Overview of the Investigation – Eldorado, Texas

Chronology and Status Report

March 29-31

Over the weekend, a 16 year-old girl called a domestic violence shelter and reported that she had been sexually and physically abused in the past by her 49-year old “husband.”  The girl reported living at the YFZ (Yearning for Zion) Ranch, an outpost of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS), in Eldorado, Texas. The shelter called in a report to SWI (Statewide Intake), the CPS Hotline, and CPS investigators were assigned to the case.

CPS contacted law enforcement and began working closely with the Department of Public Safety (DPS), the sheriff’s office, the courts and other local officials.

Thursday, April 3

The Texas Rangers determined the timing of entering the ranch, and late Thursday afternoon, law enforcement entered the ranch. Once it was secured CPS investigators entered and began interviewing residents and children.  CPS investigators were at the ranch all night and into Friday.

Friday, April 4

CPS took temporary legal custody of 18 girls (ages 6 months to 17 years) after investigators concluded they had been abused or were in imminent risk of future abuse. Thirty-four other girls were transported from the ranch to a civic center in Eldorado for further questioning to determine if they had been abused or were at risk of abuse.

That evening, another 85 children, and 46 adult women who wanted to accompany the children, were transported to the civic center.

Saturday, April 5

CPS continued interviewing the children at the civic center and the ranch. CPS called upon 15 more special investigators from around the state to assist.

The Governor’s Division of Emergency Management dispatched its Regional Incident Coordinator to the scene, activated the mass care plan, and began arranging for a larger shelter in San Angelo.

Sunday, April 6

All children and adults at shelters in Eldorado were moved to a centralized shelter at the Ft. Concho complex in San Angelo. Including new arrivals from the YFZ Ranch there were 246 children and 93 women in DFPS care. 

CPS continued to work with law enforcement to locate children at the ranch and bring them to the shelters in San Angelo.

Monday, April 7

District Judge Barbara Walthers granted DFPS temporary legal custody of all 401 children in the shelter in San Angelo, after it was concluded that some of these children had been sexually and physically abused and the rest are at risk of abuse if returned to their homes at this time. An adversarial hearing was set for April 17, 2008 to determine if the children should remain in DFPS conservatorship.

The HHSC, DFPS, and STAR Health program have been working to provide for all the medical and psychological needs of these children. Arrangements were being made for medical evaluations, counseling, and whatever treatment is appropriate.

DFPS began working to locate longer term foster care living arrangements to provide the children more structure and stability. The temporary shelter at the Fort Concho complex in San Angelo is near capacity.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

CPS involvement in the operation at the ranch itself is over. All the children who were living on the YFZ Ranch are now in CPS care.

15 more children were transported to the shelter last night, bringing the total number of children in state custody to 416 children. 139 women are at the shelters.

DFPS has now moved into the legal stage of this case.

Another shelter was opened in San Angelo and more than 100 children were moved into it in order to better meet their needs.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

DFPS and other state agencies continued to work to supervise and provide for the needs of 416 children who were removed from the YFZ Ranch and placed in state custody.  All the children, and 139 adult women, were housed in several shelters in San Angelo.

The Department of State Health Services is coordinating medical and mental health services for the children. Health clinics and screenings are being held. 12 cases of chicken pox were identified and those children and their families were isolated. They contracted the virus before arriving in state custody. So far the screenings indicate that the physical and mental health of the children is generally good.

Friday, April 11, 2008

Judge Barbara Walther ordered DFPS to keep all 416 children removed from the YFZ Ranch in the San Angelo area until a hearing on April 17, 2008.  Therefore, no children will be placed into foster care before the hearing and all will remain in shelters.

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 psychological needs while they are in San Angelo.

Including 139 women who are accompanying the children, the state is providing for 555 people in shelters at this time.

APRIL 12-13

Judge Barbara Walther ordered DFPS to confiscate the cell phones of the 139 women to prevent witnesses tampering and interference with the legal process.

The women and children are being housed in a collection of nearby shelters. They are all being provided wholesome food, a place to sleep, personal items they need, and medical care by a team of doctors and mental health professionals.

A number of the children arrived at the shelters already suffering from a variety of illnesses including chicken pox, upper respiratory infections, ear infections, etc. Each is receiving the appropriate medical care.

MONDAY, APRIL 14

The children have been moved to a single large shelter at the San Angelo Coliseum, which provides more room and facilities for guests. With permission from Judge Barbara Walther, DFPS moved about two dozen teenage boys to a facility outside the area.

Adult women with very young children were provided the opportunity to remain at the shelter. The other women were given the choice to return to the YFZ Ranch or to a safe place. This decision to separate the children was not made by CPS alone. DFPS sought counsel from the attorneys of the children, mental health professionals and others. The judge concurred that a partial separation is in the best interest of the children at this time.

TUESDAY, APRIL 15

Every step taken by CPS and the court has been done with the goal of doing what is best for the children, getting to the truth, and stopping abuse.

Children in the Coliseum and pavilion are adapting well to their new surroundings. About 400 women and children under the age of 5 are housed in the San Angelo Coliseum. About 100 older children are in the adjacent Wells Fargo Pavilion. About two dozen teenage boys are being housed in a licensed foster care facility outside the immediate area.

