Providing constituent services for individuals living in the Hampshire, Franklin, Worcester district is a central focus of our office’s work.

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Our state senate team works to ensure the resources, expertise, and services available across state government are accessible to all residents in our district’s cities and towns. We are available to advocate for you with colleagues at state agencies. While we cannot compel a state agency to make a particular decision, we do work to ensure that your inquiry is understood, that you receive a timely and fair response, and that agencies take appropriate actions to address your needs.

Below are some of the constituent services our office offers as well as the information we’ll need from you in order to assist. To request assistance, please complete and submit this form or call (413) 367-4656.

Art

Cash assistance

Child support

Children and family services

Civil rights protections

Court interpretation services

COVID-19

Elder hotline

Food security

Fuel assistance

Health insurance

Housing

Legal help

Registry of Motor Vehicles

Scheduling

Social services

Special recognition

State House tours

Taxes

Unemployment

Veterans services

Voter rights

Art

If you are an artist, our team can help you secure an art show at the State House and/or help ensure your art hangs in our State House or district offices.

See our Artwork Display Policy here. If you’d like our office to consider displaying your work, please email a completed Artwork Display Policy to jo.comerford@masenate.gov.

Cash assistance

Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children (TAFDC) and Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled and Children (EAEDC) are economic assistance programs administered through the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA). These benefits include:

  • Case management to help you reach your goals
  • Monthly cash payments to help you pay for necessities like housing, utilities, and clothing
  • Health insurance
  • Education, training and employment opportunities

Contact the Department of Transitional Assistance
Phone: (877) 382-2363

Helpful links:

To request assistance from our State Senate office, please complete and submit this form including the following information or call (413) 367-4656.

To help with a DTA-related issue, we’ll need:

  • Full name
  • Date of birth
  • Phone number
  • AP/Agency ID#

Child support

The Massachusetts Department of Revenue’s (DOR) Child Support Enforcement Division (CSE) is responsible for providing services to those who pay or receive child support.

Contact Child Support Enforcement
Phone: (800) 332-2733

Send an electronic message

Child Support Virtual Counter (meet with specialist via Zoom) 

Helpful links:

To request assistance from our State Senate office, please complete and submit this form including the following information or call (413) 367-4656.

To help with a child support-related issue, we’ll need:

  • Parent’s full name
  • Parent’s phone number
  • CSE case number, last 4 digits of social security number, or CSE PIN

Children and family services

The Department of Children and Families (DCF) is the state agency responsible for protecting children and helping families. When constituents reach out about an open DCF case, our State Senate office communicates with the DCF Ombudsperson. The Ombudsperson can help explain policy and case practice and can  provide information regarding the appropriate steps to  address any problems you may be experiencing with DCF or direct you to additional sources of help or information.

Contact the Department of Children and Families
General phone: (617) 748-2000

24-hour Child-at-Risk Hotline: (800) 792-5200

Email: DCFCommissioner@state.ma.us

DCF Ombudsman phone: (617) 748-2444

Send an electronic message to the DCF Ombudsman

Helpful links:

To request assistance from our State Senate office, please complete and submit this form including the following information or call (413) 367-4656.

In order to help with a DCF-related issue, we’ll need:

  • Your name
  • Your phone number
  • Your relationship to the DCF case
  • Reason for outreach

If you are not the caretaker or biological parent of a child involved with DCF, please also provide the following:

  • Parent/Caretaker’s full name
  • Parent/Caretaker’s date of birth
  • Referred children’s names and dates of birth

Civil rights protections

Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD)

MCAD is the primary agency in Massachusetts for civil rights law enforcement, outreach, and training. MCAD is charged to protect the people of Massachusetts, workers, and visitors from discriminatory treatment based on membership in a protected class, such as race, color, creed, national origin, age, disability, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, and more. MCAD investigates Complaints of Discrimination that occur in the workplace, housing, public places, access to education, lending, and credit.

Contact the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination
Phone: (617) 994-6000

Español, 中文, Kreyòl Ayisyen, русский, Português, etc.: (617) 994-6071

TTY: (617) 994-6196

Email: mcad@mass.gov 

Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office (AGO) Civil Rights Division

The AGO’s Civil Rights Division responds to complaints related to civil rights and civil liberties. The office takes enforcement action when necessary and can mediate disputes. The division accepts and reviews complaints alleging civil rights violations and brings enforcement actions under state and federal laws that prohibit discrimination in employment, housing, financial services, public education, and public accommodation on the basis of disability, race, national origin, gender, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, veteran or marital status, and receipt of public assistance.

Contact the Attorney General’s Office Civil Rights Division
Phone: (617) 963-2917

Helpful links:

To request assistance from our State Senate office, please complete and submit this form or call (413) 367-4656.

