ST. PAUL — In testimony ranging from the heartfelt to the highly technical, Minnesota residents and groups with money in limbo during the indefinite state government shutdown pleaded Friday with a special judge to keep their programs afloat.

A few at a time appeared before retired Supreme Court Chief Justice Kathleen Blatz, a court-appointed “special master” examining services that could be deemed critical. A court order this week broadly protected programs essential to life, health and public safety, and Blatz will make recommendations about which state-financed services fit the definition.

Promptly at 8 a.m. in a hearing room near Minnesota’s now shuttered Capitol, Blatz took her place at one table, with state attorneys at tables on either end. She didn’t let the significance of the proceeding go unnoted. “This is an extraordinary time,” she said near the outset. And, she added, “a work in progress.”

Nonprofit organizations that serve battered women, people in chemical dependency treatment and disabled adults who need around-the-clock care came forward. A dozen blind people sat by as advocates pressed their case. School officials and other government entities were also on the daylong schedule.

A pair of women who use Vail Place, a state-supported mental health nonprofit, shared intimate details about battling suicidal thoughts and expressed fears they’ll have to go without a program vital to them. One of them, Julie Tate, said she’ll suffer without the counseling and companionship she finds at Vail Place.

“I don’t say this to scare you,” she said. “I’m afraid something so necessary for my life could be considered optional.”

Joseph Cassioppi, an attorney for Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton, said the administration was investigating whether the prior court order would cover the needed funding. But he offered no guarantee.

The hearing exposed a philosophical rift between Dayton’s office and that of Democratic Attorney General Lori Swanson. She sought a more expansive view of core services that would persist in a shutdown. Solicitor General Alan Gilbert openly disagreed with the administration’s narrower posture and invited Blatz to look beyond things identified in the earlier court order.

The process showed how intertwined state services can be.

While this week’s court order preserved personal care programs for vulnerable adults, some companies that provide the medical care told Blatz that they need the state to keep doing criminal background checks on their new hires.

Bruce Nelson of the Association of Residential Resources of Minnesota said there is significant employee turnover in his industry so checks are constantly requested. Minnesota law restricts training and work by people who haven’t been given state clearance.

“It’s much like if we funded buses and said we will have buses running, but we won’t pay for the gas,” Nelson said. “We have to have people who are qualified to work.”

The state Department of Human Services has 5,165 people still working during the shutdown, but the background check division is closed and its 46 employees idled. A department official said the agency typically does 1,100 background checks a day for industries it regulates.

Some said the shutdown was already taking a toll.

Liz Richards, a director at the Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women, said three emergency shelters suspended services Friday morning.

“If state funding is not restored now, every day of a government shutdown will force more programs to close their doors,” she said.

Blatz gave no timetable for her recommendations, which will be forwarded to the district court judge presiding over shutdown litigation.