Without a state budget now for three months, things are getting tight for some of the agencies Butler County Human Services contracts with to provide services.

“It’s getting scarier,” said human services director Joyce Ainsworth.

So far, she said about 10 of the 100 contractors the department uses have asked for assistance to stay operational.

In Harrisburg, Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and the Republican-controlled Legislature have not been able to agree on a state budget. July 1 was the deadline to have a spending plan in place.

Ainsworth said that the county commissioners have committed to using general fund money to help keep these providers afloat. Ainsworth said the department has not had to tap into the county’s general fund yet.

She said the department still has a little reserve fund from last year, and it is using that to help contractors in need.

“That will be gone by the end of this month,” Ainsworth said.

Once that money is gone and the general fund money has to be used, she said the department would monitor the money situation every two weeks to see how long the county could continue to assist.

Although she would not name the agencies that are low on cash, she said they are smaller ones.

“They just can’t get the kind of lines of credit the larger organizations can,” Ainsworth said.

The department told its contractors earlier this year to seek lines of credit or use their reserves to stay in operation.

When the contractors are no longer able to use their reserves or have maxed out their credit, they have been told to contact the department to discuss using county money temporarily.

When the state passes a budget and the state money comes flowing again, the department will repay the county.

Kierston Hobaugh, executive director of the United Way of Butler County, said that nearly all human services providers that get state funding are struggling.

However, she said she has not heard of any specific providers reporting serious problems. She said the state budget situation is worrisome.

“I know, at some point, there’s going to be a breaking point (for providers),” Hobaugh said.

The United Way primarily gives grants, but Hobaugh said there have been instances in the past when it has helped entities in financial trouble. However, she said that is something the United Way does not typically do.

County human services provides services to roughly 20,000 clients.