The children were removed from this home on Jefferson Avenue in Waco.

WACO (June 20, 2012)—Texas Child Protective Services confirmed Wednesday that CPS workers removed four small children Friday from a Waco home where they were living in "deplorable" conditions, according to a sworn affidavit that was part of a court filing seeking temporary custody of the youngsters.

A court order issued Monday granted the Department of Family and Protective Services temporary conservatorship of the four children.

Julie Moody of CPS in Austin confirmed Wednesday the four children were taken from the house after reports of neglect.

She said three girls, two age 4 and one age 1, and one boy age 2 remained in CPS custody Wednesday pending a court hearing, which court documents indicate is scheduled for next Tuesday.

The children's names were withheld because of their ages.

The affidavit said the yard of the home was cluttered with such objects as a mud-filled child’s swimming pool, dog feces, a butcher knife, empty cat litter boxes and various household items.

Inside the house the caseworker found “piles of dirty clothing, dirty dishes, trash, dog feces, food crumbs, household items, toys and boxes that were filled with various items…which could easily have fallen over,” the affidavit said.

“There were roaches crawling on the floor and inside of dishes in the kitchen,” the affidavit said.

The children all appeared healthy, the affidavit said, but were wearing only diapers and “appeared to have dirt on their face, feet and under their fingernails,” the affidavit said.

“Their hair was dirty and matted to their head,” the affidavit said.

The caseworker found one of the 4-year-old girls sitting on a sofa in a bedroom eating a hamburger, which she was sharing with a dog, the affidavit said.

The children’s parents, the affidavit said, “Failed to realize the living condition was not safe or appropriate for the children.”

CPS contacted City of Waco code enforcement officials who inspected the house and green-tagged it, meaning that it’s repairable, but unfit for occupancy and should be vacated until repairs are made.

Waco police Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton said CPS workers contacted police Friday for assistance at 2117 Jefferson Ave., where the children were living with a grandmother.

Swanton said no reports of arrest were filed and it did not appear the children had been injured, but officers who responded said the living conditions in the house were deplorable and the children were not safe there.

Swanton said animal control officers also were sent to the house to remove some pets because there would be no one there to care for them.