Add Montana Child Care Assistance Program (Best Beginnings Child Care Scholarship)

[hua7450]

Summary

Implements Montana's Child Care Assistance Program (Best Beginnings Child Care Scholarship) in PolicyEngine. The program is administered by Montana DPHHS, Early Childhood Services Bureau (ECSB), and is CCDF-funded. Subsidy = lesser of the provider's charge or the state maximum rate, minus the parent's sliding-scale copayment, floored at $0.

Closes #8661

Regulatory Authority

• ARM Title 37, Chapter 80 (Child Care Assistance):
  • ARM 37.80.102 — definitions / income
  • ARM 37.80.201 — nonfinancial requirements & priority (120/60/40 activity hours; school-hours age-6 rule; priority list)
  • ARM 37.80.202 — financial requirements; payment; parent copayment (income limits; asset test; lesser-of payment; $10 TANF copay)
  • ARM 37.80.205 — child care rates (half/full-time day definitions; max payable rates)
• DPHHS Best Beginnings Sliding Fee Scale, effective 07-01-2025 (copay % by FPG bracket; the URL filename says 2023 but the document header reads "Effective 07-01-2025")
• DPHHS Best Beginnings Provider Monthly Rates (single page — maximum monthly rates by provider type x age x half/full-time)
• DPHHS Child Care Policy Manual:
  • CC 1-7 Parent Eligibility (eligibility categories; teen-parent and disabled-parent exceptions)
  • CC 2-3 Non-TANF Activity Requirements (120/60/40 activity thresholds)
  • CC 2-6 Income Evaluation Table, pp. 1-14 (counted vs excluded income types)

Eligibility

Requirement	Source	How modeled
Standard income limit (operational ceiling)	Sliding Fee Scale (eff. 07-01-2025)	mt_ccap_income_eligible — countable income <= 200% FPG (graduated tier; standard tier runs to 185%); see Regulatory Note
Over 85% SMI => not eligible	Sliding Fee Scale footnote	mt_ccap_income_eligible — countable_income <= hhs_smi * 0.85 (param income/income_limit_smi_rate.yaml = 0.85)
Activity hours	ARM 37.80.201; CC 2-3	mt_ccap_activity_eligible — two-parent 120/mo combined; single-parent 60/mo or full-time school/training
CCDF asset test	ARM 37.80.202 (= 42 USC 9858n(4)(B))	reuses federal is_ccdf_asset_eligible
Immigration (child)	landing page; 45 CFR 98.20	reuses federal is_ccdf_immigration_eligible_child
Montana residency + parent/child cohabitation	ARM 37.80.201; CC 2-2	defined_for = StateCode.MT on mt_ccap_eligible; SPM-unit grouping co-locates parent and child
At least one eligible child	ARM 37.80.202	add(spm_unit, period, ["mt_ccap_eligible_child"]) > 0
Eligible child age	ARM 37.80.201; CC 2-1 (CCDF default)	mt_ccap_eligible_child — age < 13, or < 19 if special needs (params eligibility/child_age_limit.yaml = 13, eligibility/special_needs_child_age_limit.yaml = 19)
Eligibility categories	CC 1-7	non-TANF income pathway AND TANF categorical pathway via is_tanf_enrolled

Income Standards

• FPG threshold: countable income at or below 200% FPG (operational Sliding Fee Scale ceiling — graduated tier). The standard tier runs to 185% FPG and the graduated tier (non-TANF over-income, continuation) extends to 200% FPG. Param income/fpg_limit.yaml = 2.
• SMI ceiling: countable income above 85% of state median income (SMI) is a hard ineligibility overlay regardless of the FPG bracket (hhs_smi * 0.85).

Benefit Calculation

Subsidy = min(provider charge, state maximum rate) - copay, floored at $0, summed across eligible children.

• Copay = max(GMI x FPG-bracket %, $10) for non-TANF families. TANF recipients (is_tanf_enrolled) pay a flat $10. The $10 minimum (param copayment/minimum.yaml) is both the non-TANF floor and the TANF flat amount.
• Copay sliding scale (param copayment/copay_rate.yaml, keyed on the % FPG ratio): 0.5% at entry / 90 / 95 / 100% FPG, stepping up by 5-point FPG brackets to 7.0% at 185-200% FPG (21 standard brackets + 3 graduated brackets at 190/195/200%).
• Provider maximum rate (param rates/provider_rates.yaml) is a 3-dimensional lookup: provider type (6) x age group (3) x half/full-time (2). Half-time = 5 or fewer hours/day; full-time = more than 5 up to 12 hours/day (ARM 37.80.205). mt_ccap_care_time defaults to FULL_TIME (we don't track per-day care hours at the moment). RCE / School-Age-Provider NA cells are encoded as 0 (not payable).

