Texas child welfare officials have brought in mental health professionals and behavioral experts to try to ensure a sense of normalcy for the more than 400 children removed from a polygamous sect's enclave.

The main temple on the grounds of the "Yearning for Zion" ranch, home of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Eldorado, Texas. AP PHOTO

But for all their lives, the boys and girls of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints have been told the outside world was hostile and immoral. Venturing beyond the brilliant white limestone walls of their compound would consign them to eternal damnation, their church leaders preached.

Now, if the state gets its way, hundreds of children could be put in foster homes, in what could be a wrenching cultural adjustment that may require intensive counseling.

"What they are up against is having to deprogram an entire community," said Margaret Cooke, who left the sect with seven of her eight children near the end of 1994. The children "are so naive and they have been sheltered to the point that they don't even trust their own judgment."

Marleigh Meisner, a spokeswoman for the state Children's Protective Services, said the agency is working with mental health and other experts to meet the specific needs of the children. That information would be passed to foster families if a judge decides the children should be transferred to foster homes, she said.

"We want to keep their world as normal as possible," Meisner said. "We also want to be certain that these children have gained a trust with us. We want these children to know that even if they may not have been safe in the past, they will be safe as long as they are with us."