Gov. Janet Mills plans to nominate a deputy commissioner at the Maine Department of Health and Human Services to take over the state's largest agency.
Sara Gagné-Holmes joined the senior leadership team at DHHS just two months after Mills took office in 2019. She previously worked as a health care attorney and as a policy advisor to former Democratic Gov. John Baldacci. And Mills appointed Gagné-Holmes acting commissioner in May after the agency's leader for the previous five years, Jeanne Lambrew, stepped down to work on national policy issues.
“Acting Commissioner Gagné-Holmes cares deeply about the health, safety, and welfare of Maine people, and she has dedicated nearly her entire professional career to improving the lives of people across this state,” Mills said in a statement. "Her deep policy and managerial experience, her intimate knowledge of the department — including both its strengths and its challenges — along with the respect she has earned from her colleagues, lawmakers and others, and her collaborative approach to solving problems make her the right person at the right time to take on this important role.”
Gagné-Holmes' nomination will have to be confirmed by the Maine Senate following a confirmation hearing in the Legislature's Health and Human Services Committee.
But Sen. Joe Baldacci, a Bangor Democrat who co-chairs the committee, said in an interview on Thursday that he was pleased with the nomination. He said Gagné-Holmes "has served us well . . . as deputy commissioner, she has had extensive experience in government and I think that she is prepared to take on the challenges."
That said, Baldacci said he expects "a good conversation" in the committee given the complexities of the job.
"I think that there will be tough questions asked of her just like any nominee in terms of direction and in terms of organization, in terms of some of the challenges that we have gone over the last couple of years, those with the child protective system and other aspects of the Department of Health and Human Services," said Baldacci, the brother of the former governor. "So I think she'll get some tough questions but overall I expect that she'll get a positive response from the committee."
Balcacci's committee co-chair, Democratic Rep. Michele Meyer of Eliot, also praised the nomination.
"Acting Commissioner Gagné-Holmes has proven herself as a leader in the department and her experience will serve Maine well in carrying forward the mantle of their important work, especially keeping children safe by keeping families strong, and ensuring that all Maine people have access to the physical and mental health care and support services that they need," Meyer said in a statement released by the governor's office. "I look forward to learning more about her vision for the Department at a future confirmation hearing.”
DHHS houses most of the state's social services programs as well as MaineCare, and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. But arguably the highest-profile challenges have been within child welfare programs.
Responding to multiple child deaths in recent years, the department has spent millions of dollars to hire additional case workers and increase training. But recent reports suggest problems persist with employee retention and morale. And Maine's child welfare ombudsman said earlier this year that staff continue to struggle with decision making around child safety.
The director of the Office of Child and Family Services within DHHS resigned last year amid a growing chorus for reforms within the agency. Members of the Legislature's Government Oversight Committee, whose independent watchdog agency has conducted multiple investigations into child welfare programs over the past five years, have often accused top DHHS administrators of failing to support child welfare workers as well as foster families.
Some of those lawmakers tried unsuccessfully last year to remove the child welfare and protective services programs from DHHS in order to create a separate, stand-alone agency. Advocates for additional changes within DHHS are expected to continue calling for more reforms during next year's legislative session.
