.215, Nebraska’s section 25-228 and Utah’s section 78B-2-308 work that way. A claim against the State, a county or a facility operator in those states can still carry a deadline.

Third, claims against a government often need a written notice first or must go to a special court. Washington requires a claim and a 60-day wait before suit. Illinois sends claims against the State to the Court of Claims, which has its own two-year filing rule. Maryland capped damages against public defendants at $400,000 per claimant for actions filed on or after June 1, 2025. Each state section gives its own rule. Our statute of limitations guide covers every state.

California

Los Angeles County. On April 29, 2025 the Board of Supervisors approved $4 billion, plus administrative costs, to resolve Jane Doe 1 v. County of Los Angeles (LASC No. 21STCV20949) and about 6,800 AB 218 matters. On October 28, 2025 it approved up to $828 million more for LASC No. 22STCV25961 and about 414 further matters. The claims are not limited to Los Padrinos or any single juvenile hall: they cover County facilities and programs run by Probation, Children and Family Services, Parks, Health Services, the Sheriff and Fire. The County CEO called the combined settlements “the largest such settlement in American history” on April 14, 2026, and said more than 6,000 new pending AB 218 claims are not part of them. Our LA County juvenile facilities page covers the payment schedule and the claims in detail.

Alameda County. Roughly 150 former detainees have sued Alameda County in Superior Court over abuse alleged at the Juvenile Justice Center and Camp Wilmont Sweeney, according to the Oaklandside (July 6, 2026). The 224-page complaint alleges abuse by Probation Department staff, mostly in the 2000s and much of it during strip and cavity searches. These are allegations. On May 5, 2026 the trial court held that the plaintiffs cannot pursue the County for most of that abuse, because Government Code section 844.6 treats detained children as “prisoners” for immunity purposes, according to plaintiffs’ counsel DiCello Levitt. The firm says 146 petitioners have asked the Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, to review that ruling, and that the petition was pending on August 10, 2026. Interim County Counsel Andrea Weddle did not respond to the Oaklandside; the County’s website states a zero-tolerance policy. If the immunity ruling stands, it reaches other county juvenile-hall suits in California, San Bernardino’s included.

San Bernardino County. Three suits against the County were filed in 2026, all reported by the San Bernardino Sun. A County spokesperson declined to comment on any of them, citing pending litigation.

Deadline rule. Under Code of Civil Procedure section 340.1, as amended by AB 452 (Stats. 2023, ch. 655), there is no time limit for childhood sexual assault that occurred on or after January 1, 2024, and no government claim has to be presented first. Earlier abuse follows the AB 218 rule (Stats. 2019, ch. 861): age 40, or five years from discovering the injury, whichever is later. AB 218’s revival window ran from 2020 to 2022 and is closed.

Washington

Washington has suits against the State and against four counties. Every case fact in this section comes from news reporting; no docket number has been confirmed.

State facilities. Around September 5, 2024, nearly 200 former minors sued the State and more than 100 state employees over Echo Glen Children’s Center, Green Hill School, Naselle Youth Camp and Maple Lane, according to MyNorthwest (September 6, 2024). Later filings added more plaintiffs; we do not publish a combined total because no court record of one was found. The same report, citing KING 5, said the State had paid $4.4 million since 2018 to settle 23 claims involving Green Hill. Chehalis police opened 117 Green Hill investigations in 2025, KOMO reported on March 23, 2026, when a staff member was arrested on three counts of custodial sexual misconduct. That person is charged, not convicted, and presumed innocent.

King County. On May 1, 2025, 36 former detainees sued King County in Superior Court over abuse alleged in its juvenile detention facilities, KIRO 7 reported. The County said: “We will be thoroughly investigating each claim.”

Snohomish County (Denney Juvenile Justice Center). Eight former detainees filed a federal suit on November 6, 2025, alleging abuse from 1986 to 2006, with trial set for February 2027 (Everett Herald). The County said it was “reviewing the complaint and will respond in court at the appropriate time.” Nine more former detainees filed a new suit in July 2026. In late July 2026 Snohomish County prosecutors, joined by Pierce County, asked Thurston County Superior Court for a declaration that county juvenile departments are a State responsibility. As of July 27, 2026, Snohomish County faced two multi-plaintiff suits and 23 more tort claims (Everett Herald).

