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Limit Hawaii, Vermont and Kentucky TANF dependent care deductions to the care their rules allow - #10254

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fix-10208-tanf-dependent-care-scope
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fix-10208-tanf-dependent-care-scope

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Summary

Three state TANF dependent care deductions subtracted the unit's childcare_expenses for its own children, which the state rules do not allow. Each state's change is in its own commit.

  • Hawaii (hi_tanf_dependent_care_deduction): HAR 17-676-54.1(c)(4) and (d)(4) deduct "the actual cost for the care of each incapacitated adult living in the same household and receiving financial assistance", up to $175 (full time) or $165 a month. The HAR 17-676-2 definition is the same, and State Plan 10.2.1(D) says "cost of care for a disabled adult household member". The formula now deducts only care_expenses, capped per disabled adult; children no longer count toward the cap.
  • Vermont (vt_reach_up_dependent_care_deduction): Reach Up rule 2252.2 (a) covers a disabled or seriously ill adult household member, and (b) covers only a child who is not a member of the Reach Up household. ESD Procedure P-2230A step 2 says the same. The model does not track children outside the unit, so the formula now deducts only care_expenses, up to $175 per participant.
  • Kentucky (ky_ktap_dependent_care_disregard): 921 KAR 2:016 Section 5(3)(b)1 allows the disregard for (a) a child 13 or over, (b) an incapacitated adult, (c) "a KTAP case that is otherwise ineligible for KTAP without the benefit of the disregard for child care", or (d) the month of application. DCBS Operations Manual Vol. III MS 2840 B.1 adds that CCAP must be used instead if the case stays eligible without the deduction. MS 2810 B makes a case ineligible when countable income equals or exceeds the standard of need. Changes:
    • New ky_ktap_ineligible_without_child_care_disregard: countable income with only the incapacitated adult care disregard, compared with the standard of need.
    • New ky_ktap_incapacitated_adult_care_disregard: the incapacitated adult part, which always applies.
    • ky_ktap_dependent_care_disregard keeps child care only when the case is otherwise ineligible; otherwise it is the adult part.
    • The per-person countable earnings steps and the primary-earner allocation (MS 2840 B.2.c) move into ky_ktap_earned_income_helpers.py, so ky_ktap_countable_earned_income and the new test use the same steps. Results do not change for the existing variables.
    • Not modeled: the month-of-application case (d). Case (a) is also not changed: the existing schedule gives $0 at age 13 and over.

Reproduction from the issue (parent with $1,000 a month in earnings, children 5 and 2, $1,530 a month of child care): the deduction is now $0 in all three states, and the benefit equals the no-child-care benefit (HI $518.64, VT $125.56, KY $120.18; before: $788.64, $300.56, $216.43).

Tests

  • HI: hi_tanf_dependent_care_deduction.yaml rewritten (child care cases now $0; cap, hours and two-adult cases use a disabled adult); hi_tanf_countable_earned_income.yaml cases 2-4 use a disabled adult; integration.yaml Case 7 now shows child care does not reduce countable income ($35.76 benefit).
  • VT: vt_reach_up_dependent_care_deduction.yaml rewritten the same way; integration.yaml Case 10 now deducts $0 ($406.10 benefit).
  • KY: new ky_ktap_ineligible_without_child_care_disregard.yaml (5 cases, including the equal-to-standard boundary and the adult care disregard inside the test); 3 new disregard cases and 2 new integration cases (eligible case: $120.18; otherwise ineligible case: disregard $300, benefit $44.55). Existing cap and allocation cases set the new flag to true as an input so they keep testing the caps.
  • 10 of the new or changed cases fail on main and pass here; the control cases pass on both.
  • policyengine-core test on states/hi/dhs, states/hi/bessd, states/vt/dcf, states/ky/dcbs and states/oh/dcy/ccap/integration.yaml: 862 passed.

Fixes #10208

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

PavelMakarchuk and others added 4 commits October 16, 2026 15:28
HAR 17-676-54.1(c)(4) and (d)(4) and the HAR 17-676-2 definition deduct
only the cost of care for each incapacitated adult in the household. The
formula also deducted the unit's child care expenses and counted children
in the per-person cap. Drop the child care side and convert the tests.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Code Vt. R. 13-170-220-X rule 2252.2 allows the dependent care deduction
for the care of a disabled or seriously ill adult household member, and
for a child who is not a member of the Reach Up household. ESD Procedure
P-2230A step 2 says the same. The formula also deducted the unit's own
child care expenses. Drop them and convert the tests.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
…e cases

921 KAR 2:016 Section 5(3)(b)1.c allows the dependent care disregard for
child care only for a KTAP case that is otherwise ineligible without it;
DCBS Operations Manual Vol. III MS 2840 B.1 says CCAP must pay instead if
the case remains eligible. The formula disregarded child care for every
case. Add ky_ktap_ineligible_without_child_care_disregard, which compares
countable income with only the incapacitated adult care disregard against
the standard of need (MS 2810 B), and keep child care in the disregard only
when it is true. Move the per-person countable earnings and primary-earner
allocation into a shared helper so both calculations use the same steps.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

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Hawaii, Vermont and Kentucky TANF: dependent care deductions apply to child care the state rules do not deduct

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