California to Compensate Jaycee Dugard With $20 Million

The state of California approved a $20 million payment today to kidnap victim Jaycee Dugard for failing to properly supervise the registered sex offender who held her captive for 18 years.

California legislators today overwhelmingly approved the negotiated settlement the state and Dugard. The allocation was part of a larger Assembly bill, labeled only as "claims against the state; payment."

Though there were three other claims in the same bill, the total sum was $21.1 million, giving the lion's share to Dugard, now 30 and the mother of two daughters she bore while in captivity.

The state's Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation came under fire in the weeks and months after Dugard's rescue in August 2009 for not properly supervising Phillip Garrido, a registered sex offender who was on parole.

A scathing investigation last year by the California Office of the Inspector General found Garrido's state parole officers had missed numerous opportunities to locate and rescue Dugard and her children from their backyard prison.

As late as 2006, police were called to the house to investigate reports that Garrido had children living with him. Even then, Dugard and her children were never found. During parole checks, Garridos house was inspected, but officers never checked the backyard.