Pierce County (Remann Hall). KING 5 reported on January 6, 2026 that 132 claims had been made against Pierce County alleging abuse at Remann Hall from the 1980s through the 2000s. Whether those are lawsuits or pre-suit tort claims has not been confirmed.

Clark County Juvenile Justice Center. Eight plaintiffs sued in Clark County Superior Court around February 25, 2026, alleging abuse from 1978 to 2014. Nine more joined on July 29, 2026, for 17 in total (KOMO), and six more on September 22, 2026, for 23 in total (OregonLive). No County response was found.

Deadline rule. RCW 4.16.340(6) removes the time limit for intentional-conduct claims where the abuse happened on or after June 6, 2024. Earlier abuse follows RCW 4.16.340(1): three years from the act or three years from discovering what caused the injury, whichever is later, with the clock paused until age 18. A claim against the State goes first to the Office of Risk Management; claims against the State or a county carry a 60-day wait before suit (RCW 4.92.110, RCW 4.96.020).

Nevada

On April 1, 2026, former juvenile detainees filed a federal suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada. Reports in June and July 2026 put the number of plaintiffs at 96. The suit names Caliente Youth Center, Nevada Youth Training Center in Elko and Summit View Youth Center, which are state facilities, plus the Clark County Juvenile Detention Center and China Spring Youth Camp in Douglas County. Defendants include the State, Nevada Department of Health and Human Services officials, Clark County, Douglas County and about 45 named officers. Reports differ on the years covered. The claims are allegations.

Nevada DHHS and Clark County declined to comment, citing the litigation. Douglas County said it is “aware of the complaint and, because the matter is the subject of pending litigation, the county will not comment on the specific allegations” (Record-Courier, June 24, 2026). The case number has not been confirmed.

Deadline rule. NRS 11.215(1), amended in 2021, lets a child sexual abuse action be brought “at any time” against the alleged perpetrator or a person convicted. The text names the perpetrator. It does not say the same for the State, a county or a facility, so a claim against them should be checked by a lawyer.

Oregon

A Marion County grand jury, convened on May 20, 2025 by District Attorney Paige Clarkson, released a 63-page report on MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility on December 22, 2025. It made 25 findings, including a section on sexual assault and misconduct, and described “Cascading Failures.” The report says the grand jury “issued 10 criminal indictments for conduct occurring at MacLaren”; it does not name the defendants. It also found a backlog of 733 incomplete investigations and 3,400 cases with no clear investigation record. The Oregon Youth Authority said the report “confirms our internal assessments” and that work is under way to address the concerns within its control and budget (KATU, December 22, 2025).

Civil suits against the Oregon Youth Authority began in March 2025, when 10 plaintiffs alleged abuse by a former MacLaren physician between 2000 and 2008 (KATU, March 13, 2025). Further plaintiffs have filed since, and KATU reported in September 2025 that the cases are in federal court with the first trial set for November 2026. No cumulative count or case number has been confirmed. The OYA said: “The alleged conduct is abhorrent, and the accusations do not reflect what thousands of trusted adults do each day.” We found no criminal charge against the physician.

Deadline rule. ORS 12.117, as amended by Oregon Laws 2025, chapter 447, allows a child sexual abuse action “at any time” only for claims arising on or after June 26, 2025. Older claims must be brought before age 40, or within five years of discovering the connection between the abuse and the injury.

Nebraska

On July 28, 2026 the Office of Inspector General of Nebraska Child Welfare released a 118-page report on the Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Center at Kearney, a state facility run by the Office of Juvenile Services. It counts “44 different sexual-abuse-related allegations made by 37 separate youth against 19 different staff members” between March 2025 and March 2026, containing “over 200 specific claims” of improper conduct. The report states that it “does not determine whether the allegations are true.” At the time of the report, four staff had been criminally charged and most allegations had been found unsubstantiated or unfounded. The Department of Health and Human Services responded that the Inspector General “cannot rely on the number of allegations to conclude that the culture at YRTC-Kearney condones inappropriate staff behavior” (Flatwater Free Press, July 28, 2026).

One former employee, Martha Ruiz Palacios, pleaded no contest in Buffalo County to misdemeanor third-degree sexual assault and contributing to delinquency, and was sentenced on June 25, 2026 to two years in jail (Flatwater Free Press). Three other former employees are charged and presumed innocent.

