€10.4m for starvation case children

Lawyers for four boys allegedly starved by their adoptive parents have signed on to a settlement with the state of New Jersey for the youngsters to share $12.5m (€10.4m).

Lawyer Marcia Robinson Lowry said that the settlement, the largest ever involving the state Department of Human Services, was signed and filed with a federal judge.

The settlement will not be finalised until after a court hearing, which has not been scheduled.

Under the agreement, Keith, Tyrone and Michael Jackson will each get €2.5m (€2m); their adoptive brother Bruce, 21, will get $5m (€4.1m).

The state also agreed to pay for medical insurance for the younger boys until they reach 21, pay up to $185,000 (€155,000) of special education costs for them and continue to monitor their care as long as they remain with a foster family.

The lawyer overseeing the legal interests of three of the boys refused to comment.

The lawsuit, which alleged the state had failed to adequately monitor the boys’ wellbeing, was the subject of national media attention and a congressional hearing, and spurred demand for reforms of New Jersey’s child-welfare agency.

The suit said that case workers who had regularly visited the boys’ home to monitor the care of a foster girl who was also living in the home, should have noticed the boys were malnourished.

When they were found in October 2003, the boys, whose ages ranged from 10 to 19, each weighed less than 45lbs (20 kilo).

Their adoptive parents, Raymond and Vanessa Jackson, were each charged with child endangerment and aggravated assault.

Raymond Jackson has since died; his wife is free on bail and awaiting a trial that could start later this year.