Jeffs, currently incarcerated in an Arizona jail, was mailed a notice of Monday's hearing. Samuel is Barlow's only child.

Barlow's attorney, Donna Guion, listed a number of objections to the service plan.

"It is so vague and so broad my client has no idea of what she needs to know" to comply, she said.

As part of the plan, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services wants to assess not only the educational ability of the boy but that of his mother as well. It wants Barlow to submit to a variety of tests to determine her vocational interests.

The department also wants her to undergo psychological testing which will inevitably decide what types of parenting classes she may need to take.

Barlow is willing to do whatever the state requires if it means getting her son back, Guion said. Barlow has been able to see Samuel once a week but would like additional visitation, she said.

The mother also wants to be more involved in her son's education and recently dropped off a packet of school materials for him.

The service plan also addresses the need for Samuel to undergo physical therapy because he has a prosthetic leg. Walther asked how the boy lost his leg. It was indicated in court that it resulted from a birth defect.

Clerks at the Tom Green County Courthouse have cleared the docket for the next three weeks as five judges wade through hundreds of status hearings for each child taken from the church's YFZ Ranch. The cases are grouped together by mother.

• Lawyers for one mother said in court that copies of the Book of Mormon have been taken from the boys being housed at the Cal Farley's Boys Ranch in Amarillo. That irritated the judge.

"I'd like to know why that was removed," said Judge Marilyn Aboussie. "I'd like to hear if there's a good reason. I can't think of one myself. There needs to be an excellent reason."

The court-appointed special advocate for the children did request that any sermons or writings of FLDS leader Warren Jeffs be removed from the children because he is a convicted felon in a child sex-abuse case. But the advocate said she did not object to the Book of Mormon.

The owner of the ranch has not returned phone calls from the Deseret News.

• A number of other children fathered by Jeffs also had their cases heard Monday. One of the children's mothers, Shannon Johnson, refused to sign a family service plan on the advice of her attorney but said she was willing to work with Child Protective Services.

CPS workers testified they would be open to the idea of out-of-state placements for some of the children. Johnson's mother, who is not an FLDS member, appeared in court and said she would be willing to take her 3-year-old granddaughter.