Mass. Gen. Laws » Part I Title XVII Chapter 118
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 118, § 2 (2026)

Aid to parents with dependent children

✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 2. The department shall aid a parent in properly bringing up, in his or her own home, each dependent child, but no aid shall be granted, under this chapter, for, or on account of, any child unless the said child resides in the commonwealth. Further, the department shall render aid to any pregnant women, who is otherwise eligible, upon medical verification of pregnancy. The aid furnished shall be sufficient to enable such parent to bring up such child or children properly in his or her own home, and shall be in an amount to be determined in accordance with budgetary standards of the department, and shall be granted from the date on which the applicant is determined to be eligible or thirty days from the receipt of a signed and completed application form, whichever is earlier. Such assistance shall be paid by cash or in check and shall be paid semimonthly in advance unless the applicant prefers less frequent payments. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, aid shall be provided for each such child or children without regard to whether the child was conceived or born after the parent began receiving aid under this chapter.

Payment for funeral expenses of any such parent or dependent child in his or her custody may be paid directly to the person furnishing such services. Payment for other services rendered to such parent or dependent child in his or her custody may be paid directly to the person furnishing such services only when such payment is effected to meet an expense which remained unpaid at the time of the death of the parent or his commitment to an institution as a mentally ill person or in a case where such payment is necessary to discharge an obligation incurred by the department in securing such services for such parent or dependent child. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as authorizing any public official, agent or representative, in carrying out any provision of this chapter, to take charge of any child over the objection of the father or the mother of such child, or of the person standing in loco parentis to such child, except pursuant to a proper court order.

The department may pay a sum not exceeding $1,100 toward the funeral and final disposition of a recipient to the funeral establishment if there are insufficient resources to pay for the cost of such funeral and final disposition and if the total expense of the funeral and final disposition does not exceed $3,500. The commonwealth shall have the right of reimbursement from whatever resources may exist in the estate of the recipient.

Effective July first of every year, subject to appropriation, the department shall increase the total budget of each eligible recipient, before taking into consideration any available income and resources, by a percentage amount equal to the percentage rise in the United States Consumer Price Index for January first of that year over the level of said index for January first of the previous year plus such additional percentage amount as is recommended annually by the department and appropriated by the general court.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 14 cases, 1966–2000 · leading case: Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless v. Sec'y of Human Servs., 511 N.E.2d 603 (Mass. 1987).
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Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless v. Sec'y of Human Servs., 511 N.E.2d 603 (Mass. 1987). · cites it 25× “The plaintiffs sought a declaration that then current AFDC payments did not reflect the level of needed AFDC assistance which, they contend, the Commissioner of Public Welfare (commissioner) must determine annually pursuant to G. L. c. 118, § 2 (1984 ed.), and G. L. c.”
Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless v. Sec'y of the Exec. Off. of Health & Human Servs., 422 Mass. 214 (Mass. 1996). · cites it 20× “18, § 2 (B) (g), to review its budgets of assistance; (3) the department has an obligation to advise the Legislature whenever the department concludes the AFDC funds are not sufficient to permit it to provide the level of financial aid described in G. L. c. 118, § 2; (4) the…”
Martinez v. Comm'r of Pub. Welfare, 397 Mass. 386 (Mass. 1986). · cites it 7× “See G. L. c. 118, § 2(1984ed.). To qualify for AFDC, an applicant must meet the categorical and financial eligibility requirements established by the department.”
Buckley Nursing Home, Inc. v. Massachusetts Comm'n Against Discrimination, 478 N.E.2d 1292 (Mass. App. Ct. 1985). “See G. L. c. 118, § 2; 106 Code Mass. Regs. § 304.”
Brady v. Brady, 403 N.E.2d 1174 (Mass. 1980). “For example, G. L. c. 118, § 2, as amended through St.”
Smith v. Comm'r of Transitional Assistance, 431 Mass. 638 (Mass. 2000). “The program was amended by the Welfare Reform Act in 1995, an act whose stated purposes were to “promot[e] the principles of family unity, individual responsibility and self-reliance and to structure financial and economic incentives and disincentives that promote such…”
Ingerson v. Sharp, 423 F. Supp. 139 (D. Mass. 1976). · cites it 2× “M.G.L. c. 118 § 2; Massachusetts Public Assistance Policy Manual, ch.”
Civetti v. Comm'r of Pub. Welfare, 467 N.E.2d 101 (Mass. 1984). “” G. L. c. 118, § 2, as amended through St.”
Robertson v. Ott, 284 F. Supp. 735 (D. Mass. 1968). · cites it 3× “G.L. c. 118 § 2 is unconstitutional because it denies the plaintiffs the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States.”
MacQuarrie v. Balch, 285 N.E.2d 103 (Mass. 1972). “” G. L. c. 118, § 2, as amended through St.”
Campbell v. Comm'r of Pub. Welfare, 491 N.E.2d 590 (Mass. 1986). · cites it 4× “The plaintiff argues that the use of retrospective budgeting by the Department of Public Welfare (department) to calculate the amount of public assistance to which she was entitled in October and November, 1983, (1) violated G. L. c. 118, § 2 (1984 ed.), (2) violated 42 U.”
Springfield Hosp. v. Comm'r of Pub. Welfare, 216 N.E.2d 440 (Mass. 1966). “556, § 1), providing that local boards of public welfare, subject to the supervision and valid regulations of the State department, shall grant aid (AFDC) to certain families with dependent children “sufficient to enable .”
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