SPRINGFIELD -- The state's prolonged budget battle has endangered a program known for trying to assist high school dropouts.

So far, the start date for the Lincoln's Challenge Academy has been pushed back because Gov. Pat Quinn and state lawmakers haven't yet agreed on a spending plan.

Teenagers from across Illinois can enroll in the military-style program. It lasts for 22 weeks in Rantoul, followed by a year of the participants working in their communities with a mentor.

But it's partially paid for by the state. And without an agreement over state spending, the program's future is cloudy.

"Who knows what they're going to cut?" said Mike Chrisman, spokesman for the Illinois Department of Military Affairs.

The Lincoln's Challenge Academy is just one example of the uncertainty that comes with an incomplete state budget. The deadline for finishing the plan was the end of May. And the new state fiscal year began Wednesday with no budget in place.

The Lincoln's Challenge program helps about 600 people a year, Chrisman said. The most recent class was scheduled to start at the end of this week.

But with lawmakers not even scheduled to meet until July 14, the program has been pushed back until July 23.

Chrisman said whether the academy happens at all depends on the state budget situation.

For Alizabeth Shepherd of Bloomington, this summer would be her last chance to participate in Lincoln's Challenge because she turns 19 soon and would become ineligible.

She said she wants to go through the program to get her GED and learn various life skills.

"I'm hoping that this will help straighten her out," said her mother, Cynthia Shepherd.

Now, the state pays for about 40 percent of the program, and the federal government picks up the rest. When Lincoln's Challenge began in the early 1990s, the federal government paid for the full program.

"The reason I wanted to do it is because I've heard so much positive about it," Alizabeth Shepherd said.