Implement Ohio Child Care Assistance Program (Publicly Funded Child Care / PFCC)

[hua7450]

Summary

Implements Ohio's Child Care Assistance Program — officially Publicly Funded Child Care (PFCC), administered by the Ohio Department of Children & Youth (DCY) (county Departments of Job & Family Services administer eligibility locally). The program was transferred from ODJFS to DCY and its rules were renumbered from 5101:2-16 to 5180:2-16 (eligibility) and 5180:6-1 (provider payment).

Closes #8717.

⚠️ Important modeling decisions

These two decisions materially shape the implementation and should be reviewed before merge.

1. Rescinded core rule / live-citation-only approach

Ohio appears to have rescinded its core substantive eligibility rule (old 5101:2-16-02) and its need-for-care rule (old 5101:2-16-06) without replacing them inside Chapter 5180:2-16. OAC 5180:2-16-02 and 5180:2-16-06 do NOT exist — codes.ohio.gov returns "Number Not Found." The surviving rules (-04, -05, -08) carry dangling cross-references to the nonexistent 5101:2-16-02/-06.

Per maintainer decision, this PR models only provisions authorized by a currently-live source. Citations are sourced as follows, and never reference -02 or -06:

Provision	Cited from
Income %FPG thresholds (145/150/300)	DCY Procedure Letter 21
Income definition + exclusions	OAC 5180:2-16-03
Copayment (incl. ≤100% FPG $0, protective/homeless waiver)	OAC 5180:2-16-05
Definitions (age groups, special-needs, school year, homeless)	OAC 5180:2-16-01
Child citizenship	Federal CCDF (45 CFR 98.20) via is_ccdf_immigration_eligible_child
Provider payment rates + add-ons + county map	OAC 5180:6-1-10

2. Qualifying-activity (need-for-care) requirement is NOT modeled

Because the authorizing rule for the qualifying-activity requirement (employment / education / training / job search) was rescinded with no live in-chapter replacement, eligibility here is determined by income + child age + child citizenship only — there is no work / need-for-care gate.

This is a deliberate limitation: it over-grants eligibility relative to real policy (families with no working/active caretaker would be modeled as eligible). It is documented in the oh_ccap_eligible docstring with "we don't model X at the moment" framing.

Regulatory Authority

OAC rule citations use the per-rule codes.ohio.gov landing pages (single-rule HTML, no #page= anchor). #page= anchors are used only for the genuine multi-page PDFs (DCY PL 21, the copay multiplier Appendix A, and the rate Appendix A).

• DCY Procedure Letter 21 — "Update to 2025 Early Care and Education Income Eligibility Standards" (eff. 2025-10-01): https://dam.assets.ohio.gov/image/upload/childrenandyouth.ohio.gov/For%20Partners/Rules%20and%20Resources/2025/PL_21.pdf#page=2
• OAC 5180:2-16-01 — Definitions: https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-administrative-code/rule-5180:2-16-01
• OAC 5180:2-16-03 — Income eligibility requirements: https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-administrative-code/rule-5180:2-16-03
• OAC 5180:2-16-05 — Copayment: https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-administrative-code/rule-5180:2-16-05
  • Copay multiplier Appendix A (eff. 2022-12-01): https://codes.ohio.gov/assets/laws/administrative-code/pdfs/5180/2/16/5180$2-16-05_PH_FF_A_APP5_20221201_0903.pdf#page=1
• OAC 5180:2-16-08 — County agency administration and determination of eligibility: https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-administrative-code/rule-5180:2-16-08
• OAC 5180:6-1-10 — Provider maximum reimbursement (cap) rates (eff. 2025-11-02): https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-administrative-code/rule-5180:6-1-10
  • Rate Appendix A (eff. 2025-11-02): https://codes.ohio.gov/assets/laws/administrative-code/pdfs/5180/6/1/5180$6-1-10_PH_FF_N_APP1_20251020_1028.pdf#page=1
• Federal CCDF — 45 CFR 98.20 (child citizenship/qualified-alien status), reused via is_ccdf_immigration_eligible_child.

Income Eligibility

Two-tier, %-FPG only — no State Median Income (SMI) cap (Ohio uses 300% FPG where federal CCDF allows up to 85% SMI):

• Initial (intake): family gross monthly income ≤ 145% FPG.
• Special-needs intake: ≤ 150% FPG.
• Ongoing (exit): once enrolled, remain eligible until income exceeds 300% FPG.

