Six Siblings Win $13.5M After Horrific Abuse
Los Angeles County taxpayers just forked over $10 million because government bureaucrats repeatedly ignored reports of children being beaten, starved, and sexually assaulted in foster care—a damning indictment of the same agencies that claim to protect our most vulnerable.
Story Snapshot
- Six siblings will receive $13.5 million after enduring years of horrific abuse in foster care while Los Angeles County’s Department of Children and Family Services ignored multiple warnings
- The children suffered beatings, starvation, and sexual assault between 2008 and 2015, with social workers repeatedly placing them back with their abusers despite documented reports
- Los Angeles County will pay $10 million and foster agency Little Citizens for Little Men will contribute $3.5 million in one of California’s largest foster abuse settlements
- The case mirrors the Gabriel Fernandez tragedy and exposes a pattern of negligence in a bloated government system managing over 20,000 children annually
Government Failures Enabled Years of Torture
Between 2008 and 2015, six siblings endured unimaginable horrors under the supposed protection of Los Angeles County’s foster care system. Foster parents Jennifer and Delbert Mathews subjected children as young as two years old to systematic physical abuse, starvation, and sexual assault. Despite multiple reports flooding into the Department of Children and Family Services during 2012-2014, social workers failed to remove the children permanently. In some cases, bureaucrats actually returned siblings to the same abusive home after temporary removals. This isn’t incompetence—it’s criminal negligence enabled by a system more concerned with checking boxes than protecting children.
Taxpayers Fund Government Incompetence Again
The October 2024 settlement forces Los Angeles County to pay $10 million from taxpayer coffers, while the private foster agency Little Citizens for Little Men contributes $3.5 million. County supervisors approved the funding allocation in November 2024, with final judicial approval scheduled for January 2025. The foster parents faced justice separately—Delbert Mathews received a 21-year prison sentence while Jennifer got probation. But the real criminals here are the government employees who collected paychecks while children suffered. Their employer, funded by hardworking Californians, now writes massive checks to cover bureaucratic malfeasance. This represents one of California’s largest foster abuse settlements, yet accountability for the actual social workers remains conspicuously absent.
A Pattern of Deadly Government Negligence
This settlement isn’t an isolated incident—it’s part of a disturbing pattern in California’s bloated child welfare bureaucracy. The 2020 Gabriel Fernandez case resulted in a $15 million settlement after social workers ignored reports before the eight-year-old was beaten to death. A 2019 foster abuse case cost taxpayers another $2.5 million. Los Angeles County’s Department of Children and Family Services manages over 20,000 children annually with chronic understaffing and crushing caseloads. UC Berkeley researcher Jill Duerr Berrick notes the agency maintains a staggering 1:300 caseload ratio, making effective oversight virtually impossible. A Pacific Research Institute report reveals a 40 percent negligence rate in California foster care audits. These aren’t unfortunate accidents—they’re predictable results of government overreach combined with zero accountability.
Broken System Demands Real Reform, Not More Spending
Governor Newsom’s response perfectly illustrates the problem: his 2025 budget includes $100 million for child welfare technology. Throwing money at failing government programs never works. Child welfare attorney Carolyn Kubota correctly identifies the core issue: “Repeated ignored reports show broken protocols; settlement won’t fix without staffing boosts.” But more bureaucrats isn’t the answer either. The foster care agency involved, Little Citizens for Little Men, licensed the Mathews homes despite red flags, with 2013 audits exposing inadequate training. Meanwhile, California still reports re-abuse rates exceeding 30 percent. The siblings’ attorney called the settlement “a step toward accountability,” but real accountability means firing negligent social workers and prosecuting those who ignored abuse reports.
California county and foster care agency reach $13.5M settlement with 6 abused siblingshttps://t.co/kVdTZxF8Zh pic.twitter.com/fFJPHQfSHQ
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) February 5, 2026
The Real Cost of Government Failure
Beyond the $13.5 million settlement, this case will ripple through California’s foster system for years. Insurance costs for foster agencies could increase 20-30 percent, potentially reducing available placements and pushing more children into an already overburdened system. The settlement sets precedent for negligence lawsuits, potentially raising future payouts 15-25 percent nationwide. California’s 35,000 foster children now face heightened scrutiny that may paradoxically make placements harder to secure. The six siblings, now adults, carry lifelong trauma requiring ongoing therapy and support. The settlement funds will help, but no amount of taxpayer money can restore stolen childhoods. This is what happens when we trust big government with our most vulnerable: bureaucrats prioritize self-preservation over protecting children, and working families pay the price twice—once through failed oversight, again through forced settlements.
Sources:
AOL – Judge Tapped to Vet $4 Billion Settlement
