Negotiators for the Boy Scouts of America and lawyers for thousands of sexual abuse survivors have struck an eleventh-hour deal to allow the youth group’s reorganization plan to move forward in bankruptcy court.
The new plan does not immediately add money to a trust fund to be shared by about 82,000 former Scouts who have filed claims. But it includes improvements to the claims process and enhancements to the organization’s child-protection policies, according to terms of the agreement.
The Scouts’ previous offer of a $2.7 billion settlement, touted as the largest of its kind in U.S. history, hit a major snag last month when it failed to garner “overwhelming support” from the nearly 54,000 abuse survivors who voted on it.