Court interpretation services

The Office of Court Interpreter Services was created to ensure that all residents, regardless of their English language proficiency, have equal access to the courts and to all of the services and programs provided in court facilities.

Helpful link:

COVID-19

For information on COVID-19, please visit the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) website. For information on COVID-19 in Massachusetts, please visit the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) website. (Mass.gov web pages can be translated into several languages by clicking the “Select Language” dropdown menu at the top of any Mass.gov page.)

Helpful links:

Elder hotline

The Attorney General’s Office has a statewide, toll-free hotline to help elders with a range of issues. Senior volunteers with the Elder Hotline can help you find answers to your questions, resolve disputes with businesses, and assist with other issues including abuse and exploitation of elders, debt and debt collection practices, health insurance, home improvement, landlord/tenant and housing issues, long-term care, identity theft and scams, retail disputes, and telemarketing. The Elder Hotline is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.

Contact the Elder Hotline
(888) AG-ELDER or (888) 243-5337

TTY: (617) 727-4765

Food security

If you are experiencing food insecurity, there are resources available. Project Bread and the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts are excellent resources for learning about and connecting with food security programs.

Contact Project Bread
Phone: (800) 645-8333 (Massachusetts residents can get assistance with food resources in 180 languages)

Contact the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts
Phone: (800) 247-9632

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

The Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) administers SNAP benefits. SNAP provides a monthly benefit to buy nutritious foods. To get SNAP, you must be low-income and be a U.S. citizen or legal noncitizen (restrictions apply). Eligibility for SNAP benefits depends on financial and non-financial criteria.

The Healthy Incentives Program (HIP) helps SNAP clients buy more fruits and vegetables for their households. HIP puts money back on your EBT card when you use SNAP to buy healthy, local fruits and vegetables from HIP farm vendors.

Contact the Department of Transitional Assistance
Phone: (877) 382-2363

Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Nutrition Program

WIC is a nutrition program that provides healthy foods, nutrition education, breastfeeding support, and referrals to healthcare and other services, free of charge, to Massachusetts families who qualify. WIC’s goal is to maintain the health of children under 5 and those who are pregnant, just had a baby, or are breastfeeding.

WIC is available to all families regardless of immigration or citizenship status. Individuals receiving SNAP and many types of MassHealth are automatically income-eligible for WIC. Parents, grandparents and foster parents may apply for children under the age of five years who are in their care.

Contact Women, Infants, and Children Nutrition Program
Phone: (800) 942-1007

Nutrition program for seniors

Nutrition services available for Massachusetts seniors include nourishing meals, screening, education, and counseling, to help older people have healthy nutrition. Meals are provided at congregate meal sites and through home-delivery programs to people over the age of 60.

Meals on Wheels is run by senior nutrition agencies located throughout Massachusetts. To find the closest agency to you, call (800) 243-4636.

Helpful links:

To request assistance from our State Senate office, please complete and submit this form including the following information or call (413) 367-4656.

In order to help with a DTA-related issue, we’ll need:

  • Full name
  • Date of birth
  • Phone number
  • AP/Agency ID#

Fuel assistance

Known commonly as Fuel Assistance, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) provides eligible households with help in paying a portion of winter heating bills. LIHEAP is funded by the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) and administered through local service providers. The LIHEAP application is free. If you need help completing the application, contact your local service provider for free assistance.

Helpful links: 

To request assistance from our State Senate office, please complete and submit this form or call (413) 367-4656.

Health insurance

Health insurance programs administered by the Commonwealth – MassHealth, Health Connector, and Group Insurance Commission (GIC) – seek to provide quality, affordable healthcare coverage to qualified residents. Navigating the healthcare system can be complicated, and our team is ready to offer assistance for issues related to state-administered health insurance.

Additionally, for help with health insurance enrollment, you can call Health Care For All’s free and multilingual Health Coverage HelpLine. The HelpLine provides assistance in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Contact Health Care For All
Phone: (800) 272-4232

MassHealth

MassHealth is the state’s Medicaid program and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and provides comprehensive health coverage for low-income people, eligible seniors, and people with disabilities. Most people have no premiums and no copays.

Contact MassHealth
Phone: (800) 841-2900

TTY: 1-800-497-4648

Health Connector

The Health Connector is the state’s marketplace for reduced-cost coverage under the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). It is also the easiest place to shop for and enroll in regular individual and family insurance plans. If you need health insurance or have experienced a job change and no longer have health insurance through work, apply through the Massachusetts Health Connector.

If you’re an employer, Health Connector for Business is a one-stop shopping solution for small businesses looking for affordable, high-quality health and dental insurance. Through the Health Connector, employers can compare plans from leading insurance carriers side by side. More information is here.

