Implement Georgia CCAP (Childcare and Parent Services - CAPS)

[hua7450]

Summary

Implements Georgia Childcare and Parent Services (CAPS) — the state's CCDF-funded child care subsidy program administered by the Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL). Models eligibility (residency, child age/disability, immigration, income, activity, assets), a 108-cell reimbursement rate table (3 zones x 3 provider types x 4 age groups x 3 care types), income-based family fees with waivers, and Quality Rated provider add-ons.

Closes #7957

Regulatory Authority

• CAPS Policy Manual — §5 (Family Unit), §6 (Eligibility), §7 (Priority Groups), §8 (Income), §9 (Family Fees), §10 (Scholarships/Rates)
• Appendix A — CAPS Maximum Income Limits by Family Size (eff. 3/2/2026)
• Appendix C — CAPS Reimbursement Rates (eff. 3/2/2026)
• Appendix D — Family Fee Assessment Chart (eff. 3/2/2026)
• CCDF State Plan FFY 2025-2027 — Quality Rated add-ons, asset limit, fee waivers

Income Eligibility Tests

• Initial eligibility: gross applicable income <= 50% State Median Income (Appendix A; Policy Manual §8.3)
• Ongoing/redetermination: gross applicable income <= 85% SMI (Appendix A; CCDF Plan §2.5.5)
• Modeled via ga_caps_enrolled flag: new applicants use 50% SMI threshold; enrolled families use 85% SMI

Income Sources

12 countable income types (Policy Manual §8.4):

#	CAPS Income Type	PolicyEngine Variable
1	Gross wages/salary (incl. commissions, cash bonuses)	employment_income
2	Net self-employment income	self_employment_income
3	Unemployment compensation	unemployment_compensation
4	Worker's compensation	workers_compensation
5	Alimony	alimony_income
6	Child support (regular/ongoing)	child_support_received
7	Veteran's benefits	veterans_benefits
8	Capital gains	capital_gains
9	Rental income	rental_income
10	Dividends (regular/ongoing)	dividend_income
11	Retirement/pension	pension_income
12	Base pay for military personnel	military_basic_pay

Listed in §8.4 but no PolicyEngine variable: military allotments, lottery payments. Commissions and cash bonuses are folded into employment_income.

Excluded income (by omission from sources list): TANF, SSI, SSA disability/survivors, adoption supplements, LIHEAP, Census Bureau income, in-kind donations, tax refunds, cash gifts, disaster relief, relative care subsidy, GBI/UBI, AmeriCorps unearned income, DECAL stipends, income from children 17 or younger.

Benefit Calculation

Subsidy formula (Policy Manual §9.6, §10):

sum_max_monthly  = sum_over_eligible_children(ga_caps_maximum_weekly_benefit) * 52/12
base_monthly     = min(spm_unit_pre_subsidy_childcare_expenses_monthly, sum_max_monthly)
net_base         = max(base_monthly - ga_caps_family_fee, 0)
weighted_bonus_rate = sum(max_weekly * quality_bonus_rate) / sum(max_weekly)
ga_caps          = net_base * (1 + weighted_bonus_rate)

Matches the SPMUnit-level capping pattern used by RI CCAP, MA CCFA, and CO CCAP. Per §9.6.1's exact "per-child lesser-of state max and provider's published rate" is approximated at the SPMUnit level since PolicyEngine does not track per-child provider published rates.

Rate table — 3 zones x 3 provider types x 4 age groups x 3 care types = 108 cells (Appendix C):

Zone	Provider	Infant FT/wk	Toddler FT/wk	Preschool FT/wk	School FT/wk
1	Center	$260	$248	$221	$185
1	Family	$199	$188	$180	$156
2	Center	$165	$160	$150	$140
2	Family	$145	$140	$135	$135
3	Center	$130	$125	$120	$115
3	Family	$120	$110	$105	$94

(Informal rates = Family rates. Part-time daily and before/after school weekly rates also included.)

