CA Calworks childcare and CAPP

[hua7450]

Fixes #7196

Summary

Implements California CalWORKs Stage 2, Stage 3, and California Alternative Payment Program (CAPP) child care subsidies.

Regulatory Authority

Source	Description
WIC § 10370-10376.5	CalWORKs child care program (Stages 1, 2, 3)
WIC § 10271	General child care eligibility, CAPP
WIC § 10271.5	Income eligibility (85% SMI)
WIC § 10290	Family fee schedule
WIC § 10372	Stage 2 eligibility
WIC § 10372.5	Stage 3 eligibility
5 CCR § 18078	Countable income definition
AB 116 (2023)	Family fee reform (75% SMI exemption, 1% cap)

Program Structure

California subsidized child care operates in stages based on CalWORKs history:

Stage	Eligibility	Legal Citation
Stage 1	Currently receiving CalWORKs cash aid	WIC § 10370
Stage 2	Former CalWORKs within 24 months of leaving cash aid	WIC § 10372
Stage 3	Former CalWORKs who exhausted Stage 2 eligibility (>24 months)	WIC § 10372.5
CAPP	Income-eligible families who never received CalWORKs AND not currently receiving TANF	WIC § 10271

Program Mutual Exclusivity

Programs are mutually exclusive - a household can only qualify for ONE program at a time:

Scenario	ca_tanf > 0	was_calworks	months_since	Eligible Program
Currently on TANF	✓	any	N/A	Stage 1
Former, ≤24 months	✗	✓	≤24	Stage 2
Former, >24 months	✗	✓	>24	Stage 3
Never CalWORKs	✗	✗	N/A	CAPP

Income Eligibility

Test	Threshold	Legal Citation
Stage 2/3/CAPP eligibility	≤ 85% SMI	WIC § 10271.5, AB 99 (2017)

Countable Income (5 CCR § 18078)

Counted: employment income, self-employment income, unemployment compensation, workers' compensation, state disability insurance, social security (excluding SSI), child support, alimony, pension income, veterans' benefits, interest, dividends, capital gains, rental income.

Not counted: SSI (federal program, explicitly excluded)

Family Fees

Income Level	Fee	Legal Citation
Below 75% SMI	Exempt	WIC § 10290, AB 116 (2023)
At/above 75% SMI	1% of monthly income	WIC § 10290, AB 116 (2023)
Stage 1 (on CalWORKs)	Exempt	Categorical exemption

Benefit Calculation

Payment = min(Regional Market Rate Ceiling, Actual Child Care Cost) - Family Fee

RMR ceilings vary by child age, provider type, and time category.

Implementation Details

New Variables

• ca_child_care_smi - State Median Income calculation
• ca_child_care_countable_income - Per 5 CCR § 18078 (excludes SSI)
• ca_child_care_income_eligible - 85% SMI income test
• ca_child_care_family_fee - Family fee calculation (75% exemption, 1% cap)
• ca_calworks_stage_2_eligible, ca_calworks_stage_2_payment, ca_calworks_stage_2
• ca_calworks_stage_3_eligible, ca_calworks_stage_3_payment, ca_calworks_stage_3
• ca_capp_eligible, ca_capp_payment, ca_capp
• was_calworks_recipient - Input: ever received CalWORKs cash aid
• months_since_calworks_exit - Input: months since leaving cash aid

New Parameters

• gov.states.ca.cdss.child_care.income.income_limit (0.85)
• gov.states.ca.cdss.child_care.income.sources (list of countable income types)
• gov.states.ca.cdss.child_care.family_fees.exemption_threshold (0.75)
• gov.states.ca.cdss.child_care.family_fees.fee_cap (0.01)
• gov.states.ca.cdss.child_care.stage_2.time_limit_months (24)
• gov.hhs.smi.additional_person_threshold (6) - Parameterized SMI household size adjustment threshold

Modified Variables

• ca_child_care_subsidies - Added Stage 2, Stage 3, and CAPP (changed to MONTH period)
• ca_capp_eligible - Added check for not currently receiving TANF (prevents double counting)

Testing

Integration Tests (9 scenarios)

1. Stage 1 family currently on CalWORKs
2. Stage 2 former CalWORKs within 24 months
3. Stage 3 former CalWORKs beyond 24 months
4. CAPP for families who never received CalWORKs
5. Stage 2 with family fee applied (income above 75% SMI)
6. Income too high for any program (above 85% SMI)
7. Two children with different age-based RMR ceilings
8. YEAR period test for Stage 2
9. Minimal inputs test - verifies basic inputs work with sensible defaults (CAPP path)

Edge Case Tests (16 cases)

• Stage 2: 24-month boundary (eligible), zero months since exit, minimal TANF ($0.01 still disqualifies)
• Stage 3: 25-month boundary (eligible), 24-month boundary (not eligible - still Stage 2)
• Income: zero income eligible, exactly at 85% SMI, above 85% SMI
• Family fee: zero income (exempt), exactly at 75% SMI, below 75% SMI (exempt)
• SMI: 2-person, 6-person, 7-person (tests household size adjustments)
• CAPP: adult-only household (no children), zero income (fails work requirement)

Mutual Exclusivity Verified

All scenarios result in exactly ONE eligible program with no double counting:

• Currently on TANF → Stage 1 only
• Former CalWORKs ≤24 months → Stage 2 only
• Former CalWORKs >24 months → Stage 3 only
• Never CalWORKs, not on TANF → CAPP only
• First-time TANF enrollee → Stage 1 only (not CAPP)

Minimum Required Inputs

For a basic simulation with non-zero subsidy:

people:
  adult:
    age: 30
    employment_income: 36_000  # Work requirement
  child:
    age: 3
    pre_subsidy_childcare_expenses: 24_000
    ca_calworks_child_care_time_category: MONTHLY  # Required for non-zero coefficient
households:
  household:
    state_code: CA

With these inputs and defaults (was_calworks_recipient: false, ca_tanf: 0), the household qualifies for CAPP.

[codecov]

Codecov Report

✅ All modified and coverable lines are covered by tests.
✅ Project coverage is 100.00%. Comparing base (cf237fa) to head (a9fec17).
⚠️ Report is 13 commits behind head on main.

Additional details and impacted files

@@            Coverage Diff            @@
##              main     #7197   +/-   ##
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  Coverage   100.00%   100.00%           
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  Files           17        16    -1     
  Lines          243       224   -19     
  Branches         1         1           
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- Hits           243       224   -19     

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