The Boy Scouts Settlement Trust continues to compensate survivors of abuse in scouting. By mid-May 2026, the Trust had issued determinations on more than 60,000 claims and approved over 42,000 payments to survivors, totaling more than $800 million.
If you have a claim with the Trust, or are wondering whether you still can, here is an update on where things stand and how the process works.
The Latest Numbers
As of May 14, 2026, the Trust had issued determinations on more than 60,575 claims and approved over 42,117 payments, with payouts exceeding $808 million. That marked a significant increase over earlier in the year.
The numbers reflect both the scale of abuse in scouting and the slow, steady process of evaluating and paying tens of thousands of claims.
How the Settlement Trust Works
The Trust was created through the Boy Scouts of America bankruptcy. Rather than each survivor suing separately, the bankruptcy established a single fund to compensate claims.
The Trust reviews claims, determines eligibility and value, and issues payments according to an agreed framework. This structure is common in large institutional abuse cases.
How Claims Are Evaluated and Scored
The Trust uses a claims matrix to evaluate abuse claims. The matrix assigns values based on factors such as the nature and severity of the abuse and other circumstances.
Because how a claim is documented and presented affects its evaluation, survivors benefit from making sure their claim is complete and well supported.
Why Payments Take Time
With tens of thousands of claims to review, determinations and payments roll out over an extended period. The pace can be frustrating for survivors who have waited a long time already.
If a claim is delayed or a determination is disputed, there are processes to address it, and having someone advocate on your behalf can help.
How the Bankruptcy Created the Trust
The Boy Scouts of America filed for bankruptcy in the face of tens of thousands of abuse claims. Rather than litigate each one separately, the bankruptcy resolved them through a single, court-approved compensation trust funded by the organization, its insurers, and local councils.
This structure is now common in large institutional abuse cases. It allows an organization to keep operating while channeling its responsibility to survivors into one fund, administered under defined rules and overseen by the court.
Why How Your Claim Is Presented Matters
Because the Trust uses a matrix to evaluate claims, the way a claim is documented and described can affect its value. Details about the nature and circumstances of the abuse, and its impact, are weighed under the framework.
Survivors who present a complete, well-supported claim are better positioned than those who file with minimal information. This is one reason many survivors choose to have someone advocate for them rather than navigate the Trust alone.
What the Numbers Say About the Scale of Abuse
More than 60,000 claims and over $800 million in approved payments reflect something staggering: abuse within scouting was not a handful of isolated incidents but a widespread, decades-long failure to protect children.
For survivors, those numbers can be validating. They confirm that what happened was real, serious, and shared by many others who were also harmed and disbelieved or silenced for years.
The scale also explains why the process moves slowly. Reviewing and paying tens of thousands of claims fairly takes time, but the steady growth in payouts shows the Trust continuing to work through them.
Can Survivors Still Come Forward?
Some survivors of scouting abuse assume that because the bankruptcy and Trust are well underway, it is too late to participate. Whether a new claim can be filed depends on the deadlines set in the bankruptcy and on each survivor's circumstances, so it is worth confirming rather than assuming.
Even where Trust deadlines have passed, survivors sometimes have other avenues depending on the facts, including potential claims against parties beyond the national organization. Reform laws in various states have also reshaped what is possible for older claims.
The key is not to write off your options based on guesswork. A brief, confidential review can tell you whether you can still pursue compensation, and through what path.
What Compensation Recognizes
For survivors of scouting abuse, a Trust payment is meant to acknowledge serious, often lifelong harm. Many survivors were children when the abuse occurred and carried its effects through adulthood, struggling with trust, relationships, and mental health.
Compensation cannot undo that, but it can fund therapy and treatment and affirm that what happened was real and wrong. For survivors who were disbelieved or silenced for decades, that formal recognition can matter as much as the payment itself.
Because the Trust evaluates claims individually, how a claim is presented affects what it recognizes, which is one more reason survivors benefit from having someone advocate on their behalf.
What Claimants Should Do Now
If you filed a claim, staying engaged with the process and keeping your records in order helps. If you believe your claim was undervalued or are unsure of its status, it is worth having it reviewed.
Survivors who have questions about the Trust, their determination, or their options do not have to navigate it alone.
Help Law Group offers free, confidential consultations and can help you understand your claim and how to pursue the compensation you are owed.