Contact Health Connector
Phone: (877) 623-6765

TTY: (877) 623-7773

Health Connector for Business Phone: (888) 813-9220

Health Connector for Business TTY: 711

Send electronic message to Health Connector Ombudsman

Group Insurance Commission (GIC)

The GIC provides and administers health insurance and other benefits to the Commonwealth’s employees and retirees, their dependents and survivors. The GIC also covers housing and redevelopment authority personnel, participating municipalities, as well as retired municipal employees and teachers in certain governmental units.

Contact the Group Insurance Commission
Phone: (617) 727-2310

TDD/TTY: 711

Helpful links:

To request assistance from our State Senate office, please complete and submit this form including the following information or call (413) 367-4656.

In order to help with a state health insurance-related issue, we’ll need:

  • Full name
  • Date of birth
  • Phone number
  • Residential address
  • Insurance ID number

If the assistance you need will require MassHealth or Health Connector to share your information with our office, you must complete and sign a Permission to Share Information (PSI) Form with us. You can download and complete the PSI Form here:

Housing

The Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) oversees funding and resources to help people in Massachusetts live affordably and safely. DHCD provides affordable housing options, financial assistance, and other support to Massachusetts communities. 

Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT) and Emergency Rental and Mortgage Assistance (ERMA)

RAFT and ERMA are housing assistance programs that may provide income-eligible households with up to $10,000 to pay overdue or future rent or mortgage costs. Both RAFT and ERMA are administered at the local level by Regional Administering Agencies (RAA), and you can apply to both programs through your RAA. Contacting your RAA is the first step to accessing both RAFT and ERMA. 

Contact Regional Administering Agencies (RAA)
Hampshire County RAA — WayFinders phone: (413) 233-1600

Franklin County RAA — Franklin County Regional Housing and Redevelopment Authority phone: (413) 863-9781, ext. 150

Worcester County RAA — RCAP Solutions phone: (800) 488-1969 

Helpful links:

To request assistance from our State Senate office, please complete and submit this form or call (413) 367-4656.

Our legislative office cannot interfere with legal matters and we cannot provide legal advice. Depending upon your age, income, and the kind of legal issue you are experiencing, you may be eligible for free legal help. Use the Massachusetts Legal Resource Finder to navigate potential resources depending on your type of legal issue.

If you’re seeking civil legal services (non-criminal), consider contacting Community Legal Aid, our region’s free civil legal aid provider.

Contact Community Legal Aid
Phone: (855) 252-5342

Helpful links:

Registry of Motor Vehicles

Our team can help you navigate the rules and procedures of the Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV).

Contact the Registry of Motor Vehicles
Phone: (857) 368-8200

Send an electronic message

Helpful links:

To request assistance from our State Senate office, please complete and submit this form including the following information or call (413) 367-4656.

In order to help with an RMV-related issue, we’ll need:

  • Full name
  • Date of birth
  • Phone number
  • Address
  • Customer ID number (identifying number on your driver’s license or Massachusetts ID)

Scheduling

As you can imagine, representing the 160,000+ people across our district’s cities and towns and three counties, makes our team wish the days and weeks were longer. Please submit your scheduling requests here. Our team prioritizes requests from constituents and in-district meetings.

Social services

Massachusetts offers a number of programs for individuals and families seeking support with food and nutrition, heating assistance, housing assistance, and more. You can find more information about services offered in the Commonwealth here.

Oftentimes these programs are done in collaboration with regional organizations. One of our region’s most comprehensive resources is Community Action Pioneer Valley (CAPV). CAPV maintains a comprehensive guide, called Look4Help, to find social service resources in our region.

CAPV also has Resource Advocates who are available to work with people directly to access financial assistance.

Contact Community Action Pioneer Valley’s Resource Advocates
Franklin County phone: (413) 475-1570

Hampshire County phone: (413) 582-4237

North Quabbin phone: (978) 544-8091

Other sections of this guide, like the Food security and Housing sections, also have additional information. Contact our office and we will point you in the right direction for the program that best suits your needs.

Helpful links:

To request assistance from our State Senate office, please complete and submit this form or call (413) 367-4656.

Special recognition

Our region has a great deal to honor and celebrate and our team would like to help mark your special occasion with a Senate citation. Please submit your citation request here. Our team would be grateful for at least 3 weeks notice.

State House tours

If you work for a school or nonprofit, our team can arrange a personalized tour and a meeting with Senator Comerford. Contact our team to learn more.

Taxes

If you have questions about your Massachusetts taxes, our team can help get you connected with the Department of Revenue (DOR) so they can assist directly.

For questions about federal taxes or matters involving the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), please contact one of your federal representatives. You can identify and find information for your United States Congressperson here and United States Senators here.

Contact the Department of Revenue
Phone: (800) 392-6089

Email (by topic)

Helpful links:

To request assistance from our State Senate office, please complete and submit this form including the following information or call (413) 367-4656.

