Currently, most children taken from their homes for emotional problems or learning disabilities are sent to foster homes, but those homes do not provide the 24-hour observation kids would have at the ranch, Rosenbaum said.

The institution would employ about 100 people with an average salary of $40,000 a year. Tekoa Ranch would hire a director to run the daily operations.

Developers are speaking with someone who has a master’s degree in psychology and 15 years’ experience leading institutions similar to Tekoa Ranch, Rosenbaum said.

The ranch would serve about 120 children at a time. Each child would stay on campus for about 14 to 18 months, Rosenbaum said.