Home of the brave? Our founding fathers are weeping in the heavens as this travesty continues to unfold before our eyes. Where are the freedom fighters in this day? Has patriotism died?

As we are seeing the CPS has created this nightmre for these families. Whom ever is in control of this operation should be charged with kidnapping,extortion,assult amoung other charges.

I cannot beleive the Judges of Texas have not steped in en masse to stop this before it gets alot worse.

I hope all the families sue and win big settlements as they have been the victims.

As far as any of the readers who feel that this unlawful seizue is justified please follow the Police
to the the kool aid dispenser so you won't mish the train to heaven.

WAKE UP.

Don't forget Barbara Walter [a judge] gave the order and is still running things. She's heartless.

That is the most horrific thing I've ever read--honestly.

Those supposedly "superior-culture dwellers" from CPS showed the very worst traits of humanity. The offenders, each and everyone, should do jail time. For assault. For unlawful detainment. For kidnapping. Each and every one should be tried, convicted and punished under our legal system. To serve justice ; And even more importantly, to deter others and re-inforce to our society that we are a decent people. Not a police state.

If this is all true, it is horrendous. I don't believe these parents should be allowed to treat these children as property (as they do) but that does not justify the insane actions of CPS. I was on their side until I read this - now I'm ashamed of them.
I think they should investigate and fire anyone that acted like this. There are good CPS and bad CPS - get rid of the bad. But just as important, don't send those kids back to that compound - give them a chance at a real future.

It's about time some of the truth comes out about what CPS has been doing. I have a brother and a sister there as well as numerous other close friends whose families have been torn away from them. I knew they were being mistreated, but reading this is appalling! And this time, you can't say it's the FLDS just telling lies.

It is my experience that money makes the World go-round. What monetary incentive set the State of Texas to capture the YFZ compound? Separation of Church and State was established in The Constitution of The United States of America. Some American Native Tribes held separate religions; and continuing as tribes, none confront these powerful groups. However, we do see unaccounted confiscation of wealth from some American Native Tribes. What is under the YFZ compound? Please, get real...

I bet if it was to be investigated throughly those Mental health workers are affialated with the FLDS. Trying to cover for them that poor parents syndrome those children are better off in CPS custody.

When good people stand by and do nothing, freedom will die. The people of Texas should be ashamed of this travesty. The CPS officials as well as the judges and the governor and the legislature are no different than the Nazi butchers of the 1930's and 40's. They are reprehensible and beneath contempt. All freedom loving people of this country should rise up and condemn what has happened in the USST, the Unrepentant Sorry State of Texas. I would not be surprised if some of the worst offenders are those calling themselves good christians. Their actions are anything BUT christian. Shame on them.

When is the movie coming out? This is so horrific that I wonder why isn't anyone or agency or official coming to their aide. This is a blatant disregard for human rights. What happened to innocent until proven guilty? Perhaps it is guilty by association.

Somehow I am reminded of Waco...

Christina, you take my breath away. Just how do you think all those mental health workers are affliated with the FLDS? Very few if any of the FLDS held jobs outside the compound. Honest people are standing up for what's right. They did say some CPS workers were good - most were not. They are telling the truth. CYS, CPS, whatever you want to call them - power mad.

I'm appalled that this could be allowed to happen in the United States of America.

I'd never live in a FLDS compound, but American Citiziens' rights are being seriously jeapordized here. Children and adults are being treated as criminals by some sort of "guilt by association".

I look forward to the removal of many folks from office and the review of blunder by the State of Texas in the Supreme Court.

Adoption is big-business in this country. Healthy, drug-free white babies up for adoption are hard to come by. Child protective workers in many states are given quotas as to how many children they must place up for adoption every year.

These agencies usually target single-mothers because they know that these mothers are incapable emotionally and financially of fighting these bloated government behemoths.

What an opportunity the FLDS presented! A years quota in one fell-swoop! Who would care about the holocaust of this weird group!

It seems a lot of people care.

This is the worst case of human rights violations that I've heard of in my life time. Texas should be ashamed for letting this take place in this day and age. Did we learn nothing from Hitler? A shamful day for America in general. Great article.

