"I like taking care of the animals very much. It's much better than being a janitor," said a shaky, sincere, voice.

Clyde and others spoke to a legislative committee Friday to support a bill that would provide additional funding to the program -- for a $2.2 million budget, to cover the service for 25 percent of the people on the waiting list for the program, which is now 1,654 people long.

"When someone can work, it gives them hope," said Rep. John Dougall, R-Highland.

"This funding request won't make much of a dent in the pressure these families feel," said Joyce Dolcourt, of the Arc of Utah, "but we're always grateful for whatever the legislature provides."

Arc of Utah provides support for people with disabilities and their families.

The list is compiled with the most critical individuals served first, Dolcourt said.

Clyde, who made it off the waiting list, has worked at the Silver Paw Lodge in Draper since March 2007, taking care of dogs. Clyde takes two buses and TRAX to get there, said Rhonda Jenkins, the owner of the Silver Paw Lodge.

"He's a great, reliable employee," Jenkins said. "He goes to great lengths to get here and is very dedicated. He has a real desire."

Jenkins said she supports the program, and would encourage other employers to participate based on the jobs they have available that would suit the program.

"With the job coach, [employers] have the guarantee that the job will be done," Kris Fawson, a member of the legislative coalition for people with disabilities, told the committee.

Fawson, who has a son with Down syndrome, said that her son never needed the program or Medicaid. He works as a teaching assistant and now has his own insurance coverage.

"But not everyone is nearly as fortunate as we have been," Fawson said. "Many need that added support and training to make them ready for jobs."

Since the list was started in the 1980s, 142 individuals with disabilities have been taken off of the original waiting list and 70 of those people are working. Thirteen of them are entirely through the process, with little or no support from the program, said Dr. David Sundwall of the Utah Department of Health.

Fawson added that this program has helped many families and given hope to many people by providing them with something to do during the day, cutting down or eliminating the need for hospice care.

The program has hopes of helping individuals "work their way out" of Medicaid, Sundwall said.

The bill was passed unanimously by the House of Representative Health and Human Services committee on Friday.