According to the department’s Web site, a basic level child is the lowest of four levels. Characteristics of a child in need of basic care services may include transient difficulties and occasional misbehavior, briefly acting out in response to stress; display behavior that is minimally disturbing to others, but typical of the child’s age and can be corrected.

Rick Jones, who lives across the street from the proposed group home, said the basic care designation can be deceiving.

Jones, 52, is an instructor at the Al Price State School, a Texas Youth Commission facility between Beaumont and Port Arthur. Jones said he has a total 25 years experience working with troubled children —some of those years at facilities similar to the church group home.

“I’ve worked with every level child from intensive care to basic care,” he said.

Jones said children sometimes were at higher levels, but are reclassified —sometimes just prior to being placed in a group care facility that only takes better behaved children.

“There’s a good possibility that their needs could be greater. Kids’ behavior changes all the time,” he said.

From his experience, Jones said he had never known a facility where children did not escape, or get into fights.

Another concern, he said, was that some of the children were victims of sexual abuse, with the possibility of becoming sexual abusers themselves.

Jones said therapeutically, it is much better for foster children to live in rural settings.

“I hate to say, ‘not in my backyard,’ but I’ve lived in their backyard before. This has been my life’s work and I know what type of programs work, and what doesn’t,” Jones said.

Since the church purchased the home, Roberts said Beauxart Gardens residents had been invited to a meeting at the home, then a town hall meeting Thursday at the church.

Prior to the town hall meeting, many of the church’s 800-or so membership received hand-delivered letters from the Beauxart Gardens residents the Saturday prior to Easter.

“The letter asked our people not to give to the Easter offering that was going toward this ministry,” Roberts said.

Instead of detracting from the offering, church members rallied for the cause and gave generously, Roberts said.

Therapeutic Family Life’s Orange office will be in charge of child placement. The group contracts with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to find homes for children who have been removed from their families by the state agency.