Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 118, § 1 (2026)

Definitions

✓ current as of July 2026

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Section 1. The following words and phrases as used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires, shall have the following meanings:—

''Dependent child'', a needy child who has been deprived of parental support or care by reason of the death, continued absence from the home, physical or mental incapacity or the unemployment of a parent, and who is living with his father, mother or other parent in a place of residence maintained by one or more of such relatives as his or their own home and who is under the age of eighteen or who is eighteen and a full-time student in a secondary school or in the equivalent level of vocational or technical training and who may reasonably be expected to complete such program before reaching age nineteen.

''Parent'', shall include, in addition to the father and mother of the dependent child, the following:— stepfather, stepmother, stepbrother, stepsister; any blood relative, including those of the half blood, except cousins who are more distantly related than first cousins; adoptive relative of equal propinquity to the foregoing; and spouses of any such persons.

''Aid to families with dependent children'', money payments with respect to families with a dependent child or children.

''Department'', the department of transitional assistance.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 16 cases, 1975–2015 · leading case: In Re the Dep't of Pub. Welfare to Dispense With Consent to Adoption, 421 N.E.2d 28 (Mass. 1981).

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In Re the Dep't of Pub. Welfare to Dispense With Consent to Adoption, 421 N.E.2d 28 (Mass. 1981). “” Under the same section “Parent” is defined as “mother or father” or, by express incorporation of the definition in G. L. c. 118, § 1, as appearing in St. 1967, c.”

Boston Reg'l Med. Ctr., Inc. v. Massachusetts Div. of Health Care Fin. & Policy, 365 F.3d 51 (1st Cir. 2004). “Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 118, § 1 . In the event that the Pool does not have sufficient funds to reimburse all hospitals for all of the free care provided, the amount paid from the Pool is weighted towards disproportionate share hospitals.”

Commonwealth v. Packer, 88 Mass. App. Ct. 585 (Mass. App. Ct. 2015). · cites it 2× “175, § 123 (stepparents are authorized to include stepchildren as insured family members on joint life insurance policies); G. L. c. 118, § 1 (stepparents are included within the definition of parent for the purposes of public assistance); G.”

Kerins v. Lima, 680 N.E.2d 32 (Mass. 1997). “646, § 1) as a “mother or father, unless specified [as a] parent” under G.L. c. 118, § 1; G.L. c. 231, § 85D (inserted by St.”

Smith v. Comm'r of Transitional Assistance, 431 Mass. 638 (Mass. 2000). “Transitional Aid for Families with Dependent Children, administered by the department, 3 is the successor program to Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC).”

Westcott v. Califano, 460 F. Supp. 737 (D. Mass. 1978). “the unemployment of a parent,” Mass.Gen.Laws Ann. c. 118, § 1, and, consequently, would permit AFDC and derivatively Medicaid benefits to be provided to families with needy children deprived of support because of the mother’s unemployment, the state welfare regulations implement…”

McCarthy v. Comm'r of Pub. Welfare, 396 N.E.2d 159 (Mass. App. Ct. 1979). · cites it 2× “G. L. c. 118, § 1. We also conclude that the plaintiff’s two sons were both needy and dependent upon her during their frequent stays at home and thus met Federal and State statutory and regulatory requirements for eligibility for benefits.”

Civetti v. Comm'r of Pub. Welfare, 467 N.E.2d 101 (Mass. 1984). “” G. L. c. 118, § 1, as amended through St.”

Morin v. Comm'r of Pub. Welfare, 448 N.E.2d 1287 (Mass. App. Ct. 1983). “); G. L. c. 118, § 1 (as amended through St.”

Dep't of Revenue v. C.M.J., 731 N.E.2d 501 (Mass. 2000). “Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children (TAFDC), administered by the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA), is the successor program to Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC).”

Opinion of the Justices to the House of Representatives, 333 N.E.2d 388 (Mass. 1975). “G. L. c. 118, § 1. To be eligible under the Federal law, however, the father must have been unemployed for at least thirty days prior to receipt of any assistance.”

Petition of the Dep't of Soc. Servs., 491 N.E.2d 270 (Mass. App. Ct. 1986). “” The word “parent” as used in § 23(C) is defined in the preceding § 21 to mean “mother or father” unless the context in which it appears indicates an intention to employ the broader definition of “parent” found in G.”

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