Well folks, If the FLDS Men were not such big HUGE Cowards these kinds of things wouldn't be happening now to the woman and children. The FLDS men have themselves completely to blame for this event. So to all you FLDS Men...PLEASE DON'T BE BOO-HOO-ING AROUND TO THE REST OF THE WORLD! You FLDS men have put your families into this predicament with all your many lies and lying to the authorities!

May the Lord be with them in this time of trouble and may the bigots like Pants on Fire have their hardened hearts softened.

When people are given too much authority, they abuse it. Our third-rate grandstanding politicians have afraid to rein in these CPS People and here is the result.

The CPS has just admitted to judge walther that a girl who gave birth and has been held, is an adult - not a minor as CPS had previously maitained.
The woman showed ID, birth cert., license, but CPS would not admit she was an adult and held her.
More proof that the CPS are liars, and in this case, have been holding and adult woman against her will! - this is Kidnapping! let the charges fly - and there'd better be someone held accountable!!!!!

I totally agree with these statements. I, too, spent two weeks volunteering with the ladies and their children at the coliseum. The ladies, voluntarily there, were gracious, compliant and wonderful mothers, completely dedicated to their children. CPS workers were like prison guards..harsh, suspicious, standing around them as they slept. They lied to the mother's the night of the hearing saying they wouldn't lose their children, they wouldn't tell the whereabouts of their other children and most weren't allowed access to the hearing or to newspapers. We were even reprimanded for writing down one mother's chidrens' names so that we could pray for them! However, the Texas Dept. of Health and the Texas dept. purchasing supplies for the ladies were excellent, sensitive to the mother's and children's needs and very agreeable. I commend those dept. but am disgusted with the action of CPS.

I'm surprised that the "Retired Psychologist Phd." is surprised. It's your occupation that help create this mess. I've been up against CPS. Even sued them. Won the law suit, but they're protected by law and didn't collect a thing. The damage they caused can never be rectified and made whole. Yes, CPS is needed, but they have too much uncontroled and unsupervised power. Some accountability is needed.

It's like a lot of other issues that have evolved in America. Unless something is done to stop this kind of garbage, we'll end up imploding just like Soviet Russia. How sad. Yes, "Land of the Free", our founding fathers are rolling over in their grave.

Now that the true character of CPS is coming to light (no doubt just the tip of the iceberg) and considering the well documented horrors of the foster care system ... we can only imagine inhumane treatment and terror these kids are likely facing hour by hour, day by day.

I suspect whatever we might imagine is not as bad as atrocities those FLDS kids are actually forced to endure at the hands of CPS (the alleged "protectors").

Maybe the WACO kids were relatively luck to be burned alive. At least they did not have to suffer systematic humiliation at the hands of CPS. I don't think we have heard the worst yet.

nonsense, just another man trying to get some publicity for himself. the mothers and children were lying to the workers. we dont even know what children were theirs, all the so called wives claimed them all as their own.
the children are in safe places, in safe hands, may god be with them. not the travesty of religion that the old men and pedofiles had waiting for them. the mothers were so brainwashed they could not protect their own children from the men in this cult.

I've noticed that "Deseret News" fails to post many comments. Heavy censorship. Wonder if CPS might be pulling the strings?

After reading many of the ignorant and unprofessional statements made by Texas authorities and their supporters I was not surprised to read the accounts of mental health workers who observed and recorded the abuse of children and mothers by the CPS. Its too bad that the mistreatment of the FLDS is being overshadowed in the media by the downturn in the economy and the presidential elections.

It makes me angry that innocent children are being more severely abused by the CPS than they may have been abused in their community. I'm not FLDS and don't know any members. I live in a different part of the country. But I do know about child abuse, and so far, from reading many media reports, I see far more evidence of child abuse from the CPS than I do from the fundamentalists.

Betty--you are dead wrong! This has nothing to do with any cult--just because they believe different than you do. We live in a land of religious freedom remember? If you don't remember, go read our history books.

