Colorado Works applies the applicant needs test to recipients along an earnings axis

**Observed** (API, 2026): Colorado Works (TANF) for a single parent with children 3 and 7 ends between $6,000 and $7,000 of annual earnings, with a $3,891 cliff at $6,000. That is Colorado's **applicant** test: a $90 disregard against the $421/month need standard ends eligibility at ≈ $6,132/yr.

**Expected**: a recipient's earnings are subject to the 67% earned-income disregard, so the grant tapers and ends near $15,300 (the Atlanta Fed PRD, 2026 rule year, ends it at $15,309 and sizes the last step at $874). The applicant test should apply only at application; along an earnings axis for a current recipient, the recipient rule governs. The maximum grant itself is right ($620/month, more current than the PRD's $592).

**Repro**: CO, one adult (30) + children (3, 7), `employment_income` axis $0–$20,000, requesting `co_tanf` (or `tanf`) on the SPM unit.

Found while validating HotGap against the Atlanta Fed PRD calculator: https://github.com/mikewolfd/hotgap/blob/main/docs/reviews/2026-09-15-external-validation.md

Start by locating the Colorado TANF implementation behind the co_tanf or tanf request and the SPM employment_income axis. Reproduce the single-parent Colorado case with earnings from $0–$20,000, then verify that applicant rules apply only at application and recipient earnings taper under the 67% disregard, ending near $15,309 while retaining the $620 monthly maximum.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.