LEWISTON — Medicaid budget cuts will force the operator of four Maine homes for young mothers to change their operations, but the work should continue.

Reid Scher, executive director of Saint Andre Home, said the group will retool and change its programs.

“We look at the homes that we currently own as grounding us in the communities,” Scher said. “How we use them may change. It’s conceivable that the homes we own will continue to be a service site for us, with programming that looks different. At this point, we are not committing to shutting down any of the homes that we currently operate. That is clear.”

The organization, which began as a service of the Good Shepherd Sisters of Quebec, operates four homes in Maine — one in Bangor, one in Biddeford and two in Lewiston — the St. Andre Group Home at Sabattus Street and Central Avenue and Mary’s Place on Oxford Street.

Scher said the agency, based in Biddeford, looks to lose 90 percent of its funding due to a Medicaid rule change.

“That will be ending on June 30,” Scher said. “Basically, I think it’s a combination of (the Maine Department of Health and Human) services contending that they are not getting the outcomes they want and that they can provide them a lot cheaper. We take issue with that.”

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Scher said the agency’s board is beginning to review it’s budget now, with an eye toward replacing those cuts.

“We are looking at self-funding,” Scher said. “If we do, I don’t know how many homes we could provide. There are various and sundry funding options, and we are looking at every option.”

Currently, Saint Andre Home provides counseling for young mothers, pregnant teens and young children.

“We feel like intervening at that point, when they are young, is the most effective way we can strengthen family life,” he said.

New services could include counseling, case management and in-home services.

“The bulk of our services in the future will be heavily emphasized on providing them in the clients’ home,” Scher said. “That is a way people can be effectively served, when you are in their environment and supporting them. And there may be services provided in our buildings as well. We have not decided yet.”

staylor@sunjournal.com


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