Texas MUST release those children they kidnapped and give them back to their mothers and let them GO FREE. We do still live in a country where we can go to and fro freely. But apparantly not.

TEXAS, let these children go home to their mothers NOW! Release them before you do more harm to these little ones.

I hope and pray that some day the full truth of the situation in Texas will come to light. When it does, it will be interesting to see what average Americans find more repulsive -- the lifestyles of the polygamous FLDS or the brutality of the CPS.

First do no harm. I was struck by the MH worker who cited horrendous long-term outcomes for kids who have dealing with CPS. I am sure part of the issue is that most kids coming into contact with CPS have already been through really awful damaging experiences.

Feeding a kid into the maw of CPS with overworked caseowrkers, lack of followup, high staff turnover, chronically insufficient resources, and a hundred other hazards MIGHT be an improvement for a kid whose mother is a crack whore and dad is cooking meth, but those kids are already heavily damaged.

On the other hand, the risks, hazards, and damage caused by the dynamics of the FLDS community are a lot more subtle. People who come across as loving and well-connected may in fact be poorly equipped to cope with disruptionsof their routines or circumstances that challenge their deeply inculcated coping mechanisms. In the best case, FLDS members may regard this as just another test from God. In that case a state agency hell-bent on destroying elements of the community will only make things worse, increase the chance of bad long-term outcomes.

This article left me in tears. The thought of a little boy, just barely past toddler age, carrying a little pillow, walking down the rows, just begging for someone to rock him (like his mother rocked him), to comfort him, broke my heart.

It was sad, too, that a boy went to a uniformed policeman, seeking help, and the policeman said he couldn't help him. I wonder how the officer felt. I imagine at least some of the law enforcement officers felt compassion for them.

It also makes me angry that a former prison principal was even hired, let alone allowed to serve in a place where frightened children and women were being sheltered (if you can even call it that).

I'm an LDS grandmother, and this whole thing is very upsetting to me. I can't, with a clear conscience, condone the actions of the FLDS leaders, who have broken several laws. But the women and children are suffering now, from abuse by the CPS. I have no doubt that there are innocent men who are suffering too, from the loss of wives and children. I fear there is neither justice nor mercy here.

I think it's pretty insulting to call the FLDS men cowards. I myself have watched multiple cops'jaws drop when they thought I was admitting a felony. I wasn't but the resulting legal entanglements gave me headaches for years. So I do not blame the men for keeping a low profile or relying on lawyers. In this case, although I would not mind in the least if this experience made these guys rethink some aspects of their faith which I consider downright creepy, the lawyers are going to do them more good in the near term than their prophet

I think the FLDS men DO need lawyers with the guts to point out all the social structures aimed at getting non-FLDS men who father children with multiple women to be responsible for the children they father. By that standard, however strange and disturbing I find many elements of the FLDS faith, these fathers cannot be faulted. CPS / DPS will have to dig up some real dirt or smear a very biased spin over some facts to overcome that point.

For the record I do not endorse much older men marrying teenagers; i do endorse men supporting the children they father.

My heart goes out to these mothers,children, and their families. The state of Texas is clearly in the wrong. These people were minding their own business and hurting no one and especially not their own children. This is an atrocity. It all probably stems back to some (anti-Mormon) religious fanatic that doesnt agree with polygamy and decided to "punish" these innocent people.

Thank you grandmother, for telling us like it really is. The children and women are the victims of a few evil men. Unfortunately, the victims are now suffering further abuse at the hands of CPS, who is above the law. I wonder if Gov. Perry and the state legislature will take any action.

Giving CPS the EXTREME benefit of the doubt:

--Consider near disaster conditions, (partly erroneous) indoctrination about what to expect, and what they consider a legal mandate to protect children according to their definition of protection. Take scissors or knives. People not used to beign around mentally ill or suicidal people think these are completely innocent objects. CPS workers, besides their baseline experience are thinking "doomsday cult" or something.

--Consider a population of people many of whom are closely related from both sides of their families, who look a lot alike, who have similar names. Today I was reading about one family who has two children named Joseph both under 5! Keeping track of all those people would give me a headache even if I were not also trying to be objective about the collective motherhood and communal breastfeeding..

