Earlier this month, 416 children were taken from the YFZ Ranch after Texas child welfare workers said a 16-year-old girl called a domestic violence hotline and said she was pregnant and in an abusive marriage to an older man.

When Texas officials went to investigate, they said they found evidence of other abuse, and a judge ordered the removal of all the children. On Friday, the judge ordered all of the children to remain in state custody.

Hearings will begin soon, even before the next scheduled hearing on June 5, to determine what is in the best interest of the children and whether they should be reunited with their parents.

"When you see a small child that's living on a cot instead of in their home, that's sad," Hays said. "It's frustrating and sad for individual lawyers when they have not seen any evidence of abuse in that child's home. The state seems to be making this argument that the whole thing's a big house. It's a 1,700-acre ranch with multiple buildings, large homes."

In many respects, the problems facing the FLDS people on the YFZ Ranch have been exacerbated by a community that is very secretive, especially in matters of family relationships, and child protective services workers who get suspicious when people don't want to answer questions.

Hays said she has seen no general conditions on the ranch that would make any guardian ad litem reluctant to push for returning their child home. But given the nature of the allegations of child-bride marriages and other abuse, she conceded that a culture shift may need to be made.

"If there were never any teenagers being spiritual wives, there would never have been a problem," she said.

Deveau said everyone involved in the case needs to educate themselves on the FLDS and their way of life.

"I'm going to try and educate myself as much as I can," she said. "This was part of it for me."

In court on Friday, some FLDS women testified that they would not condone underage girls marrying older men. They also said they would be willing to agree to some form of separation from the ranch or their husbands, if it meant being reunited with their children.

"Mothers will do a lot to be with their children," Hays said.

DNA samples to help establish paternity and family relationships will be gathered Monday at the San Angelo Coliseum for the children. On Tuesday, parents are expected to show up at the Schleicher County Courthouse square for a cheek swab. Police took some DNA swabs in the early stages of the raid on the YFZ Ranch.

"Once we complete that process, then we'll begin the placement of the children," said Pulliam.

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E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com