http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705259021,00.html
Excerpt
"We're delighted. It's about time," said Mark Ticer, a court-appointed attorney for four children ranging in age from 5 to 10. "And the department lived up to the representations that they made about doing it."
CPS has said the reasons for nonsuiting a child vary from no evidence of abuse being found to parents taking adequate steps to protect their children from abuse. Nonsuiting does not necessarily end CPS's role in the families' lives. Many parents agreed to attend classes or get therapy for their children.
Ticer said one of his child clients still has a class to attend. As the Deseret News first reported earlier this month, CPS has required 63 girls from the polygamous sect to attend seminars on sexual abuse, underage marriage and Texas law.
-------------------------------------------------
CPS investigators appear to have narrowed their focus to at least 10 cases of alleged underage marriages.
Only one child, a 14-year-old girl allegedly married at age 12 to FLDS leader Warren Jeffs, has been returned to foster care. A judge ruled her mother was unable to protect her from abuse. Six other children also remain under CPS authority after their parents signed deals with the agency.
A criminal probe also continues. Nine FLDS men, including Jeffs, have been indicted by a Texas grand jury on charges that include sexual assault of a child, bigamy and failure to report child abuse.
The grand jury meets again in November and December.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
2 lawyers in FLDS custody case quit
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705257758,00.html
Two of the government lawyers handling the massive child custody case involving the Fundamentalist LDS Church have quit.
"It is with great regret that I hereby tender my resignation as staff attorney for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, effective Nov. 1, 2008, or at whatever earlier date may be most convenient and least disruptive to the operations of the agency," Charles Childress wrote in a resignation letter obtained by the Deseret News.
Childress, a highly regarded family law attorney who wrote many of the agency's courtroom policies when he worked there from 1997-2001, was brought back specifically to handle the FLDS case in July. Contacted by the Deseret News on Friday, Childress would not say why he was leaving.
"I really can't talk about it at all," Childress said.
Texas Child Protective Services officials also are not commenting on why Childress is leaving, but said they are in the process of reorganizing their legal team based in San Angelo, Texas, right now.
Childress is not the only lawyer who worked the FLDS child custody case to resign recently. Gary Banks, who was the lead counsel when the 439 children were taken into state custody immediately following the raid, resigned Oct. 3 to take a position with a Texas law firm.
"I have concluded this decision is best for me and my family, and I hope you will understand my decision," he wrote in an e-mail to his superiors.
Preparing for his departure, Childress said he expects most of the FLDS custody case will be wrapped up by the end of the month.
"I anticipate that we will have resolved all but a handful of pending cases through cooperative agreements with the parents, resulting in dismissal of the department's suits by early November," he wrote.
The remaining cases may end up going to trial next year. Three cases involving children either placed back in foster care or returned to their parents under family service plans will be up for dismissal in February 2009.
"The dismissal date for all other cases is April 13, 2009, although there is an argument that could be made against applying this deadline," Childress wrote.
To date, 415 people have been "nonsuited" by a judge in San Angelo in the ongoing custody battle. That leaves approximately 50 children still involved in pending legal cases. The Deseret News tally includes 26 "disputed minors," FLDS women that CPS initially believed were minors but later conceded were adults.
Two of the government lawyers handling the massive child custody case involving the Fundamentalist LDS Church have quit.
"It is with great regret that I hereby tender my resignation as staff attorney for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, effective Nov. 1, 2008, or at whatever earlier date may be most convenient and least disruptive to the operations of the agency," Charles Childress wrote in a resignation letter obtained by the Deseret News.
Childress, a highly regarded family law attorney who wrote many of the agency's courtroom policies when he worked there from 1997-2001, was brought back specifically to handle the FLDS case in July. Contacted by the Deseret News on Friday, Childress would not say why he was leaving.
"I really can't talk about it at all," Childress said.
Texas Child Protective Services officials also are not commenting on why Childress is leaving, but said they are in the process of reorganizing their legal team based in San Angelo, Texas, right now.
Childress is not the only lawyer who worked the FLDS child custody case to resign recently. Gary Banks, who was the lead counsel when the 439 children were taken into state custody immediately following the raid, resigned Oct. 3 to take a position with a Texas law firm.
"I have concluded this decision is best for me and my family, and I hope you will understand my decision," he wrote in an e-mail to his superiors.
Preparing for his departure, Childress said he expects most of the FLDS custody case will be wrapped up by the end of the month.
"I anticipate that we will have resolved all but a handful of pending cases through cooperative agreements with the parents, resulting in dismissal of the department's suits by early November," he wrote.
The remaining cases may end up going to trial next year. Three cases involving children either placed back in foster care or returned to their parents under family service plans will be up for dismissal in February 2009.
"The dismissal date for all other cases is April 13, 2009, although there is an argument that could be made against applying this deadline," Childress wrote.
To date, 415 people have been "nonsuited" by a judge in San Angelo in the ongoing custody battle. That leaves approximately 50 children still involved in pending legal cases. The Deseret News tally includes 26 "disputed minors," FLDS women that CPS initially believed were minors but later conceded were adults.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Girls to learn their rights and more non suits!!!