--Just taking a wild guess, I bet state personnel rules actually make it sort of logical that someone who for whatever reason needs not to work in a prison anymore might have lots of skills and background relevant for CPS.

The CPS behavior is unfortunatelyabout average for CPS but it is a direct result in teis case of otehr legal overreaching.

I made several comments on here earlier, now they are gone. I was not abusive, but I did have a plan to stop this illegal action from continuning turn off your tv's and radios.don't go out of the house don't drive, we as a nation can bring these people to their knees in less than 2 days but it must be followed by almost all of this great nation. I know we can do it and if we don't our constitution won't be worth any more than toilet paper.

This whole story has smelled bad from day one. Thank goodness for some people with courage to come forward with what they have seen and witnessed first hand.
Please prosecute with evidence through our court system anyone who has molested or abused children but don't punish innocent people by association. I cannot believe what is happening in our country. CPS system needs to be revamped. The biggest culprit? Judge Walther(sp) she should be monitoring this out of control agency.

To the defender of CPS: I bet it is was investigated thoroughly YOU would be found to be affiliated with CPS. Trying to cover up for the brutality that cannot be denied now. No one with an I.Q. past 70, or a heart over 1/2 ounce, believes that CPS is operating in the "best interests of the child." It's way to late to try to garner sympathy for a gang of brutal thugs.

If there is a hell, I'd hate to be a CPS worker.

Anonymous, 10 minutes research will show you that CPS is like this the world around. I have personally read case after case where families were ripped apart by lying, cheating, stealing CPS workers. Unchecked power is a vicious, dangerous thing. When you can operate with unlimited power, and in total secrecy, you had better believe there are going to be massive abuses of power. There is no other entity on the face of this earth quite like CPS. Their power to do harm is like nothing else. They can put you and your family through hell, and there is no way out of it. Families who have had a child die of natural causes and also had one stolen by CPS, say that it easier to have a child die, than to have him or her stolen by CPS.

The cruelty is incomprehensible, but all too real.

Let's band together, and put a stop to this now! Let's truly work for "the best interests of the child."

Our country is founded on a Constitution which assures checks and balances...unfortunately the CPS has no checks nor balances. I am pleased that some crazy in the FLDS group has not committed some retaliatory act that would jepordize the entire lot. Given the current trends any such act of violence would probably result in the execution of innocent associates or worse their women and children. Where are the good men who seem to be doing NOTHING in rectifying this horrific situation...Where is the Governor? Where are the superior courts, and their judges? Where are the voters who elected Hildabrand, looking for their minds? Its time to demand that the children be returned to their parents...and the FLDS men who have committed crimes located and prosecuted...along with anyone (including judges, CPS bigshots and workers, and organizers of this inept removal) responsible for this violation of this groups civil and human rights. It is not sufficient to say they are weird...if weirdness is the standard for persecution and abuse half the country would be in trouble. Crimes are individual events and should be prosecuted as such. In our society the Rule of Law needs to be supreme.

What a travesty. I can't believe that this is happening in the United states. I can see separating children from the fathers, but only where there is probable cause to believe that the children have been or will be abused. I see no justification whatsoever for separating the children from their mothers. The argument that CPS only wants to get the truth from the children and believes the children will be unduly influenced by their mothers if they are allowed to stay together just doesn't fly. If CPS wants to question children outside the presence of their mothers, do that, but don't separate them.

So Betty, what do they pay at CPS now days?

What if the state is afraid to allow the mothers to take care of their own kids because of any harm the mothers have on their children? What's very sad is that this crazy, possibly abusive care that the kids are recieving is the first glimpse of the outside real world that the rest of us interact with daily. The women and kids may be abused by CPS but they're no longer in the control of the warped FLDS minds.

Who do you root for? And is there a way both sides can lose?

What one most notices in the remarks of the MHMR workers is the lack of substance in their complaints. Not one episode of actual abuse is described. Much of what is described is hearsay straight from the mouths of FLDS women angry about not getting their way. Some folks are easily manipulated and I think these MHMR workers were. That is partly because they wanted to be.

