MacLaren Hall (MacLaren Children’s Center) Abuse Claims

MacLaren Hall, later called MacLaren Children’s Center, opened in El Monte in 1961 as Los Angeles County’s emergency shelter for children who had been removed from their homes and were waiting for a foster placement. It was run by the Probation Department until 1976 and then by the county’s social services agency, later the Department of Children and Family Services. It closed in 2003 amid litigation over conditions and abuse. The site is now being redeveloped for housing.

What the record shows

• In 1984 five MacLaren employees were arrested on suspicion of crimes against residents, including child molestation and selling drugs to children.
• A 2001 Los Angeles County civil grand jury found that the facility had gone decades without conducting background checks on its staff.
• After AB 218 allowed adult survivors to sue, hundreds of former residents came forward, and MacLaren claims became a large share of the abuse claims against the county. By May 2023, one law firm said it represented roughly 500 former MacLaren residents and another nearly 1,500 abuse claimants against the county; the county said it knew of 1,831 plaintiffs and expected about 3,000.
• MacLaren claims were a major part of the $4 billion settlement the Board of Supervisors approved on April 29, 2025, covering more than 6,800 claims of abuse in county juvenile halls, probation camps, MacLaren, and foster care dating from 1959 onward. A second settlement of $828 million for 414 additional plaintiffs was approved in October 2025, and roughly 2,500 cases remained pending.

If you were at MacLaren

Many MacLaren survivors were young children, some there only briefly, who were later placed in foster homes where abuse continued. A claim can cover both. The county’s records of your placement, and of the staff on duty, can be obtained in a lawsuit, and the settlements that resolved other survivors’ claims do not bar a claim that was not part of them if the deadlines below are met.

Why the county is responsible

The county is responsible for what its officers did and for what its supervisors failed to do: ignoring complaints, leaving kids alone with staff who should have been watched, moving accused officers from one facility to another, or not reporting abuse. You do not have to file a government claim first. If you are 40 or older and the abuse happened before 2024, a 2026 law also requires stronger proof against a county: clear and convincing evidence that the county actually knew of the misconduct and failed to act. More on juvenile detention claims.

Is it too late?

Probably not. If the abuse happened before 2024, you can usually file until you turn 40, or within a few years of realizing as an adult that the abuse caused harm you are living with now (that window is five years today; a law signed in 2026 shortens it to three years starting January 1, 2027). If the abuse happened on or after January 1, 2024, there is no deadline at all. You do not have to file a government claim first. More on deadlines.

Who may have a claim

Anyone sexually abused by staff or by another child while held at MacLaren Hall between 1961 and 2003, including survivors who were never contacted about the county’s settlements. Foster care claims. Los Angeles County claims. Not part of the county’s settlements? You can still file.

Talk to us

If you were abused while held at this facility, at any age, call 877-428-4544. The conversation is private and free. Claims are filed under a Doe name, a criminal record or an open case does not disqualify you, and there is no attorney fee and no costs unless we recover.

The facts above are drawn from official records and news reports as of October 2026. Arrests and civil allegations are not findings of guilt. This page is general information, not legal advice, and the cases described are not our cases.