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	Our Opinion: Jeffs Trial Reveals Gaps in Government Response to Crimes San Angelo Standard-Times August 28, 2011 http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2011/aug/27/our-opinion-jeffs-trial-reveals-gaps-in-response/ Along with appalling evidence of Warren Jeffs' apparent repeated sexual abuse of children, the trial of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints leader revealed new areas that need to be addressed by state and federal lawmakers. Perhaps most frustrating has been the revelation that case workers have not been on the Yearning for Zion Ranch in Schleicher County in two years. That's despite the removal of more than 400 children from the ranch in 2008 in perhaps the largest child custody case in U.S. history. Texas Department of Family and Protective Services officials say state District Judge Barbara Walther terminated their involvement when the last case was resolved. Attorneys who represented several of the children disagree, saying the law permits Child Protective Services to visit any time they want. If the law is unclear, the Legislature needs to remedy the problem. While the FLDS case obviously is extreme, it seems reasonable that the law would permit home visits in situations where there's a question about whether the conditions that led to the initial investigation have improved. Three and a half years after the raid that garnered international attention, we don't know whether children still are being abused. How can that be? Under normal circumstances, children could be observed in public school settings. But FLDS children are taught at the ranch and rarely are seen away from it. That raises other questions about whether that type of home schooling warrants some sort of state oversight to ensure that basic instruction standards are being met. Another glaring disappointment is the lack of federal-state cooperation in dealing with FLDS issues. Since a promising meeting between federal authorities and officials from Arizona, Nevada and Utah in June 2008, nothing has occurred, primarily because of lack of interest shown in Washington. The FLDS has become expert in manipulating a dearth of multistate cooperation and laws to deal with people who cross state lines, and the situation is unlikely to change significantly just because Jeffs is in prison. The feds need to get in the game, and that seemed clear to everyone after congressional hearings in the summer of 2008. But if Congress and the administration don't follow through, there at least should be a standing task force composed of officials from Texas and the other states with a large FLDS presence to share information and lay plans for dealing with the problems they all experience. Finally, the Jeffs trial raised questions about whether — and if not, why — women in the FLDS who made their young daughters available for marriage to adult men should be prosecuted. The most shocking evidence was an audio recording of Jeffs assaulting a 12-year-old girl, and not only were women present, they apparently participated. No new law is needed to hold accountable those who engage in such behavior. While there may be an inclination to regard FLDS women as victims more deserving of sympathy than retribution, it's just as true that they typically have been directly involved in the child abuse and that prosecuting them may be necessary to send a strong message.
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