In order to help with a tax-related issue, we’ll need:

  • Full name
  • Date of birth
  • Phone number

Unemployment

The Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) oversees the unemployment insurance (UI) program, which provides temporary income assistance to eligible workers in Massachusetts. DUA also determines and collects employer contributions to the UI program.

Unemployment insurance (UI)

If you’ve lost your job, you may qualify for temporary income. You should apply for unemployment benefits during your first week of total or partial unemployment. Most claims are processed within 21-28 days after filing. It may take longer if there is an issue with your claim.

Unemployment eligibility and determinations are done on a case-by-case basis. This informational page can help you understand if you’re eligible for UI and this informational page is also helpful in understanding how benefits are determined.

Contact the Department of Unemployment Assistance
Call Center phone: (877) 626-6800 (multilingual call agents are available)

TeleCert Line: (617) 626-6338 (request weekly benefits)

Hearing Impaired Voice Relay: 711

Payment Status Line: (617) 626-6563

Helpful links:

To request assistance from our State Senate office, please complete and submit this form including the following information or call (413) 367-4656.

In order to help with an unemployment-related issue, we’ll need:

  • Full legal name
  • Last 4 digits of your social security number
  • Residential address
  • Phone number
  • Employer(s) legal name(s) as it appears on W-2
  • Claimant ID (for UI)/Claim ID (for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance – PUA) 

Additional unemployment insurance (UI) information

Unemployment Benefits as Taxable Income and 1099-G
Unemployment benefits are counted as taxable income. You can withhold taxes from your weekly benefit payments. The most streamlined way to do this is to complete the tax withholding section when you first apply for benefits. If you don’t elect to have taxes withheld from your weekly benefits, you will be responsible for paying federal and state taxes directly.

Unemployment tax relief
Taxpayers with household income not more than 200% of the federal poverty level may deduct up to $10,200 of unemployment benefits from their taxable income on their 2020 and 2021 tax returns for each eligible individual. Federal law allows a deduction of up to $10,200 if the taxpayer’s federal adjusted gross income is less than $150,000. Since the Massachusetts income threshold is different from the federal income threshold, some taxpayers may be eligible for a deduction on their federal tax return but not on their Massachusetts tax return. Complete this worksheet to find out if you are eligible for a deduction.

Unemployment benefits fraud
If you believe someone has applied for unemployment benefits using your personal information, please use DUA’s secure fraud reporting form to alert DUA of the fraud. The claim will not impact your ability to collect unemployment should you need to in the future and no charges will be assessed to your employer (if applicable).

If you believe your identity has been stolen and you are a victim of fraud, you can protect yourself by reporting identity theft to law enforcement, creditors, credit agencies, and government agencies.

If you are an employer who wishes to report fraud, please email UIFraud@detma.org.

Helpful links:

Unemployment for employers

WorkShare
WorkShare is a program that offers a smart alternative to layoffs. Employees work reduced hours while collecting unemployment benefits to supplement their lower wages.

  • Employers must enter agreement with the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) about employees who will be covered
  • Eligibility is based upon unemployment eligibility
  • Benefit to employee is based upon hours that are being reduced as a share of full-time work – that reduction in hours % is multiplied by the UI benefit the worker would receive if they were fully unemployed
  • Current benefit rate of UI is maximum of ½ of income or up to $823/week
  • WorkShare participants must plan for at least 10% reduction in hours and no more than 60% reduction in hours

Rapid Response – Layoff Aversion
Rapid Response seeks to identify the exact needs of a company in crisis. Once the needs are assessed then the team tries to help the company establish partnerships with other organizations and build networks to meet those needs to reduce the possibility of layoffs or a plant closure.

Some of the resources available to companies to maintain their workforce include:

  • Matching businesses that are in transition with businesses that are hiring for similar positions
  • Communicating directly with employers on their needs and what is necessary to avoid layoffs
  • Educating employers on various state and local programs and agencies including:
    • WorkShare Program
    • Workforce Training Funds
    • Career Centers
    • Tax Incentives
    • Business Loans
    • Growth based systems for manufacturing
    • Employee Ownership and succession plans
    • Export opportunity identification
    • SBA information

For more information, contact Rapid Response.

Helpful links:

Veterans services

Massachusetts has a responsibility to care for and honor the people who have served our nation. Our team works with Veterans’ Service Officers (VSO) in every community to identify programs and available assistance. If you haven’t already, please contact your VSO directly. You can find your VSO here.

Helpful links:

To request assistance from our State Senate office, please complete and submit this form or call (413) 367-4656. 

Voter rights

Our democracy depends on every voter’s active engagement. Our team is ready to help you break down any barrier to your active participation. Please take a moment to know your rights as a voter at this link and learn more about voter registration at this link.

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