ATLANTA - Georgia's budget crisis has forced social service agencies around the state to close ahead of the long holiday weekend.

The Department of Human Services shuttered most programs on Friday, the first of 12 furlough days the agency is taking through June 2010 to cut costs. All but two of the days will be Fridays to minimize the impact on the availability of services.

The department will close ahead of two other holidays this year: On Nov. 25, the day before Thanksgiving, and on New Year's Eve.

The agency says critical human services such as child welfare and adult protective services will still be available statewide during the scheduled closings. For other services, the department is directing the public to its Web site on furlough days. The agency also has an online process to sign up for food stamps.

More than 9,300 social service workers are affected by the furloughs, which will help the agency avoid laying off about 500 staffers. The budget cuts will slash more than $23 million this fiscal year.

Other state agencies are facing a similar dilemma after Perdue ordered all of them to slash 5 percent from their spending plans to help fill a $900 million budget shortfall amid plummeting tax collections. School teachers and employees at the state's universities are also among the state workers being forced to take unpaid days off.

The closings of social services offices mean people in need will have to go elsewhere to get help, said the Rev. Timothy McDonald of First Iconium Baptist Church in Atlanta.

McDonald said that people often turn to churches when they don't know where else to go. Many will likely be seeking help for the first time, and may not know when the social service agencies are closed.

"People don't decide when they have needs," McDonald said. "Needs are often emergencies, and they don't go on furlough."

Dena Smith, DHS spokeswoman, said most people using the agency's services have appointments and that the furlough dates have been publicized.

"We also close every weekend," Smith said, explaining that the only difference in this situation is that workers are off and not being paid.

The agency covers aging, child support and child welfare.