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SAN ANGELO, Texas - One watchdog of the Texas child-welfare system called last week's status hearings for FLDS parents highly unusual.

"In every single hearing I heard it was rubber-stamping and not caring what the Texas code says about family service plans," said Johana Scot, executive director of the Parent Guidance Center in Austin.

Scot is a former court-appointed special advocate volunteer who has spent the past four years helping parents navigate the state's child-welfare system. She spent two days sitting through hearings in San Angelo last week.

Her conclusion: The process has been altered and parents shut out.

Marleigh Meisner, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Family and Protective Services, said Monday she could not comment on Scot's criticism of the process.

The state typically assigns a single caseworker to a family, aiding continuity and communication as parents work to be reunited with their children, she said. In the FLDS cases, there are separate workers for parents and children - and only the parents' caseworkers participated in most hearings.

Scot also said it was atypical for parents to have no say in the service plans before the status hearings or for judges to refuse to make changes in them.

"The status hearing is designed so the judge can hear what CPS and the family has come up with as a 'cure' for the family," she said.

Judges routinely alter the plans at status hearings to take out elements that are irrelevant or add services a parent needs, Scot said.

Several attorneys sought adjustments; a number asked judges to eliminate educational assessments for infants but were turned down. One attorney asked Judge Barbara Walther to order "Preparation for Adult Living" training to one young mother's but she refused.

There was little to no discussion about what services children would require while in state custody - something Scot called "glaring."

She said that service plans usually list names and telephone numbers of parenting class providers, but caseworkers said providers were being given "cultural sensitivity" training and contact information would not be available until June. Scot called that "disturbing."

"These people do this everyday for a living but CPS is going to give them training? That says the parent . . . is not going to get unbiased service," she said.