Pa. wait lists grow by the day

HARRISBURG, Pa. - The waiting lists for Pennsylvania's human service programs all have a beginning, but, it seems, no end.

With Gov. Rendell and legislators unable to agree on how to address a multibillion-dollar deficit, the fortunes of many state programs are up in the air.

But the plunge in state tax collections does not bode well for people waiting their turn for everything from preschool to placements in group homes for mentally disabled adults.

"It's never been easy for people on a waiting list," said Sheila Stasko, mother of a 33-year-old mentally disabled son in Lehigh County and administrator of the Web site www.pawaitinglistcampaign.org. "It seems like in good times there's never enough money and in bad times they're the first ones to get kicked out."

The waiting lists are routinely cited in the debate over the state budget as the spending stalemate drags through its seventh week.

Here are examples:

More than 280,000 are on the list for adultBasic, the state's low-cost health-insurance program for lower-income adults, easily more than two years long.

About 16,000 await the state's day-care subsidy designed to help low-income parents hold jobs.

More than 13,000 are waiting for day, home, and community services for the mentally disabled.

Earlier this month, Rendell authorized $12.8 billion in spending that ensures state employees get their paychecks, the poor get medical care, and government offices, prisons, and state parks stay open.

But he vetoed nearly $13 billion that Republicans had endorsed for human services, education, and more, criticizing the amount as inadequate to sustain and improve crucial services.