The last news I heard about this, they were getting ready to start evaluating individual cases. I bet none of this is easy for anyone.

Having lived in Southern Utah, I did come into contact with some of the polygamists there. A few of the children were enrolled in public education programs. Maybe it was mostly the ones who were least connected to the strict following of the FLDS church. I also know what happens to some of the boys. They kick them out. They will excommunicate boys over offenses like listening to music, playing video games, or looking at a girl. I met at least one man who had been kicked out as a boy. That's a difficult adjustment too, especially being cut off from their families and everything they have known.

In the past, I had met polygamous families who seemed to have relatively well-adjusted children and were only a little bit suspicious of outsiders. There was a girl, about 17 at the time, who showed goats at the state fair, and spent some time with a group of other exhibitors, and talked with us. She seemed to have options, and didn't seem to be under too much pressure to get married right away. My sense of the whole situation is that it has gotten worse over the last few years. I don't think they used to push marrying off the girls so young, or do so much brainwashing, as they seem to do now.