The intake-vs-ongoing distinction is selected by the bare boolean input oh_ccap_enrolled (where(enrolled, ongoing, initial)), matching the NJ CCAP two-tier pattern.

Countable income = gross earned + gross unearned, minus the enumerated exclusions in 5180:2-16-03 (B)–(I): SSI and the earned income of SSI recipients, child support paid, foster/adoption maintenance, SNAP allotments, income tax refunds / EITC, non-recurring lump sums, and minor full-time-student earnings. There is no childcare or work-expense deduction. The SSI-recipient earnings exclusion (-03(F)(8)) is modeled at the person level (a family member's earned income is zeroed when that member receives SSI) — it cannot be expressed via an adds-list omission alone, so countable income is computed by a formula, not a bare adds.

OWF/TANF basic assistance is statutorily countable (-03(H)(3)(j)) but is omitted from the countable-income sources to break the CCAP↔TANF circular dependency (CCAP income → TANF → dependent-care deduction → childcare_expenses → child_care_subsidies → CCAP). TANF-active families are instead made categorically income-eligible via the bare is_tanf_enrolled input (not computed TANF eligibility).

Copayment

Implements the faithful band-max method from 5180:2-16-05(B), not a simplified ratio bracket:

1. Annualize monthly income (× 12).
2. Divide by the 100%-FPG annual figure for the family size → family's %FPG.
3. Round %FPG up to the next 5%.
4. Band-max monthly income = (rounded% × 100%-FPG annual) ÷ 12.
5. Weekly copay = band-max monthly income × Appendix A multiplier ÷ weeks-in-fiscal-year, converted to monthly for the MONTH-period benefit.

• Copay is $0 at ≤100% FPG (explicit waiver, -05(A)(3)).
• Copay is waived (→ $0) for protective and homeless families (-05(G)). This is a copay waiver only, not an eligibility bypass.

The Appendix A multiplier table runs from 0.0700 (at 105%) through a flat 0.0875 plateau (130–200%) up to 0.2700 (at 300%); income is floored at $0 before computation.

Provider Payment / Rate table

Payment per child = min(county base rate, customary charge) + add-ons, then summed across children and reduced by copay (floored at $0). Customary charge is pre_subsidy_childcare_expenses.

The rate table has 3 county categories × 2 provider types × 5 age groups × 3 time increments:

• County categories (1 = lowest-cost rural incl. border-state providers; 2 = mid; 3 = metro/high-cost), mapped via an 88-county membership list (Category 1: 13 counties, Category 2: 39, Category 3: 36 — sums to 88).
• Provider types: CENTER (Centers / Day Camps / Preschool-School-age / ODE programs) and HOME (Licensed Type A/B Homes & In-Home Aides).
• Age groups: Infant (<18mo), Toddler (18mo–<3yr), Preschool, School-Age, School-Age-Summer — derived from the child's age in months plus a school-year/summer month check (modeled after AZ CCAP).
• Time increments: Hourly (<10 hrs/wk), Part-time (10–<33 hrs/wk), Full-time (33+ hrs/wk) — derived from childcare_hours_per_week.

Add-ons:

• SUTQ (Step Up To Quality): Bronze +10%, Silver +15%, Gold +25%.
• Accredited: +10%. When also SUTQ-rated, the higher of the SUTQ% or the accredited +10% applies.
• Non-traditional hours: +5%.
• Special needs: +5%, or 2× the base rate if special accommodations are approved (5180:6-1-09).
• All add-ons are capped at the customary charge.

Requirements Coverage

27 of 27 in-scope substantive requirements covered, plus the programs.yaml registry entry (REQ-036) — 28/28.