The remarks remind of the Terri Schiavo circus. Recall that there were health care workers testifying in news conferences that Schiavo had talked, eaten and drank, and even asked to go dancing. But, we know from the medical evidence that she was blind, incapable of swallowing and most of her brain mass had deteriorated within months of her injury. There are always fools who rush in regardless of the irrationality of doing so.

Last, but not least, this MHMR unit, apparently subcontractors, are in a dispute with DPS as a result of some of the workers being dismissed from that assignment. They've lost money and, from their perspective, been insulted. It is not surprising that they would get together and write remarkably similar complaints against CPS.

How long will it take the New York Times and CNN to report on this story.
Our press is a dismal failure in getting to the real story.
Great to see these mental care workers have done the right thing and spoken out on the abuse by may of the CPS staff.
Lets hope this gets to the courts soon and compassionate judges will hear the facts and return the children soon.

ANYONE...being FLDS members or CPS members who inflicts abuse on another human, should be held accountable for their actions ! I, for one, feel the State of Texas has done what Utah and Arizona should have done years ago. Its also the State of Texas duty...to weed out the CPS workers who dont know how to treat others with respect,understanding and kindness. Its also the duty of any CPS worker who witnesses another CPS worker's mistreatment of these women and children to report it to the authorities.These abusive CPS workers need to be punished !

Way to GO Grandma!!!!!! I, too, am an LDS grandparent, and I have been following this particular case very closely. I wrote a letter to Pres. Bush, to my Congressmen, and to the Gov of Texas about all of the CPS atrocities and the obvious "exercise of unrighteous dominion". I doubt anyone will care or even read my one letter; however, they cannot ignore all of our letters. People, get off your butts and actually DO SOMETHING to help these children and families. I even donated money to their legal defense fund. I will do whatever these people need in order to assist. I have 9 children of my own and nine more grandchildren and I know that what Texas did to these people will not stop at the Texas border. We have a Constitution that is supposed to protect us from things like this. Barring that, the Declaration of Independence mandates what we are obligated to do in the event those who are sworn to support and defend the Constitution fail to carry out their trust. "Nuff said.

CPS vs. FLDS, if you are looking for a lose-lose situation, you have already found it.

I am ashamed of Texas and America today! How can the government think that it is ok to act this way in the name of 'right'? Why is someone not coming to the aid of these American Citizens? Shame on Texas, Shame on America!

What has happened to Innocent until proven Guilty? The system has already branded these children and mothers guilty without evidence. Let me tell you whats wrong with society today its all about politics its voting season; who can get the better story. So that Texas and the United States can have some more twisted people in office. Whats wrong with raising children to have responsbilties, morals,values,decipline. If everyone raised their children with these types of values the prisons may not be so full. CPS is stupid because majority of workers are just there for a paycheck, not because they care. Judges, Police officers, Cps, You are no better than the next person we all came from the same creator, we all bleed red, so dont try to act all big and mighty, because you have a uniform and a title, Once apon a time you were helpful,caring, loving citizens, come back. Put yourself on the other side how would you feel if someone made a false phone call on your family.

Interloper, it doesn't surprise me that you take the side of those who would beat down the vulnerable - Terry Schiavo, that is. ANYONE who would side with the CPS has to not only have something seriously wrong with their mind, but their heart as well.

What makes people like you so cold? You'll pull the plug on someone - Terry Schiavo - who is loved and cared for and still has joy in her life (and you could see it in the videos which were spread all over the Internet)JUST as quickly as you'll consign hundred of children to a life of torture and misery.

READ THE STATISTICS ON FOSTER CARE ABUSE!!!! THEY ARE WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY HIGHER THAN THE ABUSE AT THE FLDS - by the way, NO abuse was found at the FLDS.

Why are you so intent upon your cruelty? What abuse have you suffered that you must re-inflict?

Sadly this is typical behavoir for CPS. Perhaps a silver lining in all of this will be the exposure of CPS for what it is. This si what happens when you give government unlimited power and allow them to operate in secrecy - an abuse of power.