HARRISBURG — Children's advocates rallied behind Gov. Ed Rendell on Monday even as dollars for preschool and day care are drying up because of the state government's budget impasse.

Flanked by dozens of advocates for day care, preschool and early childhood education, Rendell called on the Legislature to finalize a responsible budget that meets his education goals.

"These are hard times," Rendell said, referring to a steep drop-off in state tax collections caused by the recession. "But in the hardest of times, if you do government right ... you don't let them to cause you to sacrifice the state's future and the children's future."

Rendell, a Democrat, and Republicans who control the state Senate are divided over how to resolve a multibillion-dollar revenue shortfall, preventing passage of a complete budget nearly seven weeks into the new fiscal year.

In the meantime, state government is running on a bare-bones budget approved earlier this month that excludes funds for many social services, public schools and other vital programs.

Without the state subsidies, day care providers are laying off workers, preschools are scrapping plans to reopen in September and many other nonprofit providers of services for the poor, disabled and elderly are struggling to stay afloat.

Several dozen day care and other social-service providers demonstrated Monday on the Capitol steps.

One of them, Tracy Ostrowsky, said she has laid off five workers at her York day care center because she has not been reimbursed by the state for the several dozen children who are subsidized.

"We're not going to make it more than 60 days without a budget," said Ostrowsky, who demonstrated with two of her children.

Republicans say they are not opposed to putting more money toward education and social services, as long as it does not take a tax increase to do it.