Filing window status
California's AB 218 opened a three-year revival window (2020–2022) that allowed thousands of survivors of childhood abuse at county facilities like MacLaren Hall to file, and that litigation produced Los Angeles County's multibillion-dollar settlement. California law separately allows childhood sexual assault claims until age 40 or within five years of connecting the harm to the abuse, and removes the deadline entirely for abuse on or after January 1, 2024. Because deadlines vary with the facts, a free, confidential review can confirm what applies to you.
Deadlines are state-specific and change often. Even if you think a window has passed, it is worth confirming — exceptions can apply. A free, confidential review can tell you where you stand.
The record
Key Facts
Fact 01
Operated 1961–2003; up to 300 children at a time
Source: County of Los Angeles / The Imprint
Fact 02
Part of LA County's ~$4 billion AB 218 settlement (April 2025)
Source: County of Los Angeles
Fact 03
6,800+ claims; total grew to ~$4.8 billion
Source: County of Los Angeles (Oct. 2025)
Fact 04
Largest abuse settlement of its kind in U.S. history
Source: The Imprint / County of Los Angeles
What is documented
The Allegations
The full account
The Record
MacLaren Children's Center — widely known as MacLaren Hall — was a Los Angeles County temporary shelter for foster and dependent children in El Monte. It operated for more than four decades, housing as many as 300 children at a time between 1961 and 2003, when it was shuttered amid persistent allegations of abuse and neglect.
In April 2025, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a roughly $4 billion tentative settlement resolving more than 6,800 sexual abuse claims dating back to 1959, brought under California's AB 218. An additional $828 million tentatively agreed in October 2025 brought the total to about $4.8 billion — described as the largest sexual abuse settlement of its kind in U.S. history. Claims tied to MacLaren Hall make up a significant portion of that total.
The settlement compensates survivors of county juvenile facilities, including MacLaren Hall and county probation halls and camps, without requiring each survivor to prove their claim at trial.
Sources & attribution