FLDS parents hit with court papers for pending custody battle

Price said she has encouraged child welfare workers to be as respectful of the FLDS people as much as possible.

"Have a midwife come in to deal with medical issues. If they need to wash out their garments, don't observe it because they're sacred. If they want to have a Sunday meeting, let them do it in private," she advised.

Price said she believes Texas authorities are sincere in not focusing on polygamy, but instead on purported child abuse.

"It's kind of a no-win situation for the government in many ways. Anything the government does, they put their toe on the property and it's vilifying the community," she told the Deseret News in a recent interview. "The only people I've heard say you're prosecuting polygamy is from polygamous families."

In a statement posted Friday on its Web site, Texas child protective services said no children will be placed in foster care until after Thursday's hearing.

"A number of state agencies are working together to make all the children as comfortable as possible, and to meet all their physical, medical and psychology needs while they are in San Angelo," the statement said.

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E-MAIL: bwinslow@desnews.com