Texas ends oversight of 34 more FLDS kids

SAN ANGELO, Texas — Child welfare authorities have decided court supervision is no longer needed for 34 more children taken in the raid on the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch.

Texas Child Protective Services filed papers here Thursday seeking to "non-suit" 10 cases involving 34 children, said agency spokesman Patrick Crimmins. That is in addition to 32 children non-suited earlier this month.

"Court oversight is no longer deemed necessary in the opinion of CPS, and the court has agreed," Crimmins said late Friday. "It doesn't mean that abuse and neglect has not occurred."

In some cases, Crimmins said, the decision to end oversight is made because parents have taken appropriate steps to protect their children.

On Monday, Texas authorities will seek to place eight children in foster care, arguing that their mothers have failed to protect them from men involved in underage marriages.

Roughly 440 children were taken in April from the FLDS Church compound based on abuse allegations. They were returned to their parents after the Texas Supreme Court ruled the state acted improperly.