Judges to hear reports on sect children

SAN ANGELO, Texas, May 18 (UPI) -- Texas judges, beginning Monday, will hear status updates on the more than 460 children removed by the state from a polygamous sect.

Over the next two weeks, in five courtrooms, case workers will inform a judge about each child's progress and the conditions to which parents must agree if they want to keep their children, the San Antonio (Texas) Express News reported Sunday.

The children were taken last month from the Yearning For Zion Ranch amid complaints of abuse at the sprawling compound near Eldorado, Texas, where members of the the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints live.

"There are certainly people who disagree in a very public way with the action we've taken," said Chris Van Deusen, a Child Protective Service spokesman in Austin.

"There are also a lot of people here in Texas and elsewhere, from the public to public officials, who have been extremely supportive and understand that what we're doing in this case is fulfilling our mission to protect children."