Blue River Services warns Medicaid cuts will force program reductions, cites housing projects underway

Tammy Sites, chief operating officer at Blue River Services, told commissioners that recent Medicaid reimbursement changes are reducing the agency's ability to provide services; she said the local 'healthy families' program that serves 45 people will be discontinued and that an industrial work services contract affecting 34 people will end on June 30, 2027. "The Medicaid cuts are drastically affecting the people we serve where they're losing their Medicaid funding," Sites said.

Sites described some ongoing projects supported by grants, including rebuilding a Nichols Avenue group home for eight residents and constructing up to eight income‑based duplexes on adjacent property, and said the agency is applying for additional grants (including Homeland Security and others where appropriate) to fill gaps. Commissioners acknowledged the nonprofit's contributions and discussed starting a county conversation on supplemental shelter funding and other support avenues; one commissioner proposed a $100,000 starting point for additional assistance to the shelter network, to be vetted during later budget deliberations.