On October 1, 2026 an Omaha teenager filed a federal suit in the District of Nebraska against seven current and former state employees, alleging sexual abuse, civil rights violations, negligence and retaliation after he reported abuse. DHHS said it was “unable to comment on pending litigation” (Flatwater Free Press, October 1, 2026).

Deadline rule. Under Neb. Rev. Stat. section 25-228, there is no limit for a claim against the person who directly caused the injury. A claim against anyone else, an institution included, must be brought within 12 years after the plaintiff’s 21st birthday. Claims against the State also require a written claim to the Risk Manager under the State Tort Claims Act.

Tennessee

Tennessee is listed as a reported investigation, not as litigation. On August 12, 2026, the ProPublica Local Reporting Network and WPLN reported that former employees and teenagers described suspected abuse, including sexual misconduct allegations, that went unreported to the state at youth facilities run by Wayne Halfway House Inc. The facilities named include Mountain View Academy in Dandridge, Middle Tennessee Juvenile Detention Center, Standing Tall Music City in Nashville, Duck River Youth Center and Hollis Academy. These are allegations. The company “vehemently denies” discouraging abuse reporting and called the former employees “untrustworthy sources” with “clear bias.” As of October 5, 2026 we found no sexual abuse lawsuit against the operator.

Louisiana

Louisiana is also listed as a reported matter, not as litigation. Ware Youth Center in Coushatta is run by the Ware Youth Center Authority, a political subdivision created under La. R.S. 15:1097. In a report dated April 25, 2024 (Case No. 23-0020-I), the Louisiana Office of State Inspector General reviewed PREA reports from January 2017 to February 2023: “There were 44 reports... 38 of these cases were determined by law enforcement to be unsubstantiated and six cases were substantiated.” Five were youth-on-youth, and one involved a youth service worker who “was arrested for malfeasance in office.” The Inspector General concluded that Ware “is presently a safe and secure environment.”

The New York Times reported in October 2022 that 42 former residents described sexual abuse at Ware to its reporters. That is a count of people who spoke to journalists, not of lawsuits; we found no sexual abuse suit. In a separate federal case, Jackson v. Ware Youth Center, the Fifth Circuit held on February 19, 2024 that a physical-abuse claim was time-barred under Louisiana’s one-year period, and that federal civil rights claims do not get the benefit of the state’s revival window.

Deadline rule. La. R.S. 9:2800.9, as changed by Act 322 of 2021, removed the time limit for child sexual abuse claims and opened a window for older ones. The Louisiana Supreme Court upheld the revival in Bienvenu v. Defendant 1 (No. 2023-CC-01194) in 2024. The window was later extended; confirm its current closing date with a lawyer.

Oklahoma

On May 24, 2024, former residents of the Tulsa County Family Center for Juvenile Justice filed a federal civil rights suit alleging widespread abuse and a cover-up. Outlets reported 20 or 21 plaintiffs at filing and 30 by July 2024, after an amended complaint (Public Radio Tulsa). Defendants include more than 20 Juvenile Bureau employees, a former director, a nurse and the county commissioners. These are allegations. At filing, a County spokesperson said the county “does not manage or have direct oversight of the operations at the Family Center for Juvenile Justice.” On July 19, 2024 the commissioners voted to take over administrative oversight of the center. The case number and current status have not been confirmed.

Deadline rule. Under 12 O.S. section 95(A)(6), a claim against the perpetrator may be brought until the victim’s 45th birthday. A claim against an employer or other entity must be brought within two years, with that period paused until age 18. Claims against a government may also need notice under the Governmental Tort Claims Act.

Illinois

Illinois claims run against two defendants in two courts. Claims against the State and the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice, over the Illinois Youth Centers at Chicago, Harrisburg, St. Charles and Warrenville and the closed Joliet center, go to the Illinois Court of Claims. Claims over the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center, run by the Office of the Chief Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County, are in Cook County Circuit Court.