REQ	Description	Parameter(s)	Variable	Test
001	Child under 13	eligibility/child_age_limit.yaml	oh_ccap_eligible_child	oh_ccap_eligible_child 1-2,8
002	Special-needs child under 18	eligibility/special_needs_child_age_limit.yaml	oh_ccap_eligible_child	oh_ccap_eligible_child 3-5
003	Child citizenship	— (is_ccdf_immigration_eligible_child)	oh_ccap_eligible_child	oh_ccap_eligible_child 6,9
004	Intake ≤145% FPG	income/fpl_rate/initial_eligibility.yaml	oh_ccap_income_eligible	oh_ccap_income_eligible 1-2,7-8
005	Ongoing ≤300% FPG (two-tier)	income/fpl_rate/ongoing_eligibility.yaml	oh_ccap_income_eligible, oh_ccap_enrolled	oh_ccap_income_eligible 4-5,11-12
006	Special-needs ≤150% FPG	income/fpl_rate/special_needs_eligibility.yaml	oh_ccap_income_eligible	oh_ccap_income_eligible 3,9-10
007	Countable income, no deductions	income/countable_income/sources.yaml, earned_sources.yaml	oh_ccap_countable_income	oh_ccap_countable_income (5)
008	SSI + SSI-recipient earnings excluded	(person-level formula)	oh_ccap_countable_income	oh_ccap_countable_income + integration 5
009	TANF cycle break via is_tanf_enrolled	(sources omit OWF)	oh_ccap_income_eligible	oh_ccap_income_eligible 6
014	≤100% FPG copay $0	copay/fpl_waiver_threshold.yaml	oh_ccap_copay	oh_ccap_copay 1,8
015	Band-max copay method	copay/multiplier.yaml, weeks_in_fiscal_year.yaml	oh_ccap_copay	oh_ccap_copay 2-3,9
016	Copay multiplier table	copay/multiplier.yaml	oh_ccap_copay	oh_ccap_copay 2-3,9
017	Weeks-in-FY divisor	copay/weeks_in_fiscal_year.yaml	oh_ccap_copay	(used in copay)
018	Protective/homeless copay waiver	—	oh_ccap_copay	oh_ccap_copay 4-6 + integration 4
021	min(rate, charge) + add-ons	—	oh_ccap_rate_with_addons, oh_ccap	oh_ccap_rate_with_addons 11
022	Full rate table (3×2×5×3)	rates/center.yaml, rates/home.yaml	oh_ccap_base_rate	oh_ccap_base_rate (11)
023	Time increments	time_category/hours.yaml	oh_ccap_time_category	oh_ccap_time_category (6)
024	Derived age group + summer split	age_group/months.yaml, school_age_summer/{start,end}_month.yaml	oh_ccap_child_age_group	oh_ccap_child_age_group (8)
025	SUTQ Bronze/Silver/Gold	addons/quality/sutq.yaml	oh_ccap_rate_with_addons, oh_ccap_quality_tier	oh_ccap_rate_with_addons 1-4
026	Accredited +10%, max of SUTQ/accred	addons/accredited.yaml	oh_ccap_rate_with_addons, oh_ccap_is_accredited	oh_ccap_rate_with_addons 5-6
027	Non-traditional +5%	addons/non_traditional_hours.yaml	oh_ccap_rate_with_addons, oh_ccap_non_traditional_hours	oh_ccap_rate_with_addons 7
028	Special-needs +5% or 2×	addons/special_needs.yaml, special_needs_accommodations_multiplier.yaml	oh_ccap_rate_with_addons, oh_ccap_has_special_accommodations	oh_ccap_rate_with_addons 8-9
029	Add-ons capped at customary charge	—	oh_ccap_rate_with_addons	oh_ccap_rate_with_addons 11
030	County→category map (88)	geography/category_{1,2,3}_counties.yaml	oh_ccap_county_rate_category	oh_ccap_county_rate_category (5)
035	oh_child_care_subsidies + CCDF registry	—	oh_child_care_subsidies	(integration)
036	programs.yaml entry	—	—	—

Not Modeled (by design)

Dropped — no live citation (authority was in the rescinded -02/-06):

What	Why excluded
Qualifying-activity (need-for-care) requirement	Authorizing rule rescinded; see modeling decision #2. Over-grants vs real policy.
Inability-to-care (PCSA/physician) exception	Moot once activity is not gated; no live rule.
Homeless eligibility bypass (income/activity waiver)	No live rule authorizes it — only the copay waiver (-05(G)) survives, which is kept.
Protective/foster eligibility bypass (income/asset waiver)	Same — only the copay waiver is kept.
Post-OWF 12-month transitional ≤150% FPG window	No live rule; we don't track OWF-exit timing at the moment.
Ohio $1,000,000 asset cap	Authority is the rescinded -02(B)(4); the cap is non-binding. The federal is_ccdf_asset_eligible helper is reused instead.

