Texas says 41 FLDS children have broken bones, fractures

"Where the heck did that come from, anyway?" Jessop added. "Are they just pulling this stuff out of the air without having to prove the allegation or what?"

Crimmins said he could not elaborate on the alleged abuse.

Cockerell also announced the number of children in protective custody from the YFZ Ranch has increased to 464 after a young mother gave birth to a baby boy Tuesday.

Child Protective Services spokeswoman Marleigh Meisner said Texas will officially seek legal custody of the baby. "We still have to run an affidavit of removal for that child," she said.

CPS officials say the mother is underage, but Parker says otherwise. He said the mother, Pamela Jeffs, was born in December 1989. He said "an exhibit" was submitted to the court with that birthdate. It was not a birth certificate but rather a spreadsheet of some sort.

"If you're a minor, you get to stay with your kids," he said. "Right now, we're willing to allow the confusion to exist."

Is 41 of 464 a high percentage of children to have had broken bones? Lori Frasier, a doctor specializing in child abuse at Primary Children's Medical Center, says the numbers alone don't tell the story.

"To make a sweeping generalization that this is high in this population — maybe, maybe not," she said. "My medical opinion is you have to look at each case individually, not as a whole group."

Physicians must consider various aspects before determining whether a fracture equates to child abuse. Such specifics include the age of the child, location of the injury, medical history of the child and an explanation of the injury from a parent or caregiver, she said. In the case of the FLDS children, explanations from parents may not be available because the children are in state custody.

Frasier said it also may be difficult to compare the Texas group of children with other groups.

"My personal opinion is you're dealing with a population of children who aren't sitting around watching TV. I'll bet those kids are out running around a lot, helping work with their families," she said. "They're not the same population as the urban population."

Frasier said if fractures occur in infants who aren't yet walking, that is "almost always abusive."

Wednesday's interim committee meeting was scheduled before the raid on the FLDS ranch as a forum for legislators and policymakers to meet to discuss a variety of issues related to the state's child welfare system.