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Last year when Governor Corbett, along with the a handful of county commissioners, backed the bundling of seven human services programs into one block grant, advocates, providers and clients rallied to stop the move.
In a compromise, the Human Services Block Grant, was rolled out as a pilot for 20 counties. During this busy budget period, Governor Corbett is again looking at the block grant as a way to, "increase flexibility and efficiency at the county level."
The initiative is now limited to 20 counties, which are receiving their state funding for seven distinct services - like drug and alcohol abuse, child welfare, and homeless assistance - in a single lump sum. The human services block grant pilot program allows counties to move money between programs.
"More people are being served, not less," insisted Commissioner Christian Leinbach of Berks County. He said because his county has participated in the pilot, it has already been able to serve an additional 40 people because funds were moved from one service line item to another.
Service providers and advocates say it's a dangerous approach, putting services in a competition for state funding that was cut by 10 percent in the current year's budget.
But a House panel signed off on a measure to expand the program Monday. Rep. Matt Baker (R-Tioga), chairman of the House Health Committee, said he hasn't heard complaints about the way the block grant program is working in the 20 participating counties.
"Normally if there's something that's just systemically wrong or dysfunctional or flawed, we hear about it," said Baker.
The approved proposal would expand the pilot program by 10 slots - giving first dibs to counties that were denied last September because of the 20-county cap on participation. If any one of those 10 counties don't apply, other counties will be able to submit applications. The Governor wants to open the program to all 67 counties. Senator Pat Vance (R-Cumberland) is sponsoring a Senate plan to open the full expansion. Democrats say they want to wait to open up the program until they get a report due in January on the program's implementation.
The pilot program is itself the result of a compromise between the Corbett administration and House opponents of the block grant approach, among them Rep. Gene DiGirolamo (R-Bucks), who is proposing to scrap the program altogether. Another House Republican proposal would expand the block grant pilot program to just 30 counties. | 
negotiate.