Posted on 05/24/2008 4:50:41 PM PDT by anymouse
With the price tag of providing care for more than 400 children seized last month from a polygamist ranch in West Texas expected to reach the tens of millions of dollars, a legislative panel suggested Tuesday that the state explore garnisheeing the religious organization's assets to recoup the costs.
"That compound didn't grow out of fairy dust," Sen. Robert Deuell, R-Greenville, said after a Senate Finance Committee hearing in which he urged state health officials to determine whether members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or even the sect as a whole, should be held responsible for the cost of care. "Why should we be footing the bill when they've got assets?"
The remarks came after the panel heard testimony that providing foster care, Medicaid coverage and casework for the children from the YFZ (Yearning For Zion) Ranch will likely cost taxpayers more than $1.7 million a month for as long as they are in state custody. The figure does not include the $5.3 million for the first six weeks of the operation or the cost of providing the required legal representation for each of the children, which is likely to cost at least $2.2 million.
The committee, which plays a lead role in drafting and overseeing the state budget, is exploring ways to cover the near-term costs even though no money was appropriated last year for such an event.
Legislative leaders and Gov. Rick Perry's office expect an emergency appropriation will be necessary when lawmakers return to Austin in January to ensure that the state's bills for the operation are paid.
"We basically need to pay what it's going to cost to do the job right, and we need to know, to the best of your ability, what that cost is so we can factor that in when we're making decisions about other worthwhile costs and needs in this state," Sen. Steve Ogden, a Bryan Republican who heads the finance panel, told Albert Hawkins, the state's executive commissioner for health and human services.
Law enforcement officers and officials from Child Protective Services rounded up the children from the ranch near Eldorado after an anonymous caller claimed to be a pregnant and abused 16-year-old forced into a marriage with a 50-year-old.
Officials now believe that the call may have been a hoax.
But CPS workers have said that the children were in imminent danger of abuse. In court hearings that began Monday in San Angelo, many parents are seeking to regain custody.
Deuell said efforts should be made to determine whether any of the children placed in foster care are covered by the parents' private insurance. If so, he said, the state would not have to enroll them in the taxpayer-supported Medicaid program.
Hawkins said it is unclear whether sect members have private insurance. He also said that officials have found no evidence that anyone from the sect is receiving public assistance.
Even if the adults do have private insurance, the children would still likely require Medicaid coverage, Hawkins said, because DNA testing to determine parentage is expected to take up to two months to complete.
Rod Parker, a spokesman for the FLDS, said any effort to seize assets would be an overreach by the state.
"I think my response is to ask the state on what legal grounds it believes it would be entitled to take FLDS assets," Parker said in an e-mail to the Star-Telegram. "This is a country of laws; they cannot simply go after assets without legal basis."
Today I had the opportunity to talk to a wise man, an elder in a good Christian church, a known leader, an educated professional, a loving father married one time for over 50 years with 5 children and 11 grandchildren.
We spoke of the FLDS case. And he said that one thing was clear, and that was that these women loved their children, and were not purposely abusing them, and the state would be wrong to try to make them out to be heartless parents.
And that woman allegedly had contact with an ex-FLDS woman who just coincidentally has a book that needs a clever marketing ploy, like say a CPS raid on the compound of the cult she attacks in her book.
The original warrant was based on the story of a girl, Sarah, who has yet to be found, and whose calls were traced to a cell phone used by a 33-year-old woman from another state who has been charged with making crank calls in another case and who has had contact with an ex-FLDS woman who is trying to sell a book.
It is not a crime in Texas to have children when you are under 18. Until a 2005 change in the law, girls could get married as young as 14. Since 2005, they can get married at age 16. Also, girls as young as 14 can have sex without statutory rape being applied if their partner is within 36 months of their age, and I believe 17 is the age of consent.
Of course, it’s not fair to point out that there have been no charges yet, since the state is still investigating and there may be charges later.
Actually, for the purpose of the appeal, the Appeals Court first judged based on the presumption that everything CPS alleged was true.
They didn’t have to determine if CPS had proven their facts, since even presuming the facts, CPS acted improperly.
The cases of the 5 girls who were named in the warrant to search the cult compound didn’t meet any of the defenses in the law. The “marriages” weren’t legal, one even seems to have involved breaking our laws against incest.
Does anyone find it interesting to say the least that 2 books were released about escaping from cults the week this raid happened?
Thank you. Evidence of sanity and Christianity, from TN.
Ping
Lose use of the term parents, however, they have the right to keep their rumps out of a law suit. When you file you are giving up the right not to be questioned.
As to the children, they have the requirement under our laws to prove they are their children.
If you have a problem with the drug confiscation laws put it on that tread.
“Then you can bypass the legal system and send all the Joooz to the camps. Sieg heil, asshole.”
Relevance?
Unfortunately, documenting in books or TV interviews is insufficient evidence before the law.
The problem here, is the Texas CPS got lazy, and did a grab.
But they over-reached, and did the grab on inadequately documented evidence.
And now every Texan will pay, via taxes. Because the lawsuits are going to be huge.
Then, they should arrest the men who got these girls pregnant and let the girls go home.
BTW, I find it truly interesting that the government that is so concerned that 5 15 and 16 year old girls in this sect got pregnant and needs to remove them from the home is the same government that hands out welfare checks to the 14 year old girl in the inner city to support her and her baby! Why don't they take those pregnant inner-city kids away from their parents??? After all, if they're underage and pregnant they must be being abused too.
Leni
Stupid question: what does BTTT mean?
Let’s say they had evidence of possible abuse of eight.
That’s 2 percent of the children.
They took 400 children and put them with foster families.
392 children siezed from thier parents without any due process.
I am not a defender of this cult and thier practices, but the state was way out of line on this.
Could you provide a citation for the FLDS convictions?
BTTT means Bump To The Top.
If you are browsing the comments, this will put the article at the top of the list.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.