After 107 new cases were filed on July 15, 2025, the total reached 907, covering abuse alleged from 1996 to 2023, according to plaintiffs’ firms Anapol Weiss and Levy Konigsberg (Fox 32, July 16, 2025). About 70 percent involved state youth centers. CBS Chicago reported in 2026 that about 400 suits had been filed against the detention center, Cook County and the Chief Judge’s office; how far that overlaps with the 907 is unclear. No later combined count has been found. The Attorney General’s office said it was “reviewing the complaints,” and the Office of the Chief Judge said it “cannot comment on pending litigation” (Fox 32). CBS Chicago also reported that the center’s PREA reports show 61 allegations of staff sexual misconduct since 2015, two of them substantiated. Chief Judge Charles Beach, who declined an interview, said staff in those two cases were fired.

Deadline rule. Under 735 ILCS 5/13-202.2(f), as amended by P.A. 104-159 (effective January 1, 2026), a childhood sexual abuse action “may be commenced at any time” unless it was already time-barred before the 2014 change. Otherwise the rule is 20 years from age 18 or from discovery. The Court of Claims Act separately sets a two-year filing period that it calls “binding and jurisdictional” (705 ILCS 505/22), and how the two rules interact for claims against the State has not been settled. A lawyer should check any claim against a state youth center.

Michigan

Wolverine Secure Treatment Center in Buena Vista Township, Saginaw County, was run by the private company Wolverine Human Services and closed in 2021 after state regulators moved to revoke its license, according to news reports. On May 14, 2024, 14 former residents, 13 boys and one girl, sued in Saginaw County Circuit Court alleging sexual abuse by staff (CBS Detroit). Three more plaintiffs filed on June 22, 2026, joining “more than a dozen others,” MLive reported. These are allegations. Wolverine Human Services did not return a message at the first filing, and no later statement was confirmed.

Deadline rule. MCL 600.5851b allows a childhood sexual abuse claim until the later of age 28 or three years after discovering the injury and its cause. Bills to add a revival window had not been enacted as of September 29, 2026.

New Jersey

Claims over state-run juvenile facilities are coordinated as Multicounty Litigation 641, “Sexual Abuse in Juvenile Detention Facilities Operated by the State of New Jersey,” in the Superior Court, Law Division, Middlesex County (master docket MID-L-3913-25), before Judge Bruce J. Kaplan. The New Jersey Supreme Court designated it on June 4, 2025 over the State’s written opposition, which had warned of “scores, if not hundreds, of different alleged abusers at numerous facilities across five decades.” The facilities include the New Jersey Training School in Monroe Township (Jamesburg), the Lloyd McCorkle Training School in Skillman, and the Juvenile Medium Security Facility and Female Secure Care and Intake Facility in Bordentown. The Youth Justice Commission runs the system today.

The court’s official list showed 284 cases as of May 19, 2026. In September 2025 filings the State largely denied the claims, according to news reports, and it has filed third-party claims against John Does 1 to 100. No settlement appears on the court’s pages.

Deadline rule. Under N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2a, as enacted by P.L. 2019, c. 120, a claim may be brought within 37 years after age 18 (age 55) or within seven years of reasonable discovery, whichever is later. The two-year revival window that opened December 1, 2019 closed on November 30, 2021. The same law makes public entities, the State included, liable for these claims notwithstanding the Tort Claims Act (N.J.S.A. 59:2-1.3), and the Act’s notice requirement does not apply (59:8-3(b)).

New York

We do not list a New York suit count, because no count for claims over New York City juvenile facilities could be traced to a court record or a named report. The state’s deadline law and a New York City filing window are summarized here.

Under CPLR 208(b), a claim for a sexual offense against a person under 18 may be brought until the plaintiff turns 55. The Child Victims Act revival window ran from August 14, 2019 to August 14, 2021 and is closed. Separately, New York City’s Local Law 50 of 2026 took effect on January 29, 2026 and opened an 18-month window, closing on or about July 29, 2027, for claims under the City’s Gender-Motivated Violence Act based on conduct before January 9, 2022. It reaches anyone who “commits, directs, enables, participates in, or conspires in” that violence. Whether the City or a city agency can be sued under that language is a legal question for a lawyer.

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania’s suits are spread across state and federal courts with no consolidation. More than 200 people have sued since May 2024, according to WHYY, naming the Department of Human Services over its state youth development centers (in Dauphin County) and private residential operators. The cases below are examples, not the full list. All are allegations.

