The Welfare Law Unit (WLU) uses legal tools to increase economic stability for families and individuals living in poverty. We defend and promote access to financial assistance, food assistance, and child care benefits. We use what we learn representing our clients to defend and improve these benefits for people across Massachusetts.
Direct Client Services
The Welfare Law Unit represents clients in cases involving:
- TAFDC cash assistance for families and pregnant persons
- EAEDC cash assistance for individuals with disabilities, caretakers, and some children
- SNAP (Food Stamps) benefits
- Child care financial assistance (vouchers)
How We Help
Our team of lawyers, paralegals, and law students provides legal representation to clients. We provide interpreters to our clients whose English is limited. We provide disability accommodations to ensure that our services are accessible.
Here are examples of common issues we work on:
- Benefits denied, stopped, or reduced in error
- Advice or legal help with program rules, such as:
- TAFDC child support rules
- TAFDC work rules and time limit
- TAFDC school attendance rules
- SNAP work rules and time limit
- EAEDC disability rules
- Eligibility rules for immigrants
- Verification requirements
- Eligibility for child care vouchers
- Advice or legal help with barriers to getting benefits, such as:
- Language access
- Disability access
- Domestic violence
- Inability to get through to welfare agency
- Benefit overpayments and fraud claims
Community Partnerships
The Welfare Law Unit works with many community organizations. These include homeless shelters, health centers, early intervention programs and community groups. We provide information and training on benefits and answer our partners’ questions about benefits. Our partners also refer clients to us.
Many of our clients are looking for help with other legal issues in addition to benefits. Whenever possible, we refer our clients for help from other units at Greater Boston Legal Services (GBLS).
Read more about the Welfare Law Unit’s community partnerships.
Impact Advocacy
Through our direct representation of individual clients and work with community groups, the Welfare Law Unit has a deep understanding of the welfare system in Massachusetts. We use this understanding to defend and promote access to public benefits for people across Massachusetts. We use a variety of legal advocacy tools, including:
- Advocating for changes to regulations, policies, and practices at the state and federal level;
- Litigation; and
- Legislative advocacy
Read more about the Welfare Law Unit's impact advocacy.
One Family's Case Restored Benefits for 25 Others
“Marjorie” came to GBLS for help when her TAFDC cash assistance stopped suddenly. Marjorie cannot work because she is the sole caregiver for her child with disabilities who needs constant care. The Welfare Law Unit discovered that the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) had stopped Marjorie’s benefits in error. Further inquiry showed this was a systems error that had impacted approximately 25 other families, who also lost benefits improperly. DTA restored benefits to Marjorie's family as well as the other 25 families.