Little help is available for teens leaving FLDS Church

While most of the teenagers who leave the border towns are not reported as runaways because their polygamous families do not want to attract government attention, it still becomes problematic to deliver services.

"Fitting them into the services becomes the problem," Price said. "Our problem with getting services is that government — the way those statutes are set up — they need to have parent involvement. These kids are not going to involve their parents."

However, some government agencies are getting on board to help out.

In May, Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. signed HB30 into law. It allows 16-and-17-year-olds to petition the juvenile courts for emancipation from their parents. The bill was created to help homeless teens and Lost Boys of polygamy.

The Utah Attorney General's Office said HB30 is a good step to overcoming the problem.

"Part of the reason we asked the legislature to pass the emancipation bill is they could get services that they normally can't get because of their ages," said Utah Attorney General's spokesman Paul Murphy.

The Safe Passage grant, which has been used to help many people who want to get out of abusive situations within polygamous communities, does not help minors.

Tyler said many children are waiting until they're adults before coming to The HOPE Organization for help.

"Some have come to us after they've turned 18 and then we're able to help them. There was a girl who was living in a basement of another girl I was helping. She said 'I was living in rags and I couldn't tell you I was there,' " Tyler recalled. "It broke my heart."

The Utah Department of Human Services has been considering changing laws and policies to help children leaving polygamy. Last week, several state agencies met to talk about the problem. Spokesman Dwayne Baird said the problem is the legislature mandates what they can and cannot do.

"What we would like to do is get the legislature to broaden the scope of what we can do to help these kids," he said. "They're in dire need of assistance. Not just from state agencies but from entire communities."

Price said they need to move quickly to provide resources to teenagers leaving a closed society before they succumb to the temptations of the world.

"They will fit into the statutes when they're older, homeless and drug addicted," she said.

Engels said the way the laws are, police can't help the children who want to get out.

"I think law enforcement's hands are tied because of the laws.," he said.

"You're dealing with a unique situation and a unique place with the status of a runaway and the status of things out there," he said.

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E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com