Requirements Coverage

REQ	Description	Parameter	Variable	Test
REQ-001	Eligible child under age limit (13 / special-needs 19)	eligibility/child_age_limit.yaml, eligibility/special_needs_child_age_limit.yaml	mt_ccap_eligible_child.py	mt_ccap_eligible_child.yaml
REQ-002	Child + parent live together in Montana	—	mt_ccap_eligible.py (defined_for=StateCode.MT)	mt_ccap_eligible.yaml (Case 2 WY)
REQ-003	Household has >=1 eligible child	—	mt_ccap_eligible.py	mt_ccap_eligible.yaml (Case 3)
REQ-004	Activity hours (two-parent 120, single 60)	eligibility/activity_hours/{two_parent,single_parent}.yaml	mt_ccap_activity_eligible.py	mt_ccap_activity_eligible.yaml
REQ-007	CCDF immigration check	(federal)	mt_ccap_eligible_child.py (is_ccdf_immigration_eligible_child)	mt_ccap_eligible_child.yaml (Case 6)
REQ-008	CCDF asset test	(federal)	mt_ccap_eligible.py (is_ccdf_asset_eligible)	mt_ccap_eligible.yaml (Cases 6, 7)
REQ-009	FPG income limit (operational ceiling)	income/fpg_limit.yaml (= 2)	mt_ccap_income_eligible.py	mt_ccap_income_eligible.yaml
REQ-010	>85% SMI => not eligible	income/income_limit_smi_rate.yaml (= 0.85)	mt_ccap_income_eligible.py (hhs_smi)	mt_ccap_income_eligible.yaml (Case 4)
REQ-011	Countable income sources	income/countable_income/sources.yaml	mt_ccap_countable_income.py	mt_ccap_countable_income.yaml
REQ-013	Payment = min(charge, rate) - copay, floor 0	—	mt_ccap.py	mt_ccap.yaml, integration.yaml
REQ-014	State max rates (6 x 3 x 2)	rates/provider_rates.yaml	mt_ccap_max_rate.py	mt_ccap_max_rate.yaml (17 cases)
REQ-015	Half/full-time rate distinction	rates/provider_rates.yaml	mt_ccap_care_time.py	mt_ccap_max_rate.yaml
REQ-019	RCE / School-Age-Provider NA cells = 0	rates/provider_rates.yaml	mt_ccap_max_rate.py	mt_ccap_max_rate.yaml (Case 12)
REQ-020	Copay = max(GMI x %, $10)	copayment/minimum.yaml (= 10)	mt_ccap_copay.py	mt_ccap_copay.yaml
REQ-021	Copay % sliding scale (0.5% -> 7.0%)	copayment/copay_rate.yaml	mt_ccap_copay.py	mt_ccap_copay.yaml (boundary cases)
REQ-022	TANF recipients flat $10 copay	copayment/minimum.yaml	mt_ccap_copay.py	mt_ccap_copay.yaml (Case 6), integration.yaml (Case 4)
REQ-023	Graduated tier to 200% FPG (non-TANF)	income/fpg_limit.yaml, copayment/copay_rate.yaml	mt_ccap_income_eligible.py	mt_ccap_income_eligible.yaml (Case 6)
REQ-026	Non-TANF + TANF eligibility pathways	—	mt_ccap_income_eligible.py, mt_ccap_eligible.py	mt_ccap_eligible.yaml (Case 8)

All 18 in-scope requirements have parameter/variable/test coverage. (REQ-015's day-hour auto-classification is by design not modeled — see Documented Assumptions; the half/full-time rate distinction itself is covered.)

Not Modeled

These features are documented limitations — we don't track the underlying inputs at the moment:

REQ	What	Why excluded
REQ-005	Teen parent (<=19) in HS/HiSET, no work requirement	No teen-parent-in-school input
REQ-006	Disabled parent excluded from family minimum-hour calc	No per-parent disability-in-activity input
REQ-012	Entry-level income floor = TANF GMI + $1	Entry-vs-redetermination income floor not tracked; bracket math is driven by % FPG
REQ-016	Full monthly authorization when attendance >=85%	No per-day attendance input; assumes full-month authorization
REQ-017	Extended-care multipliers (12-18h = 1.25x, >18h = 1.5x)	No daily-hours-in-care input at that granularity
REQ-018	No school-hours care for age 6+ as of Sept 10	No school-hours-care / school-calendar input
REQ-023 (timing)	Graduated-tier redetermination timing (12-month / only-at-redet)	No per-household redetermination clock
REQ-024	Funding-limited priority / waitlist categories	Priority affects waitlist ordering, not benefit calc
REQ-025	Presumptive eligibility (30 days)	No application-date / presumptive-period state
REQ-026 (sub-pathways)	Tribal / Tribal-TANF / CFSD-referral eligibility categories	No tribal-enrollment / CFSD-referral input
REQ-015 (derivation)	Auto-classification of half- vs full-time by daily hours	No per-day-hours-in-care input; care_time is a bare input defaulting to FULL_TIME

⚠️ Regulatory Note — FPG threshold conflict (reviewers must verify)

The body text of ARM 37.80.202 states the standard income limit is <= 150% FPG, with graduated eligibility from 150-185% FPG. However, the published Sliding Fee Scale (eff. 07-01-2025) runs the standard tier all the way to 185% FPG and the graduated tier to 200% FPG.

Per the user's decision, we encoded the operational Sliding Fee Scale values (standard 185% / graduated 200%), since the scale is the document caseworkers actually apply. Reviewers should confirm which source is authoritative and whether the ARM body text has been superseded by the published scale.

Documented Assumptions

• Age-group month boundaries (Infant/Toddler 0-35 mo, Preschool 36-59 mo, School Age 60+ mo): the Provider Rates PDF gives no month cutoffs; CC 2-1 defers to a Policy Section 1-6 we couldn't access. Documented in the mt_ccap_child_age_category docstring.
• Child age limits 13 / special-needs 19: CCDF defaults; ARM defers to the policy manual for the exact figures.
• care_time defaults to FULL_TIME: there is no per-day-hours-in-care input, so half-time must be set explicitly.
• tanf excluded from countable-income sources: avoids a childcare <-> TANF circular dependency. TANF families are instead handled via the is_tanf_enrolled categorical pathway plus the flat $10 copay branch.

Test plan

• 108 tests pass locally (unit + integration + edge cases)
• CI passes

Files Added

policyengine_us/parameters/gov/states/mt/dphhs/ccap/
├── age_group/months.yaml
├── copayment/copay_rate.yaml
├── copayment/minimum.yaml
├── eligibility/activity_hours/single_parent.yaml
├── eligibility/activity_hours/two_parent.yaml
├── eligibility/child_age_limit.yaml
├── eligibility/special_needs_child_age_limit.yaml
├── income/countable_income/sources.yaml
├── income/fpg_limit.yaml
├── income/income_limit_smi_rate.yaml
└── rates/provider_rates.yaml

policyengine_us/variables/gov/states/mt/dphhs/ccap/
├── mt_ccap.py
├── mt_ccap_care_time.py
├── mt_ccap_child_age_category.py
├── mt_ccap_copay.py
├── mt_ccap_countable_income.py
├── mt_ccap_max_rate.py
├── mt_ccap_provider_type.py
├── mt_child_care_subsidies.py
└── eligibility/
    ├── mt_ccap_activity_eligible.py
    ├── mt_ccap_eligible.py
    ├── mt_ccap_eligible_child.py
    └── mt_ccap_income_eligible.py

policyengine_us/tests/policy/baseline/gov/states/mt/dphhs/ccap/
├── integration.yaml
├── mt_ccap.yaml
├── mt_ccap_activity_eligible.yaml
├── mt_ccap_child_age_category.yaml
├── mt_ccap_copay.yaml
├── mt_ccap_countable_income.yaml
├── mt_ccap_eligible.yaml
├── mt_ccap_eligible_child.yaml
├── mt_ccap_income_eligible.yaml
├── mt_ccap_max_rate.yaml
└── mt_child_care_subsidies.yaml

Federal-registration edits (2 files):

• policyengine_us/parameters/gov/hhs/ccdf/child_care_subsidy_programs.yaml — added mt_child_care_subsidies to the adds list
• policyengine_us/programs.yaml — added the MT Best Beginnings state_implementations entry under the federal CCDF program (variable mt_child_care_subsidies, parameter prefix gov.states.mt.dphhs.ccap)

11 parameters, 12 variables, 11 tests.

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

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Codecov Report

✅ All modified and coverable lines are covered by tests.
✅ Project coverage is 100.00%. Comparing base (fbace93) to head (05650a4).
⚠️ Report is 24 commits behind head on main.

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  Files            1        12    +11     
  Lines           23       188   +165     
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