• Adelphoi (Latrobe, Westmoreland County). Eight former residents sued on August 5, 2026 in Allegheny County, alleging abuse as teenagers between 2010 and 2023 (TribLive). The Latrobe Bulletin reported on August 31, 2026 that 16 former residents had sued across three suits; Adelphoi denied all allegations in a January 2025 suit, and a July 2023 suit was dismissed for a missed filing deadline. Adelphoi said it had “not yet received or reviewed the complaint” and takes “any allegation of abuse, mistreatment or misconduct extremely seriously.”
• Summit Academy (Herman, Butler County). Seven former residents, with stays from 2011 to 2021, sued The Summit School Inc. and the Philadelphia County Juvenile Probation Department in the Western District of Pennsylvania, before Judge W. Scott Hardy. Reports differ on when the case was filed. Summit “could not comment on the pending litigation” (Butler Eagle, April 22, 2026).
• Abraxas Academy (New Morgan Borough, Berks County). Four men filed separate suits in March 2026, WFMZ reported on March 12, 2026. Abraxas did not reply to WFMZ.
• Devereux. Thirteen people sued on October 5, 2020, alleging abuse from 2004 to 2014 (WHYY). Devereux at the time pointed to an independent safety audit.
• Lancaster County Youth Intervention Center. A former guard was convicted on June 20, 2018 after guilty and no contest pleas, including institutional sexual assault and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a person under 16 (Lancaster County dockets CP-36-CR-0004731-2017 and others). The County paid $400,000 to a girl he assaulted in 2017, when she was 15, in a settlement reported on February 10, 2020, and settled with five more women for $1.3 million in total on March 23, 2020 (LancasterOnline). The County acknowledged the assaults occurred and that it had received multiple reports of his behavior beforehand.

Deadline rule. Under 42 Pa.C.S. section 5533(b)(2), claims that had not expired by November 26, 2019 may be brought until age 55. HB 462, which would open a two-year window for older claims, passed the House on June 9, 2025 and has sat in the Senate Judiciary Committee since June 18, 2025. A motion to discharge it was dropped from the calendar on June 23, 2026, and there has been no action since.

Maryland

Maryland’s Child Victims Act of 2023 (2023 Md. Laws ch. 5 and 6) took effect on October 1, 2023 and removed the deadline for child sexual abuse claims, including claims against the State over Department of Juvenile Services facilities. On February 3, 2025 the Supreme Court of Maryland upheld the Act 4 to 3 in Roman Catholic Archbishop of Washington v. Doe. The Banner reported about 12,000 Child Victims Act claims statewide in 2026, against all kinds of defendants. As of July 2026 there was no settlement and no reported negotiation with the State; the Attorney General’s office declined to comment to The Banner.

Two dates matter now. For actions filed on or after June 1, 2025, damages against the State and local governments are capped at $400,000 per claimant (2025 Md. Laws ch. 104, HB 1378). And on November 9, 2026 the Supreme Court of Maryland hears State of Maryland v. J.C. (No. 11, September Term 2026), on whether sovereign immunity still bars claims against the State that arose before July 1, 1982, the date the Maryland Tort Claims Act’s waiver took effect. The answer decides whether those older claims can go forward against the State. Our Maryland Child Victims Act page covers the Act and these cases in detail.

New Hampshire

New Hampshire runs a state settlement fund for abuse at the Youth Development Center, now the Sununu Youth Services Center. The fund closed to new claims on June 30, 2025 (RSA 21-M:11-a), and any new claim must be rejected. According to the administrator’s report of June 3, 2026, as of May 31, 2026:

• 2,269 claims were filed in total, a figure the report calls final;
• 425 claims were resolved by settlement, for $239,298,259.46 in total, of which $156,215,556.33 had been paid;
• 1,689 claims were pending, most of them in Attorney General review.

The report projects that appropriations to date fall short of future installments. On June 19, 2026 the Joint Legislative Fiscal Committee approved $20 million of a $55 million request, and the Executive Council approved it on July 8, 2026 (news reports). Survivors who sued instead of using the fund face the State’s position, argued before the state Supreme Court on November 20, 2025 in Meehan v. State (No. 2024-0711), that the abuse in that case was a single incident under the damages cap, which matters because the cap is applied per incident. No decision had been found as of October 5, 2026. A second appeal, Foley v. State, challenges 2025 changes to the fund after the trial court dismissed the suit on January 6, 2026. Under RSA 508:4-g, a personal action based on an offense under RSA 632-A (sexual assault) or RSA 639:2 may be brought at any time. Our New Hampshire YDC page covers the fund, the verdict and both appeals.

