Implement New Jersey CCAP

[hua7450]

Summary

Implements the New Jersey Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) in PolicyEngine, covering eligibility, copayment, and provider rate schedules.

Closes #7810

Regulatory Authority

Source	Description
N.J.A.C. 10:15-5.2	At Risk Child Care eligibility
N.J.A.C. 10:15-5.3	CCDBG eligibility
N.J.A.C. 10:15-9.1	Co-payment requirements
CCDF State Plan for NJ FFY 2025-2027	Sections 2.2, 2.2.4, 2.5, 3.1-3.3
CC-229 Income Eligibility Schedule	FPL tiers by family size (eff. 3/1/2026)
CC-236 Copayment Schedule	Copay percentages by tier/care type/child count (eff. 3/1/2026)
CC-230 Maximum Payment Rates	Provider rates by type/quality/age/time (eff. 3/1/2025)

Income Eligibility Tests

Three-tier income structure with nj_ccap_enrolled toggle:

Test	Threshold	Source
Initial eligibility	≤200% FPL	CC-229 Tier D; CCDF State Plan Section 2.2.4
Continuing eligibility (redetermination)	≤250% FPL	CC-229 Tier E; Important Information p.3-4
Exit threshold (hard cap)	85% NJ SMI	CC-229; CCDF State Plan Section 2.5

Additional eligibility requirements:

• Activity: 30+ hrs/week work, full-time student, or combination (each parent) — N.J.A.C. 10:15-5.2
• Child age: <13 general, <19 special needs — N.J.A.C. 10:15-5.2
• Assets: ≤$1,000,000 (federal CCDF limit) — CCDF State Plan Section 2.2.4
• Immigration: Child must be US citizen or qualified non-citizen — N.J.A.C. 10:15-5.3
• Homelessness: Copay waived for homeless families — Important Information p.7

Income Deductions & Exemptions

No deductions. Eligibility is based on gross income. Countable income includes wages, self-employment, SS benefits, pensions, unemployment/workers' comp, alimony, child support, dividends, interest, and rental income. Excludes TANF cash benefits (WFNJ).

Source: CCDF State Plan Section 2.2.4c

Copayment Structure

Three FPL tiers with rates varying by care type (FT/PT) and child count (1 vs 2+):

FPL Tier	1 Child FT	1 Child PT	2 Children FT	2 Children PT	1 FT + 1 PT
≤100% FPL	waived	waived	waived	waived	waived
101-200% FPL	4%	2%	6%	3%	5%
201%+ FPL	5%	2.5%	7%	3.5%	6%

• 3rd+ child: $0 additional copay — N.J.A.C. 10:15-9.1
• Cap: 5% of gross income — CCDF State Plan Section 3.1
• Formula: monthly_copay = annual_gross_income * copay_rate / 12

Implementation uses additive first-child + second-child rate parameters by FPL bracket. Source: CC-236

Provider Rate Schedule

4 provider types x 8 age groups x 2 care types x up to 4 quality tiers:

Provider Type	Quality Tiers	Age Groups	Source
Licensed Child Care Center	Base, 3-Star, 4-Star, 5-Star	All 8 (school-age: base only)	CC-230 p.1
Registered Family Home	Base, 3-Star, 4-Star, 5-Star	All 8 (school-age: base only)	CC-230 p.2
Approved Home (FFN/In-Home)	Base only	All 8	CC-230 p.3
ACA Summer Youth Camp	Base only	School-age only (2 groups)	CC-230 p.4

Age groups: Infant (0-17 mo), Toddler (18-29 mo), Preschool (30 mo-5 yr), School-Age (5-13 yr), plus special needs variants for each.

Weekly rates stored in parameters; benefit formula: min(expenses - copay, max_reimbursement) where max reimbursement is the sum of per-child weekly rates converted to monthly.

Benefit Calculation

For each eligible child:
  max_weekly_rate = lookup(provider_type, quality_rating, age_group, time_category)

Total max_monthly = sum(max_weekly_rate) * 52 / 12

monthly_copay = min(annual_income * copay_rate / 12, annual_income * 5% / 12)

benefit = max(0, min(pre_subsidy_childcare_expenses - monthly_copay, total_max_monthly))

