PolicyEngine / PolicyEngine/policyengine-us
UT CCAP: model the October 2026 entry/exit income eligibility tiers (Table 4 groups 6/10/16)
- Dominant language
- Python
- Stars
- 162
- Forks
- 212
- Avg merge
- 3d 3h
- Merged PRs (30d)
- 97
Description
## Background
The October 1, 2026 edition of Utah DWS Table 4 ([table1026.pdf](https://jobs.utah.gov/occ/provider/table1026.pdf#page=1)) introduces tiered income eligibility thresholds keyed to the copayment income groups:
- **Entry (applications)**: countable income must be at or below the **group 6** upper bound for the household size;
- **Exit (reviews)**: existing recipients remain eligible up to the **group 10** upper bound;
- **Open child care / special needs (between review cycles)**: up to the **group 16** upper bound (the 85%-SMI band).
`ut_ccap_income_eligible` currently applies a single ceiling (85% of state median income via `hhs_smi`) to everyone, which matches the pre-October-2026 structure but overstates entry eligibility and (between the group-10 and 85%-SMI bounds) recipient eligibility from October 2026 on.
## Suggested shape
- The group bounds are already encoded in `gov/states/ut/dwf/ccap/copay/income_limits.yaml` (October 2026 layer added in #9367), and `ut_ccap_income_group` classifies income against them — the eligibility formula can compare the income group against dated entry/exit group-number parameters.
- Distinguishing applicants from recipients can follow the existing enrollment-flag pattern (e.g., `ma_ccfa_enrolled`): entry test for non-enrolled units, exit test for enrolled ones.
- The change should be inert before 2026-10-01 (single 85%-SMI ceiling preserved for earlier periods).
## Source
Utah DWS Table 4 — Child Care Income Eligibility and Co-Payment, effective October 1, 2026: https://jobs.utah.gov/occ/provider/table1026.pdf#page=1
Deferred from #9367 (see the `income_limits.yaml` header comment and the PR review's should-address item 3).
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https://claude.ai/code/session_01ASXyC4DNpinDieKCdkNgL8
Contributor guide
Research direction
Start with ut_ccap_income_eligible, ut_ccap_income_group, and gov/states/ut/dwf/ccap/copay/income_limits.yaml, then compare the enrollment-flag pattern in ma_ccfa_enrolled. Use Utah DWS Table 4 as the source for the dated group thresholds. Done means pre-October-2026 behavior remains unchanged and entry, exit, and between-review eligibility use the intended groups 6, 10, and 16.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- python
- Domain
- backend
- Issue type
- Feature
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Active
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 70/100