Habeas Corpus, Hair, The plan, Their costs & TX's costs

FLDS Fathers fight to gain their children back
http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2008/05/14/flds-fathers-fight-to-gain-their-children-back/

Excerpt

The FLDS is fighting back after last month’s raid that removed more than 400 children from its Texas compound after accusations of forced marriages and sex with underage girls.

The writ of habeas corpus, used to test the legality of a person’s detention, is being filed in San Angelo, Texas on behalf of 3 of the fathers with the FLDS.

I wanted to share another document with you.

Their claim is that they are monogamous families living in single-family residences on the compound… when their children were abducted


FLDS - For Lack (of) Different Styles (A funny piece!)
http://mockingwords.blogspot.com/2008/05/flds-for-lack-of-different-styles.html

Excerpt

There seems to be a great deal of interest in the FLDS and their hair. I can only assume it is because those of us not living behind a walled off religious compound (ie, the public) have seen images, (such as those below) in the news lately, and have had a response similar to that of Robin Roberts (shown on the left) as she was interviewing three of the women back in April.


FLDS reunification (service) plan
http://www.thussayssuzanne.com/2008/05/flds-reunificat.html

Excerpt

Since this situation started I've been outlining what the service plan will be. Details of what is being included in the plan are coming to light:

• The service plan goals say the parents will understand what abuse is and take steps to protect their children. They also ask parents to cooperate with DNA testing and providing identifying papers to establish paternity and family relationships.
  
• For parents, tasks include participating in parenting classes, psychiatric evaluations and following the recommendations of counselors.
  
• Establish safe living arrangements for children and provide verification to the department of living arrangements, including methods of support the family is receiving from all sources.
  
• If the judge is not satisfied that you can provide a safe place for your child where they are free from abuse, the judge may decide to limit or even permanently take away all of your rights as a parent of a child. The child then could be placed in permanent foster care or be adopted.

Polygamist sect's finances are murky
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jB15XvmkCoB58AwAP9Jb3fZjrymwD90MJHH83

Excerpt

In just five years, the West Texas polygamist sect transformed 1,700 acres of scrubland purchased for $700,000 into a bustling ranch with a blazing-white limestone temple, sprawling three-story log cabins, woodworking shops and a dairy.

Assessed value of the property now: $20.5 million. (um, assuming anyone would pay that!!!)

How did members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints do it?

Sweat equity was clearly one factor. The men quarried limestone themselves from the hard ground and built the enormous homes with their own hands, using skills learned at construction companies close to the sect's main base of operations, on the Arizona-Utah line.

But as for where they got the money for building materials, dump trucks, rock-cutting equipment and other supplies, that is still something of a mystery.

"Who funded it? We're investigating. That's for dang sure," said Jeff Shields, a court-appointed lawyer studying the sect's finances.


Texas FLDS Raid Early Costs
http://lonestartimes.com/2008/05/16/texas-flds-raid-early-costs/

Excerpt

The Austin American Statesman filed a TPIA request related to the costs of the raid in Eldorado.

The massive child welfare operation that began in early April with a state raid of a West Texas ranch owned by a polygamous sect cost nearly $7.5 million in the first 19 days, according to records from Gov. Rick Perry’s office.

A spokeswoman for Perry cautioned that the numbers — obtained through the Texas Public Information Act — are preliminary and unaudited, and Perry’s office has yet to release official costs.

But the numbers do reveal clues about the financial impact of what Texas officials have said is the largest removal of children in U.S. history.