Source: CC-236, CC-230, Important Information p.2-3

Requirements Coverage

REQ	Description	Status
REQ-001	NJ residency (defined_for = StateCode.NJ)	Covered
REQ-002	Initial income ≤200% FPL	Covered
REQ-003	Continuing income ≤250% FPL + graduated phase-out	Covered
REQ-004	Exit threshold 85% SMI	Covered
REQ-005	Child age <13 / <19 special needs	Covered
REQ-006	Child must be dependent	Covered
REQ-007	Activity: 30 hrs work or full-time student	Covered
REQ-008	12-month eligibility period (informational)	N/A
REQ-009	Immigration (reuses is_ccdf_immigration_eligible_child)	Covered
REQ-010	Assets ≤$1M (reuses is_ccdf_asset_eligible)	Covered
REQ-012	Homelessness copay waiver	Covered
REQ-013	Countable income (gross, excludes TANF)	Covered
REQ-014	FT/PT definition (30 hrs threshold)	Covered
REQ-015	Copay waived ≤100% FPL	Covered
REQ-016	Copay rates 101-200% FPL	Covered
REQ-017	Copay rates 201%+ FPL	Covered
REQ-018	3rd+ child = $0 additional copay	Covered
REQ-019	5% gross income copay cap	Covered
REQ-020	Copay formula (income * rate / 12)	Covered
REQ-022	4 provider types	Covered
REQ-023	8 age groups (4 standard + 4 special needs)	Covered
REQ-024	Quality tiers: Base/3/4/5-Star; school-age = base only	Covered
REQ-025	FT/PT care types	Covered
REQ-026-033	Provider rate schedules (all 4 types, all tiers)	Covered
REQ-034	Overage (parent pays above max rate)	Covered
REQ-035	Special needs surcharge via age group entries	Covered
REQ-036	CC-229 values effective 3/1/2026	Covered
REQ-037	85% SMI derivation from hhs_smi	Covered

35/37 requirements implemented, 2 excluded:

Not Modeled

REQ	Description	Reason
REQ-011	CPS exemption from activity requirement	No is_cps_referred variable exists
REQ-021	CPS copay exemption	No CPS variable exists

Files Added

changelog.d/
  nj-ccap.added.md

policyengine_us/parameters/gov/states/nj/njdhs/ccap/    (18 files)
  activity_requirements/weekly_hours.yaml
  age_group/months.yaml
  age_threshold/child.yaml
  age_threshold/special_needs.yaml
  copay/first_child_ft_rate.yaml
  copay/first_child_pt_rate.yaml
  copay/max_rate.yaml
  copay/second_child_ft_rate.yaml
  copay/second_child_pt_rate.yaml
  income/countable_income/sources.yaml
  income/fpl_rate/continuing_eligibility.yaml
  income/fpl_rate/initial_eligibility.yaml
  income/fpl_rate/smi_exit.yaml
  rates/aca_summer_camp.yaml
  rates/approved_home.yaml
  rates/licensed_center.yaml
  rates/registered_family.yaml
  time_authorization/thresholds.yaml

policyengine_us/variables/gov/states/nj/njdhs/ccap/     (14 files)
  copay/nj_ccap_copay.py
  eligibility/nj_ccap_activity_eligible.py
  eligibility/nj_ccap_eligible_child.py
  eligibility/nj_ccap_eligible.py
  eligibility/nj_ccap_income_eligible.py
  nj_ccap_age_group.py
  nj_ccap_countable_income.py
  nj_ccap_enrolled.py
  nj_ccap_grow_nj_kids_rating.py
  nj_ccap_maximum_weekly_benefit.py
  nj_ccap_provider_type.py
  nj_ccap_smi.py
  nj_ccap_time_category.py
  nj_ccap.py

policyengine_us/variables/gov/states/nj/njdhs/
  nj_child_care_subsidies.py                             (aggregator)

policyengine_us/tests/.../nj/njdhs/ccap/                (11 files, 119 test cases)
  edge_cases.yaml
  integration.yaml
  nj_ccap_age_group.yaml
  nj_ccap_copay.yaml
  nj_ccap_countable_income.yaml
  nj_ccap_eligible_child.yaml
  nj_ccap_eligible.yaml
  nj_ccap_income_eligible.yaml
  nj_ccap_maximum_weekly_benefit.yaml
  nj_ccap_time_category.yaml
  nj_ccap.yaml

Modified existing files:

• policyengine_us/parameters/gov/hhs/ccdf/child_care_subsidy_programs.yaml — added nj_child_care_subsidies
• sources/working_references.md — added NJ CCAP research notes

[codecov]

Codecov Report

❌ Patch coverage is 99.22780% with 2 lines in your changes missing coverage. Please review.
✅ Project coverage is 99.22%. Comparing base (b527c7e) to head (57f9029).
⚠️ Report is 19 commits behind head on main.

Files with missing lines	Patch %	Lines
.../variables/gov/states/nj/njdhs/ccap/nj_ccap_smi.py	90.47%	1 Missing and 1 partial ⚠️

Additional details and impacted files

@@             Coverage Diff             @@
##              main    #7811      +/-   ##
===========================================
- Coverage   100.00%   99.22%   -0.78%     
===========================================
  Files            3       15      +12     
  Lines           43      259     +216     
  Branches         0        1       +1     
===========================================
+ Hits            43      257     +214     
- Misses           0        1       +1     
- Partials         0        1       +1     

Flag	Coverage Δ
unittests	99.22% <99.22%> (-0.78%)	⬇️

Flags with carried forward coverage won't be shown. Click here to find out more.

☔ View full report in Codecov by Sentry.
📢 Have feedback on the report? Share it here.

🚀 New features to boost your workflow:

• ❄️ Test Analytics: Detect flaky tests, report on failures, and find test suite problems.