Austin, USA - Texas child welfare officials say they are taking "immediate steps" to reunite more than 450 children with their parents at the West Texas polygamist ranch.
The children were taken to Austin from the Yearning for Zion Ranch near Eldorado seven weeks ago to prevent possibly sexually abusive marriages of young girls to older men. The Texas Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling Thursday that the removal of the children was illegal.
"We are disappointed, but we understand and respect the court's decision and will take immediate steps to comply," Marleigh Meisner, a spokeswoman for Child Protective Services, told the Houston Chronicle and The San Antonio Express-News. "We will continue to prepare for the prompt and orderly reunification of these children with their families."
It was not apparent how soon the children would be returned and restrictions can be placed on their living arrangements. Child Protective Services attorneys must return to court to try to regain custody of some of the older children, whose safety was at the heart of the matter,
The Texas Supreme Court upheld a May 22 ruling by the 3rd Court of Appeals in Austin that said the state didn't have enough evidence to order into foster care every child who lived at the ranch instead of just the teenage girls considered at risk.