Mass. Gen. Laws » Part I Title XVII Chapter 119
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 119, § 22 (2026)

Visitation of family foster homes; removal of child; discharge of child to parent or legal guardian

✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 22. An agent of the department shall visit each family foster home, not supervised and approved by a licensed placement agency, at least once a year and may be authorized by the department to remove a child to its care if, in its judgment, the welfare of the child or its protection from neglect or abuse so require. An agent who is refused entry or hindered in the removal of such child may make complaint, on oath, to a justice of the court having jurisdiction, who may thereupon issue a warrant authorizing the agent to obtain sufficient aid and, at any reasonable time, enter the building designated, and any part thereof, to investigate the treatment and condition of a child found there and to remove the child as herein provided. The department shall take the child temporarily into its care, immediately notify the child's parent or legal guardian and, upon request, discharge the child to a parent or legal guardian. If the parent or legal guardian is unable or refuses to make suitable provisions for the child, the department shall make lawful provisions for the child's care under section 23 or 24.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 3 cases, 1982–2014 · leading case: Adoption of a Minor, 438 N.E.2d 38 (Mass. 1982).
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Adoption of a Minor, 438 N.E.2d 38 (Mass. 1982). · cites it 2× “See G. L. c. 119, §§ 22, 23. Further, the Department may remove a child from foster care whenever “in its judgment the welfare of the child or its protection from neglect or abuse so require.”
Bower v. Bournay-Bower, 15 N.E.3d 745 (Mass. 2014). “3 (1986) (contrasting G. L. c. 119, § 22 [1984], which authorized Juvenile Court judges to issue warrants permitting agents of Department of Social Services to enter foster homes to investigate treatment and condition of children therein).”
Parents of Two Minors v. Bristol Div. of the Juv. Court Dep't, 494 N.E.2d 1306 (Mass. 1986). “3 In contrast, G. L. c. 119, § 22 (1984 ed.), directs DSS agents to visit foster homes, and provides that “[a]n agent who is refused such entry .”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.