Inside the shelters, Dinnin said, they have tried to keep family members together when possible and even set up a "guys" room for those older boys who want to be together. He said he has received many gracious compliments from the FLDS people.

"I have felt a great deal, frankly, of appreciation from the guests toward me and I'm not referring to their circumstances in the past," he said. "Particularly with the food, they've basically said 'thank you for your care' and that's very rewarding to me."

Dinnin said workers have adapted a menu to include "what they would like to eat."

As for the unique clothing needs of the members of the Fundamentalist LDS Church, Dinnin said they are allowing the "guests" to send out their clothing to be laundered. If new clothes are needed, he admits the long, unique dresses the women and girls typically wear present a challenge, but he insists Texas is up to the task.

"We as an agency believe we should provide the guests whatever clothing they request," he said. "If they want black socks, I want the children to have black socks."

Children living on the ranch are home-schooled, and he has asked education and child welfare officials to make recommendations about their education needs.

Although no TVs or newspapers are inside the facilities, he said the group does have access to telephones.

Several children believed to have chicken pox are being kept together in a separate facility until they are no longer contagious, he said.

"The women, of course, have been very helpful in caring for their children," Dinnin said.

Asked by a reporter about the parenting skills of the group, Dinnin said that was not something he's qualified to determine.

"Certainly their customs are different from what our general society's customs are. It's obvious that from my opinion there is certainly an effort as any mother would to care for their child in some way shape or form. I really can't evaluate their parental skills."

The first clue of what next happens to the children will be determined Thursday, during a hearing before Walther. She approved the search warrants and ordered the removal of all children from the 1,700-acre ranch. If she decides any or all of the children should remain in state custody, Meisner said that's when they'll begin to look for "appropriate foster homes" in Texas.

"We want the children to know that even though they may not have been safe in the past, they are going to be safe as long as they're with us," she said Friday.

As for the 16-year-old girl who called a hotline to report she was being sexually and physically abused at the ranch, child welfare officials still have not identified her. "It's been an unbelievable task figuring out the identities of these victims," Meisner said.

"Their names change frequently, and many have the same name," Meisner said.

Dinnin said while the children would certainly all like to go home, he believes they're doing well.

"I think anyone that has to relocate from where they normally live wants to go home, because it's home. I think that's normal. Under the circumstances, these folks are as happy in their environment as they can possibly be."

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E-mail: bwest@desnews.com