FLDS girls to attend classes on underage marriage
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,700265382,00.html
Excerpt
Girls from the Fundamentalist LDS Church are being required to attend classes in Texas that address sexual abuse, underage marriage and the law.
"These are sessions that deal with issues related to state laws on underage marriages and sexual abuse, along with ways to identify, protect, prevent and report sexual abuse," Patrick Crimmins, a spokesman for Texas Child Protective Services, wrote in an e-mail to the Deseret News. "The goal of the sessions are to educate girls who are at risk or who have been sexual abuse victims and to deal with any emotional issues related to this topic."
Approximately 63 children, ages 10 and up, have been asked to attend the sessions provided by therapists in the San Angelo area. They run a total of four hours, either in one-hour or two-hour blocks. If providers have knowledge of sex abuse, it can be included as long as it is age appropriate and does not include sex education, Crimmins wrote.
"These are not formal classes, but sessions with a contracted provider and the information described above is to be addressed in the session in addition to other items that may be relevant for the individual child," he said.
The classes are part of requirements made by family service plans signed by the girls' parents in the ongoing custody case surrounding hundreds of children taken in the April raid on the Yearning For Zion Ranch near Eldorado. The therapists are the same who are providing parenting classes, Crimmins said.
More cases against FLDS dismissed
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_10732372
Excerpt
Texas officials dismissed child welfare cases involving 29 children from a polygamous sect on Wednesday, the largest number dropped in a single day from the state's massive investigation.
The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services has steadily nonsuited cases since June, when 439 children were returned to their parents after two months in state custody.
The cases are closed after officials determine the children are safe or have turned 18, according to Patrick Crimmins, DFPS spokesman.
To date, the state has ended cases of 338 children from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. That leaves cases involving 101 children still pending. Among them: A 14-year-old girl who was returned to foster care in August after her mother failed to give a Texas judge assurances she would keep the girl safe.
***************************************************
***Anyone know if the 101 left are all part of the same group somehow? I can't help but feel like they are narrowing this issue down to a few families.
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,700265382,00.html
Excerpt
Girls from the Fundamentalist LDS Church are being required to attend classes in Texas that address sexual abuse, underage marriage and the law.
"These are sessions that deal with issues related to state laws on underage marriages and sexual abuse, along with ways to identify, protect, prevent and report sexual abuse," Patrick Crimmins, a spokesman for Texas Child Protective Services, wrote in an e-mail to the Deseret News. "The goal of the sessions are to educate girls who are at risk or who have been sexual abuse victims and to deal with any emotional issues related to this topic."
Approximately 63 children, ages 10 and up, have been asked to attend the sessions provided by therapists in the San Angelo area. They run a total of four hours, either in one-hour or two-hour blocks. If providers have knowledge of sex abuse, it can be included as long as it is age appropriate and does not include sex education, Crimmins wrote.
"These are not formal classes, but sessions with a contracted provider and the information described above is to be addressed in the session in addition to other items that may be relevant for the individual child," he said.
The classes are part of requirements made by family service plans signed by the girls' parents in the ongoing custody case surrounding hundreds of children taken in the April raid on the Yearning For Zion Ranch near Eldorado. The therapists are the same who are providing parenting classes, Crimmins said.
More cases against FLDS dismissed
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_10732372
Excerpt
Texas officials dismissed child welfare cases involving 29 children from a polygamous sect on Wednesday, the largest number dropped in a single day from the state's massive investigation.
The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services has steadily nonsuited cases since June, when 439 children were returned to their parents after two months in state custody.
The cases are closed after officials determine the children are safe or have turned 18, according to Patrick Crimmins, DFPS spokesman.
To date, the state has ended cases of 338 children from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. That leaves cases involving 101 children still pending. Among them: A 14-year-old girl who was returned to foster care in August after her mother failed to give a Texas judge assurances she would keep the girl safe.
***************************************************
***Anyone know if the 101 left are all part of the same group somehow? I can't help but feel like they are narrowing this issue down to a few families.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
315 now dropped from FLDS custody case
Only 124 more to go!
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,700265026,00.html
Excerpt
Boxes filled with files of children are stacking up in the clerk's office at the Tom Green County Courthouse in San Angelo, Texas.
More children from the Fundamentalist LDS Church's Yearning for Zion Ranch have been dropped from court oversight in the ongoing custody case in Texas.
Eleven more children were "nonsuited" on Tuesday, Texas Child Protective Services spokesman Patrick Crimmins said. That brings the total number of people dropped from the court case to 315.
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,700265026,00.html
Excerpt
Boxes filled with files of children are stacking up in the clerk's office at the Tom Green County Courthouse in San Angelo, Texas.
More children from the Fundamentalist LDS Church's Yearning for Zion Ranch have been dropped from court oversight in the ongoing custody case in Texas.
Eleven more children were "nonsuited" on Tuesday, Texas Child Protective Services spokesman Patrick Crimmins said. That brings the total number of people dropped from the court case to 315.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)