HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf acknowledged Friday that nonprofit social services providers may have to borrow money during the state budget stalemate, but he said they should share his broader goal of doing the right thing for Pennsylvania.

Spending on social services is not a major point of contention between the Democratic governor and the Republican-controlled Legislature in their 3-week-old stalemate. However, billions of dollars that would otherwise flow to counties and nonprofit groups that provide a range of social services, including child protective services and addiction and mental health counseling, are expected to be held up in a wider dispute over Wolf’s priorities.

Wolf said he understands the concern over social services agencies having to foot the bill to borrow money while they wait for the state to reimburse them.

“Apparently, if they are forced to borrow money, the cost is not reimbursable in many cases by the state, so that is something that would not be good,” he said in an interview on radio in Pittsburgh.

Wolf said he is doing everything he can to find ways to protect social services agencies from being harmed by a longer impasse, although he did not specify what, if anything, his administration is doing or could do.

“I want to make sure that the disruption is as little as possible, so I’ll continue to work on that,” Wolf said. “But ... in the long run, all of us, including the social services agencies, have a vested interest in making sure we do the right thing for Pennsylvania and that’s what I’m focused on.”

Negotiations between Wolf and Republican lawmakers were at a standstill Friday.

County and social service agency officials say a continuing impasse is sure to impact their services, in particular by creating service delays and longer waiting lists.

“These are people who are in crisis who are not getting services,” said Samantha Balbier, executive director of the Greater Pittsburgh Nonprofit Partnership.

In 2009, many agencies laid off employees, borrowed money or shut down during a budget impasse that lasted into October under then-Gov. Ed Rendell.

The last payments to social services providers went out earlier in July, meaning that the first missed payment would be in August if the impasse continues.