Deferred — operational details outside the modeled annual→monthly pipeline:

What	Why excluded
Pay-period conversion (×4.3 / ×2.15 / ×2)	PolicyEngine takes annual income and auto-converts annual→monthly; these caseworker pay-stub factors do not change the modeled relationship.
Copay ≤ cost of care / no copay on absent or PD-only weeks	The cost cap is implicitly handled by the min(charge, rate) benefit; we don't track weekly attendance.
July-2026 statutory 7%-of-income copay cap	Not yet in any rule (legislative analysis only).
Absent days, PD days, $25 registration fee, monthly-vs-per-day billing	We don't track per-day attendance / registration at the moment.

Note: SCHOOL_AGE_SUMMER is fully implemented (enum value, rate-table cells, and the summer-month branch in oh_ccap_child_age_group), but the summer branch is untestable under the JAN / whole-year YAML test harness (test periods are restricted to YYYY-01 or YYYY); the age-group tests exercise the school-year case in January.

Verification TODO

• Re-verify the copay multiplier table and the provider rate cells cell-by-cell against the source PDFs at high DPI (transposition risk on multi-dimensional rate tables).
• Confirm DCY Procedure Letter 21 page anchor (#page=2 used).
• Confirm no post-renumbering divergence between the rescinded-rule substance and current operative policy (the live 5180:2-16-02 page is JS-rendered and could not be captured directly; corroborated indirectly via the unchanged 5180:2-16-03).
• CI passes.

Test plan

• 98 tests pass locally (policyengine-core test policyengine_us/tests/policy/baseline/gov/states/oh/dcy/ccap/ -c policyengine_us)
• CI passes

Files Added

policyengine_us/parameters/gov/states/oh/dcy/ccap/
  addons/
    accredited.yaml
    non_traditional_hours.yaml
    special_needs.yaml
    special_needs_accommodations_multiplier.yaml
    quality/sutq.yaml
  age_group/
    months.yaml
    school_age_summer/start_month.yaml
    school_age_summer/end_month.yaml
  copay/
    fpl_waiver_threshold.yaml
    multiplier.yaml
    weeks_in_fiscal_year.yaml
  eligibility/
    child_age_limit.yaml
    special_needs_child_age_limit.yaml
  geography/
    category_1_counties.yaml
    category_2_counties.yaml
    category_3_counties.yaml
  income/
    countable_income/sources.yaml
    countable_income/earned_sources.yaml
    fpl_rate/initial_eligibility.yaml
    fpl_rate/special_needs_eligibility.yaml
    fpl_rate/ongoing_eligibility.yaml
  rates/
    center.yaml
    home.yaml
  time_category/hours.yaml

policyengine_us/variables/gov/states/oh/dcy/ccap/
  oh_ccap.py
  oh_child_care_subsidies.py
  oh_ccap_base_rate.py
  oh_ccap_child_age_group.py
  oh_ccap_copay.py
  oh_ccap_county_rate_category.py
  oh_ccap_has_special_accommodations.py
  oh_ccap_is_accredited.py
  oh_ccap_non_traditional_hours.py
  oh_ccap_provider_type.py
  oh_ccap_quality_tier.py
  oh_ccap_rate_with_addons.py
  oh_ccap_time_category.py
  eligibility/
    oh_ccap_eligible.py
    oh_ccap_eligible_child.py
    oh_ccap_income_eligible.py
    oh_ccap_enrolled.py
    oh_ccap_countable_income.py

policyengine_us/tests/policy/baseline/gov/states/oh/dcy/ccap/
  integration.yaml
  oh_ccap_base_rate.yaml
  oh_ccap_child_age_group.yaml
  oh_ccap_copay.yaml
  oh_ccap_countable_income.yaml
  oh_ccap_county_rate_category.yaml
  oh_ccap_eligible.yaml
  oh_ccap_eligible_child.yaml
  oh_ccap_income_eligible.yaml
  oh_ccap_rate_with_addons.yaml
  oh_ccap_time_category.yaml

Registry edits:
  policyengine_us/parameters/gov/hhs/ccdf/child_care_subsidy_programs.yaml  (added oh_child_care_subsidies)
  policyengine_us/programs.yaml  (added Ohio CCAP under CCDF state_implementations)

changelog.d/oh-ccap.added.md

[codecov]

Codecov Report

✅ All modified and coverable lines are covered by tests.
✅ Project coverage is 100.00%. Comparing base (47cb26b) to head (f77d966).
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