Costs top $12.4 million for raid on FLDS
Figure doesn't include court fees for massive case
A spreadsheet outlining some of the costs for the sheltering of FLDS women and children in the aftermath of the April raid was provided by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services on Wednesday after a request for an accounting. The figures for the "San Angelo Mass Care Event" do not include ongoing costs since the 439 children were returned to their families in June, including the salaries of caseworkers and attorneys still involved in the case, agency spokesman Patrick Crimmins said.
"We think this is the final cost of the operation," he said Wednesday.
More than $4 million was spent on goods and services at Fort Concho and the San Angelo Coliseum, where FLDS children and some of their mothers were housed immediately following the raid. The "unified command center" set up there cost nearly $1 million. Another $1 million was spent on buses to take the children to foster-care facilities scattered around the Lone Star State.
Foster-care placement, security and Medicaid cost Texas more than $3.3 million, the figures show.
"All attorney ad litems were advised prior to accepting appointments that their service would be voluntary and possibly without compensation, and that if compensation became possible, actual expenses and attorney's fees would be paid by the court at a reduced rate," 51st District Judge Barbara Walther wrote in the order signed last week.
The judge's order sets a cap of $4,000 for hourly billing and $750 for travel and other expenses. Walther left open the door to approve higher fees if attorneys make their case to her for more money.
"There were some tenacious ones among us who spent a lot of time trying to force CPS to give us the information they should have voluntarily given us in April," said Susan Hays, a Dallas attorney who represented a 2-year-old girl in the custody case.
Hays calculates she drove more than 7,200 miles between Dallas and San Angelo, where the court hearings were held, the places where her child client was taken and the mother lived, and the YFZ Ranch in Eldorado. She also logged more than 264 hours on the case.
Recent comments
Doing God's work is expensive. How does one measure the cost to the...
Robin | Nov. 21, 2008 at 9:49 p.m.
From reading this blog/forum, I can conclude that there are some...
conclusion | Nov. 21, 2008 at 8:12 p.m.
I'd love to hear some of your stories. Maybe xz*b@v*n% will finally...
To x poly wife | Nov. 21, 2008 at 6:24 p.m.
- Utah manufacturers going lean 10:57 p.m.
- Feds to seize 4 Iran-linked mosques 10:55 p.m.
- Utes face stiff test in opener 10:54 p.m.
- Hasan is charged with murder 10:53 p.m.
- 4A: Turnovers doomed Mustangs 10:51 p.m.
- World datelines 10:50 p.m.
- Iran's N-site for military use? 10:49 p.m.
- Utes focus on game, not 'GameDay' 10:48 p.m.
- Wildcats, Aggies tip off season 10:46 p.m.
- 4A: Springville loaded with weapons 10:45 p.m.
- SLC council OKs gay rights policies
318 - TCU showdown has big implications
195 - Senators want food tax restored
158 - Cougars crush hapless Cowboys
155 - Editorial: Mormons and gay rights
142 - Will state consider gay rights law?
137 - Utah Jazz fall apart against Kings
131 - Letters: Strange breed in Utah
119 - TCU 4th in AP poll; U. 16th, Y. 22nd
119 - Utes remain silent about BCS
112
One of my guilty pleasures is perusing the covers of celebrity magazines...
The galactic center shines like firelight through gaps in …
Wow. What an amazing defensive scheme put in by Coach Wong. 6 DB's and held...
My school traveled 500 miles one way to play for the championship, which we...
Keep cats in the house. They pick up hookworm when roaming the neighborhood....
That was a great game, the Utah Valley All-Stars had it all the way and are...
Pathetic huh? Okay, how about I refer to the last three seasons at BYU where...
You can rehire retirees BUT at the entry level pay (just because they...
I heard the sirens from the ambulance and police tonight in Cedar City and...
Healthcare in the US is survival of the fitest. If you have wealth, two...
Distroted posting here again... Listen, if your point of reference is your...
Gee, and all this time we thought it was her brain that kept her bottled up.