Wednesday, April 16

Several hundred attorneys were on-site visiting with the women and children in preparation for the adversary hearing tomorrow morning.  Space was provided for attorney ad litems to meet with children and for the women’s lawyers to meet with their clients. 

In addition to the busy day of attorney meetings, recreational and educational opportunities were added for the children.  A recreational program has been developed that includes a train to take the children to play inside the football stadium on the coliseum grounds.  In addition, the San Angelo ISD sent teachers to offer educational projects including music and physical education.

Dozens of provider staff voluntarily traveled to San Angelo to assist with staffing the shelters.  DFPS is grateful for the expertise and assistance provider staff have been giving. 

Thursday, April 17

At 9:00 a.m. this morning, the court case hearing began under the jurisdiction of Judge Barbara Walther at the San Angelo Courthouse. The hearing concluded at approximately 9 p.m., with proceedings set to resume at 9:30 a.m. the next morning.

Friday, April 18

Judge Barbara Walther ordered the children removed from the YFZ Ranch to remain in the temporary custody of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.  She also ordered maternity and paternity testing for each child and stated that individual status hearings for children will begin on June 5, 2008. 

As CPS moves forward with placing these children temporarily in licensed residential child care, staff are continuing to keep the health and safety of the children as the top priority.  CPS staff will aim to complete thorough investigations and DSHS staff will continue to provide the physical and mental health services they need. Per court order, DFPS will begin coordinating efforts to identify the biological mother and father of each child.

This isn’t the end of the legal process or a final determination on the custody of the children.  Throughout this process, each child will have several people who are looking out for his or her best interests.  The children will have court-appointed special advocates and attorneys who will monitor their child’s care and progress and report back to the court. DFPS will work with them, the parents, and the judge to make the best decisions for the long-term health and safety of the children.

April 19-20

The Texas Attorney General’s Office is arranging for DNA testing for all the children. On Monday, teams will begin collecting DNA swabs to comply with court-ordered paternity and maternity testing, including testing children and women in the shelters, men and women at the ranch, and boys already residing at a residential facility.

It will take several days to collect all the samples. Once the samples are collected DFPS will begin placing children in foster care.

Monday, April 21, 2008

DNA testing began today with children in the pavilion and then the women and children in the coliseum later in the afternoon.  CPS explained the process to the children and phones were made available for children and women to contact their attorneys if they wanted to discuss the testing or any other issue prior to consenting.  The testing went very well.  

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Today a team of DNA testers were in Eldorado to collect samples from anyone who claimed to be a parent of any of the children.

In coordination with the Department of Public Safety, DFPS began moving additional children into foster placements as DNA testing was completed and placements were finalized. To ease the transition from the shelters to licensed placements, DFPS has made considerable effort to ensure teenage girls will be placed together, pregnant minors and minors with young children will be placed together, and as much as possible sibling groups will be placed together. So far, DFPS has placed 138 children in foster care (ages 5 to 17), including the children transported from San Angelo today and the teenage boys who were previously relocated last week. 

After they are settled in their new placements, DFPS will begin evaluating the individual educational, healthcare and counseling needs of each child and create a service plan for each child. No child will go to a public school at this time. As with all children in foster care, these children will receive psychiatric evaluations and whatever services they need to adjust to their new situation. In addition, all foster care providers who may be caring for these children received information about how to accommodate their unique needs.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Today DFPS briefed Judge Barbara Walther on the health and status of all the Eldorado children since she ruled last week that they should remain in temporary state custody. The judge issued no new orders but prefers children younger than 12 months are kept with their adult mothers.

DFPS will make arrangements to accommodate the judge’s request as well as keep siblings together in foster care. Minors with children will also be kept together. While most of the mothers who have been staying in the shelters must be separated from children as they go into foster care, plans are being devised to allow and encourage visitation.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Today 64 women and 63 children left the shelter at the San Angelo Coliseum. Seventeen women who each have a child under 12 months of age were taken to a placement where they can stay with their children. The remaining children, including children who had previously claimed to be over 18, were placed in licensed residential child care facilities. The other women who left the coliseum were offered the choice to return to the YFZ Ranch or be taken to a safe location.  The children, both in the coliseum and being moved to placements, are doing very well.

DFPS continues to work with the hundreds of attorney ad litems in an effort to coordinate plans and facilitate communication with their clients.  The agency has created an e-mail distribution list to easily communicate with ad litems, installed phones in the coliseum complex to make it easier for attorneys to consult with their clients, and set up a dedicated toll free number to allow attorneys to leave messages for clients. The caseworkers assigned to the children in residential child care placements will also help to coordinate ad litem/child communication. 

Friday, April 25, 2008

Today, the last of the Eldorado children were moved from the shelter at the San Angelo coliseum into foster care settings across Texas. One child was transported to a hospital with dehydration as a precaution. The mass shelter is now being closed. Moving 462 children into foster care allows the children to live in safe, stable environments while the CPS investigation continues into sexual, physical, and emotional abuse at the YFZ Ranch near Eldorado, Texas.

While in the temporary custody of the state, all the children will be protected and safe. Caseworkers will be assigned to each child to make sure each receives the medical, psychological, and educational services needed. No long-term decisions or recommendations have been made about where the children will live. Judge Barbara Walther ruled that all the children would remain in state conservatorship for now. Status hearings will begin for each child starting in mid-May.