Family fee tiers (Appendix D):

Income-to-FPL Ratio	Fee Rate
<= 10%	0% (no fee)
> 10% to 50%	3% of income
> 50% to 100%	5% of income
> 100%	7% of income (federal cap)

• Fee is per-family, not per-child
• Weekly fee = floor(annual_income * rate / 52), converted to monthly
• Fee waived for minor parents (age <= 17)

Quality Rated add-ons (CCDF Plan §4.3.3):

• 2-star: 5% bonus on net base payment
• 3-star: 10% bonus on net base payment

Requirements Coverage

REQ	Description	Parameter	Variable	Test
REQ-001	Georgia residency	defined_for=StateCode.GA	all variables	integration.yaml Case 7
REQ-002	Child age <= 12	age_threshold/child.yaml (13)	ga_caps_eligible_child	eligible_child.yaml Cases 1-3
REQ-003	Disabled child age <= 17	age_threshold/disabled_child.yaml (17)	ga_caps_eligible_child	eligible_child.yaml Cases 4-6
REQ-004	Child citizenship (INA/45 CFR 98.20)	federal is_ccdf_immigration_eligible_child	ga_caps_eligible_child	eligible_child.yaml Cases 7-8, 16
REQ-008	Initial income <= 50% SMI	income/smi_rate/initial_eligibility.yaml (0.5)	ga_caps_income_eligible	income_eligible.yaml Cases 1-2, 7-8
REQ-009	Ongoing income <= 85% SMI	income/smi_rate/ongoing_eligibility.yaml (0.85)	ga_caps_income_eligible	income_eligible.yaml Cases 3-5, 9-10
REQ-010	Very low income priority (50% FPL)	Captured by fee tier (REQ-025/REQ-030)	ga_caps_family_fee	family_fee.yaml Cases 2, 7
REQ-011	Activity: 24 hrs/week	activity_requirements/weekly_hours.yaml (24)	ga_caps_activity_eligible	activity_eligible.yaml Cases 1-13 (Case 13 verifies CCDF fallback)
REQ-012	Asset test ($1M)	federal is_ccdf_asset_eligible	ga_caps_eligible	eligible.yaml Case 4
REQ-013	12 countable income sources	income/countable_income/sources.yaml	ga_caps_countable_income	income_eligible.yaml Case 15
REQ-014	Excluded income types	Implicit (omitted from sources)	ga_caps_countable_income	income tests
REQ-015	4-week annualization method	Implicit (PE uses annual income)	--	--
REQ-016	Family unit composition	SPMUnit entity	all SPM-unit variables	all SPM-unit tests
REQ-017	3 geographic zones (county-based)	zone_1_counties.yaml, zone_2_counties.yaml	ga_caps_zone	zone.yaml Cases 1-7
REQ-018	Provider type (Center/Family/Informal)	enum GACAPSProviderType	ga_caps_provider_type	maximum_weekly_benefit.yaml Cases 1-9
REQ-019	4 child age groups	age_group/*.yaml thresholds	ga_caps_age_group	age_group.yaml Cases 1-7
REQ-020	Care type (FT/PT/Before-After)	enum GACAPSCareType	ga_caps_care_type	maximum_weekly_benefit.yaml Cases 10-18
REQ-021	108-cell rate table	rates/center.yaml, family.yaml, informal.yaml	ga_caps_maximum_weekly_benefit	maximum_weekly_benefit.yaml (18 cases)
REQ-022	Subsidy = min(max, expenses) - fee, with QR bonus	--	ga_caps	ga_caps.yaml, integration.yaml
REQ-023	Quality Rated add-on (5%/10%)	quality_rated/bonus_rate.yaml	ga_caps, ga_caps_quality_rating	ga_caps.yaml Cases 2-4
REQ-024	Family fee is per-family	-- (SPMUnit entity)	ga_caps_family_fee	family_fee.yaml
REQ-025	Fee tiers by FPL ratio (4 tiers)	family_fee/rate.yaml	ga_caps_family_fee	family_fee.yaml Cases 1-4, 8-13
REQ-026	Weekly fee = floor(income * rate / 52)	--	ga_caps_family_fee	family_fee.yaml
REQ-027	Max copay cap 7%	family_fee/rate.yaml top bracket	ga_caps_family_fee	family_fee.yaml Case 1
REQ-029	Fee waiver: minor parents <= 17	family_fee/minor_parent_age.yaml (17)	ga_caps_family_fee	family_fee.yaml Cases 6, 14
REQ-030	Fee waiver: income <= 10% FPL	family_fee/rate.yaml tier 1 (0%)	ga_caps_family_fee	family_fee.yaml Cases 2, 7-8
REQ-038	Income limits from SMI/FPL	smi_rate/*.yaml + hhs_smi	ga_caps_income_eligible	income_eligible.yaml Cases 12-14

