Topeka ? A judge Friday chastised attorneys for community groups that want the state to spend more money on services for the developmentally disabled, telling the lawyers a lawsuit they filed is too vague.

Five groups and InterHab Inc., an association that represents service providers, contend the state needs to spend another $88 million a year to comply with a 1996 law designed to reform services for the developmentally disabled. They also argue the state has fallen at least $300 million short of meeting legal standards since the law took effect.

The Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services has asked District Judge Franklin Theis to dismiss a lawsuit InterHab and the groups filed in October against the state. Friday, Theis had a hearing and said from the bench he was struggling with the case and even some basic facts.

“I don’t think I have a clue how the Department of SRS operates these programs,” he said. “Until somebody puts some sides on it, I can’t see the end of the box.”

Theis did not rule on the department’s request to have the lawsuit dismissed, but he made comments from the bench that indicated he might let the case go forward despite his reservations.

“The case is going to be here, as imperfect, in my opinion, as it’s going to be,” Theis said. He said he would issue an opinion next week on whether the case would go forward.

After the hearing, Rodney Murrow, a Lenexa attorney representing InterHab and the groups, said their claims would be fleshed out as attorneys gather documents and interview potential witnesses before a trial.

“You don’t necessarily have developed facts at this early stage in the proceedings,” he said.

Joining InterHab in the lawsuit against the state, SRS and Secretary Janet Schalansky are the Kansas Elks Training Center for the Handicapped, of Wichita; Training and Evaluation Center of Hutchinson; Topeka Association for Retarded Citizens; Sheltered Living, of Topeka; and Tri-Valley Developmental Services, of Chanute.

Friday, Theis gave attorneys permission to add two recipients of services, identified only by their initials, as plaintiffs.

But Theis said he did not know exactly how InterHab and the groups claimed to have been specifically harmed by the alleged under-financing of programs for the developmentally disabled.

“I think there are some legitimate questions about the claims you’re making and your right to make them — I’ll be truthful with you,” Theis told the groups’ attorneys.

In court, Murrow told Theis it would be difficult to summarize which players handle what duties in financing and providing services for the developmentally disabled.

“That’s a complex question that doesn’t lend itself to an easy answer,” Murrow told the judge.