# Idaho Code § 56-201: 56-201 DEFINITIONS

> Idaho · Statutes · In force

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_ID_T56_C2_S56-201

## Section

- **Citation:** Idaho Code § 56-201
- **Heading:** 56-201 DEFINITIONS
- **Jurisdiction:** Idaho
- **Kind:** Statutes
- **Status:** In force
- **Text as of:** August 14, 2026
- **Source:** Compiled text
- **Location:** Idaho Code / Title 56 / Chapter 2 / Section 56-201

## Text

56-201. Definitions. As used in this act:

(a) "State department" means the state department of health and welfare;

(b) "Director" means the director of the department of health and welfare;

(c) "Public welfare" means public assistance and social services;

(d) "Social services" means activities of the department in efforts to bring about economic, social and vocational adjustment of families and persons;

(e) "Public assistance" includes general assistance, old-age assistance, aid to the blind, assistance to families with children, aid to the disabled, and medical assistance;

(f) "General assistance" means direct assistance in cash, direct assistance in kind, and supplementary assistance;

(g) "Direct assistance in cash" means money payments to eligible people not classified as old-age assistance, or aid to the blind, or assistance to families with children, or aid to the disabled, or medical assistance;

(h) "Direct assistance in kind" means payments to others on behalf of a person or family for food, rent, clothing, and other normal subsistence needs;

(i) "Supplementary assistance" means payments to others on behalf of a person or family for transportation and costs incidental to vocational adjustment or employment;

(j) "Old-age assistance" means money payments to or on behalf of needy aged people;

(k) "Aid to the blind" means money payments to or on behalf of blind people who are needy;

(l) "Assistance to families with children" means money payments, direct assistance in kind, supplementary assistance, and social services targeted toward self-sufficiency with respect to or on behalf of eligible families with children;

(m) "Aged" means any person sixty-five (65) years or older;

(n) "Aid to the disabled" means money payments to or on behalf of needy individuals who are disabled, and whose disability prevents self-support through employment for a period of at least one (1) year from the date of onset of the disability;

(o) "Medical assistance" means payments for part or all of the cost of such care and services allowable within the scope of title XIX of the federal social security act as amended as may be designated by department rule;

(p) "Provider" means any individual, partnership, association, corporation or organization, public or private, who provides residential or assisted living services, certified family home services, nursing facility services, services offered pursuant to the medicaid program, or services offered pursuant to titles IV or XX of the social security act;

(q) "Needy" means the condition where a person or family does not have income and available resources in accordance with the provisions of section 56-210, Idaho Code.

History:

[56-201, added 1941, ch. 181, sec. 1, p. 379; am. 1945, ch. 109, sec. 1, p. 165; am. 1957, ch. 323, sec. 1, p. 379; am. 1961, ch. 217, sec. 1, p. 346; am. 1966 (2nd E.S.), ch. 11, sec. 1, p. 28; am. 1967, ch. 373, sec. 13, p. 1071; am. 1967 (1st E.S.), ch. 5, sec. 1, p. 23; am. 1972, ch. 44, sec. 5, p. 67; am. 1972, ch. 196, sec. 8, p. 483; am. 1974, ch. 23, sec. 162, p. 633; am. 1974, ch. 233, sec. 1, p. 1590; am. 1977, ch. 226, sec. 1, p. 673; am. 1978, ch. 246, sec. 1, p. 537; am. 1981, ch. 179, sec. 1, p. 313; am. 1982, ch. 59, sec. 5, p. 94; am. 1989, ch. 193, sec. 15, p. 486; am. 1996, ch. 50, sec. 1, p. 147; am. 2000, ch. 274, sec. 148, p. 882.]

## Nearby sections

- [Idaho Code § 56-201 56-201 DEFINITIONS.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_ID_T56_C2_S56-201.md)
- [Idaho Code § 56-202 56-202 DUTIES OF DIRECTOR OF STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND WELFARE.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_ID_T56_C2_S56-202.md)
- [Idaho Code § 56-203 56-203 POWERS OF STATE DEPARTMENT.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_ID_T56_C2_S56-203.md)
- [Idaho Code § 56-203A 56-203A AUTHORITY OF DEPARTMENT TO ENFORCE CHILD SUPPORT — SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT SERVICES.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_ID_T56_C2_S56-203A.md)
- [Idaho Code § 56-203B 56-203B PAYMENT OF PUBLIC ASSISTANCE FOR CHILD CONSTITUTES DEBT TO DEPARTMENT BY PARENTS — LIMITATIONS — DEPARTMENT SUBROGATED TO RIGHTS.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_ID_T56_C2_S56-203B.md)
- [Idaho Code § 56-203C 56-203C POWERS OF DEPARTMENT.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_ID_T56_C2_S56-203C.md)
- [Idaho Code § 56-203D 56-203D SET-OFF PROCEDURE FOR CHILD SUPPORT DEBT.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_ID_T56_C2_S56-203D.md)
- [Idaho Code § 56-203E 56-203E LOTTERY PRIZE SET-OFF PROCEDURE FOR SUPPORT DEBT.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_ID_T56_C2_S56-203E.md)
- [Idaho Code § 56-203F 56-203F REGISTRATION OF FOREIGN SUPPORT ORDERS.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_ID_T56_C2_S56-203F.md)
- [Idaho Code § 56-204A 56-204A SERVICES FOR CHILDREN.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_ID_T56_C2_S56-204A.md)
- [Idaho Code § 56-204B 56-204B TEMPORARY SHELTER CARE.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_ID_T56_C2_S56-204B.md)
- [Idaho Code § 56-205 56-205 ISSUANCE OF SNAP BENEFITS.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_ID_T56_C2_S56-205.md)
- [Idaho Code § 56-205A 56-205A SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM INTEGRITY MEASURES.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_ID_T56_C2_S56-205A.md)
- [Idaho Code § 56-207 56-207 OLD-AGE ASSISTANCE.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_ID_T56_C2_S56-207.md)

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_ID_T56_C2_S56-201. Check the current official text before relying on it. Not legal advice.