Not Modeled

What	Source	Why Excluded
REQ-005: Immunization requirement	Policy Manual §6	Administrative verification, not a financial variable
REQ-006: Proof of identity	Policy Manual §6	Administrative verification, not a financial variable
REQ-007: Priority group membership	Policy Manual §7	Complex categorical; group 13 is catch-all so effectively all eligible families qualify
REQ-028: Fee waiver for DFCS custody	Policy Manual §9.5	Could use is_in_foster_care in a future iteration
REQ-031: Registration fee ($65/child)	Policy Manual §10	One-time administrative cost, not recurring subsidy
REQ-032: 12-month eligibility period	Policy Manual	Time-based administrative rule; PE models point-in-time eligibility
REQ-033: Fee protection (no mid-period increases)	Policy Manual	Time-based administrative rule; requires temporal state tracking
REQ-034: Graduated phase-out	Policy Manual	Captured by entry vs. ongoing thresholds (REQ-008/REQ-009)
REQ-035: Age transition timing (Monday after birthday)	Policy Manual §10	Intra-month timing; PE uses annual/monthly periods
REQ-036: Disability negotiated rate	Policy Manual §10	Case-by-case administrative decision, no standard formula
REQ-037: 15% QR discount removal	Policy Manual	Already removed (10/06/2025), before our effective date
Per-child lesser-of (state max vs published rate)	Policy Manual §9.6.1	PolicyEngine does not track per-child provider published rates; cap applied at SPMUnit total (same pattern as RI/MA/CO childcare)
Variable Schedule Scholarship (VSS)	Policy Manual §10	Combines B&A, FT, and PT rates dynamically; collapsed to a single dominant care type
Military allotments	Policy Manual §8.4	No matching PolicyEngine variable

Files Added

parameters/gov/states/ga/decal/caps/
  age_threshold/child.yaml
  age_threshold/disabled_child.yaml
  age_group/toddler_min.yaml
  age_group/preschool_min.yaml
  age_group/school_age_min.yaml
  activity_requirements/weekly_hours.yaml
  income/smi_rate/initial_eligibility.yaml
  income/smi_rate/ongoing_eligibility.yaml
  income/countable_income/sources.yaml
  family_fee/rate.yaml
  family_fee/minor_parent_age.yaml
  quality_rated/bonus_rate.yaml
  zone_1_counties.yaml
  zone_2_counties.yaml
  rates/center.yaml
  rates/family.yaml
  rates/informal.yaml

variables/gov/states/ga/decal/caps/
  ga_caps.py
  ga_caps_enrolled.py
  ga_child_care_subsidies.py
  eligibility/ga_caps_eligible.py
  eligibility/ga_caps_eligible_child.py
  eligibility/ga_caps_income_eligible.py
  eligibility/ga_caps_activity_eligible.py
  income/ga_caps_countable_income.py
  copay/ga_caps_family_fee.py
  payment/ga_caps_zone.py
  payment/ga_caps_provider_type.py
  payment/ga_caps_care_type.py
  payment/ga_caps_age_group.py
  payment/ga_caps_quality_rating.py
  payment/ga_caps_maximum_weekly_benefit.py

tests/policy/baseline/gov/states/ga/decal/caps/
  integration.yaml
  ga_caps.yaml
  eligibility/ga_caps_eligible.yaml
  eligibility/ga_caps_eligible_child.yaml
  eligibility/ga_caps_income_eligible.yaml
  eligibility/ga_caps_activity_eligible.yaml
  copay/ga_caps_family_fee.yaml
  payment/ga_caps_zone.yaml
  payment/ga_caps_age_group.yaml
  payment/ga_caps_maximum_weekly_benefit.yaml

programs.yaml — Georgia registered under CCDF state_implementations

Verification

• Reimbursement rates verified against Appendix C (108/108 cells match, 600 DPI confirmed)
• Income limits verified against Appendix A (50% SMI / 85% SMI thresholds — Appendix A supersedes CCDF Plan §2.2.4's outdated 40%)
• Family fee tiers verified against Appendix D (4 FPL brackets, "above X%" boundary semantics with 0.0001 shift)
• Quality Rated add-ons verified against CCDF Plan §4.3.3 (5%/10% rates)
• Zone county assignments verified against Appendix C zone map (14 Zone 1 + 46 Zone 2 counties match)
• CI passes

Test Plan

• 10 test files covering eligibility, income, fees, rates, zones, integration (_edge.yaml files merged into canonical counterparts per testing-patterns skill)
• Activity-eligibility tests pin meets_ccdf_activity_test: false to isolate the GA-specific 24-hour rule from the federal CCDF fallback
• All 121 GA CAPS tests pass locally
• CI passes

[codecov]

Codecov Report

✅ All modified and coverable lines are covered by tests.
✅ Project coverage is 100.00%. Comparing base (8cb60e7) to head (d852b15).
⚠️ Report is 23 commits behind head on main.

Additional details and impacted files

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  Coverage   100.00%   100.00%            
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  Files            3        15    +12     
  Lines           63       253   +190     
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+ Hits            63       253   +190     

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