District of Columbia

Kelvin Powell, a former staff member at the Youth Services Center run by the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, was convicted by a D.C. Superior Court jury on about July 1, 2025 on 16 counts: four each of first- and second-degree sexual abuse of a ward and of a minor. He was sentenced on September 12, 2025 to 20 years in prison plus 10 years of supervised release, according to WUSA9. A federal court opinion of September 28, 2026 confirms the conviction and the 20-year sentence.

That opinion was issued in K.A. v. District of Columbia, No. 1:25-cv-02930-SLS, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, before Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan. It was filed in June 2025 in D.C. Superior Court and removed. On September 28, 2026 the court denied the District’s partial motion to dismiss in full, and the case moves to discovery. The claims against the District are allegations. DYRS has said it “takes the safety of every youth in our care seriously and holds all employees accountable” (NBC4).

Deadline rule. Under D.C. Code section 12-301(a)(11), a claim may be brought until the later of age 40 or five years from discovery. The two-year revival window that followed D.C. Law 22-311 closed on May 3, 2021.

Utah

Utah has a criminal conviction but no civil suit that we could find. Wesley Kendal Allen, a former employee of Cache Valley Youth Center in Logan, a state facility, pleaded guilty to object rape, two counts of forcible sexual abuse and one count of sexual exploitation of a minor. The victim was a 16-year-old held at the center. He was sentenced to 8 years to life in 1st District Court, reported on July 10, 2023 (KSL). Judge Spencer Walsh said: “This was a complete failure of the Cache Valley Youth Center.”

Deadline rule. Under Utah Code section 78B-2-308(3), a claim against the perpetrator may be brought at any time. A claim against anyone else must be brought within four years after age 18 or after discovery. A claim against a state facility also requires notice under the Governmental Immunity Act.

What the national data shows

The most recent federal survey of youth in custody is the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ National Survey of Youth in Custody for 2018, published in December 2019. It found that 7.1 percent of youth in juvenile facilities reported sexual victimization in the prior 12 months, down from 9.5 percent in 2012, and that 5.8 percent reported sexual misconduct by staff. The survey covered 6,049 youth in 327 facilities. BJS says it has run the survey three times and did no work on it in 2025.

Facility administrators reported 2,274 allegations of sexual victimization in juvenile facilities in 2017, of which 279 were substantiated, in a separate BJS series published in June 2021. In 2015 the Annie E. Casey Foundation found systemic maltreatment documented in juvenile corrections facilities in 29 states and the District of Columbia since 2000.

Settlement and compensation status

Only a few matters on this page have reached settlement. Los Angeles County approved $4 billion on April 29, 2025 and up to $828 million on October 28, 2025. New Hampshire’s fund had settled 425 claims for $239.3 million as of May 31, 2026, with 1,689 pending. In Pennsylvania, Lancaster County settled with one survivor for $400,000 and with five more for $1.3 million in 2020. Washington State had paid $4.4 million since 2018 to settle 23 Green Hill claims, according to a September 2024 news report. Elsewhere, no settlement is on record as of October 5, 2026.

A settlement is not an admission, and it is not a finding that any person did what is alleged. These totals are aggregates across many claimants and say nothing about any one claim. How settlements are paid, and why they take years, is covered in our guide to settlements and compensation.

Update log

No dated updates are published for this page yet.

Questions we are asked most

Related states and institutions

For the institutional background, start with our juvenile detention overview and the institutions hub. The California settlement has its own pages on LA County juvenile facilities and LA County child welfare placements, and two other state matters have their own pages: the New Hampshire YDC page and the Maryland Child Victims Act page. Adult facilities are covered under prisons and jails. Before deciding anything, our guides on filing anonymously, civil and criminal cases, what filing involves and reporting abuse may help. For support that has nothing to do with a case, see trauma and healing and our page for families. All lawsuits we track are on the lawsuits page and the case tracker.