Costs escalating following raid on polygamist compound

The children were removed by the busload from the 1,700-acre Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' YFZ Ranch in Eldorado last week after law enforcement officials entered the compound to investigate allegations of sexual and physical abuse involving some of the female children living there.

The children, who are in the legal custody of the state, must be cared for and placed with foster families at least until a hearing next week. The children - from infants to teenagers - were originally bused to an old Army fort in San Angelo, where more than 130 women from the compound went voluntarily to be with the children. Child Protective Services (CPS) officials admit it is probably the largest such action taken in state history. They expect foster families from other states might also be called on to help provide temporary homes for some of the children.

In addition to hundreds of CPS workers being called in to assist, officers of the Texas Department of Public Safety were on site to execute search warrants and monitor access to the ranch from which the children were taken. The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) is also involved, providing medical and mental health services for the children. DSHS officials reported initially that 25 mental health professionals, four doctors and 10 nurses were called in to offer assistance, with more than a dozen more doctors and medical assistants expected to be added to that number. The Governor's Division of Emergency Management also was dispatched to the scene, activating its mass care plan.

In their letter to Combs, the state's leadership noted, "We understand that these extraordinary activities come with a substantial financial and personnel costs both to state agencies and to local governments. We would ask that you allow the Health and Human Services Commission to cover allowable legitimate emergency costs for state agencies and local governments using funding allocated in the current state budget..."

They also noted that they have asked the agencies involved to prepare an estimate of their costs for additional caseloads and other emergency costs, so that they can be reviewed as quickly as possible by legislative committees with oversight.

Addressing some of the costs that might be borne by the counties in which the activities are occurring, the letter notes that legal costs for individuals who cannot afford legal representation are generally paid by the counties. "Due to the magnitude of the number of cases involved in this situation, we recognize that unrecovered costs would likely cause severe hardship for the involved counties," reads the letter. The leadership indicated they are working with various entities to "ensure that unrecovered allowable costs related to this emergency situation are reimbursed so that county budgets are not negatively impacted."

That was good news to Schleicher County Judge Johnny Griffin, who said he was "worried sick" about how his county would pick up the tab for what could be hundreds of legal cases filed there as a result of the custody proceedings.

The means for reimbursement for state and local government entities and agencies, as described in the letter, could be through budget execution, an emergency appropriation in the next legislative session which convenes in January or "another appropriate measure."

Copies of the letter were sent to Brown, Griffin, Lown, HHSC Commissioner Albert Hawkins, Department of Emergency Management Chief Jack Colley and all members of the Texas Legislature.