Implement Arizona TANF (cash assistance) program

[hua7450]

Summary

Implements Arizona Cash Assistance (TANF) program.

Closes #7149
Closes #6719

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Regulatory Authority

• A.R.S. § 46-207 - Grant plus income; uniform assistance plan; amount of assistance
• A.R.S. § 46-207.01 - Temporary assistance for needy families; amount of cash assistance
• A.R.S. § 46-292 - Eligibility for assistance
• 2023 Arizona TANF State Plan

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1. Income Eligibility Tests

Needy Family Test

Household Type	Income Limit
Standard households	≤ 100% FPG
Non-parent caretaker relatives	≤ 130% FPG

Source: 2023 Arizona TANF State Plan, Page 18

Payment Standard Test

After passing the Needy Family test, countable income must also be at or below the applicable Payment Standard (A1 or A2).

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2. Income Deductions & Exemptions

Earned Income Disregards

Deduction	Amount
Flat deduction	$90/month
Percentage disregard	30% of remainder

Source: 2023 Arizona TANF State Plan, Page 18

Dependent Care Expense Deduction

Dependent Type	Maximum Deduction
Child under age 2	$200/month
Child age 2+	$175/month

Source: A.R.S. § 46-292

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3. Payment Standards

Arizona payment standards are calculated as a percentage of the 1992 Federal Poverty Guidelines:

Standard	Rate	Applies When
A1	36% of 1992 FPG	Recipient has shelter costs
A2	36% × (1 - 37%) = ~23% of 1992 FPG	Recipient has no shelter costs

Per A.R.S. § 46-207: "the department shall reduce the federal poverty level used in its calculation of payments by thirty-seven per cent if the person is not paying, or is not obligated to pay, shelter costs"

Payment Standard by Family Size (Current - Post Dec 2023)

Family Size	1992 FPG	A1 (36%)	A2 (~23%)
1	$6,810	$204	$129
2	$9,190	$276	$174
3	$11,570	$347	$219
4	$13,950	$419	$264
5	$16,330	$490	$309
6	$18,710	$561	$354
7	$21,090	$633	$399
8	$23,470	$704	$444

Historical Benefit Reduction (2009-2023)

Arizona implemented a 20% benefit cut during the Great Recession (July 2009 - November 2023), reducing the payment standard rate from 36% to 28.8%.

Sources:

• Arizona CNAP Manual - What's Changed 11/27/2023
• 2023 Arizona TANF State Plan, Page 21

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4. Resource Limit

• $2,000 countable assets

Source: 2023 Arizona TANF State Plan, Page 20

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5. Benefit Calculation

Formula

Benefit = Payment Standard − Countable Income

Countable Income Calculation

Countable Income = max(0, Gross Earned − $90 − 30% of Remainder − Care Expenses) + Unearned Income

Example (Family of 3, with shelter, $400 earned income)

1. $400 − $90 = $310
2. $310 × 0.70 = $217 (after 30% disregard)
3. $217 − $0 (no care expenses) = $217 countable income
4. $347 (A1 standard) − $217 = $130 benefit

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6. Not Implemented

The following program rules are documented but not implemented in this PR:

40% Self-Employment Income Standard Deduction

Per 2023 Arizona TANF State Plan, Page 18-19:

"Self-employed family members may be eligible to receive a standard deduction for allowable business expenses equivalent to 40 percent of the countable gross self-employment income. The self-employment standard deduction is applied prior to calculating the earned income disregards."

This deduction applies before the $90 flat and 30% percentage disregards. Without this, benefits for self-employed recipients may be underestimated.

Disabled Adult Dependent Care Deduction

The State Plan mentions care expenses for disabled adults at $175/month, but only child care deductions are implemented.

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Files Changed

Parameters (7 files)

gov/states/az/hhs/tanf/
├── income/
│   ├── fpg_limit/
│   │   ├── base.yaml          # 100% FPG limit
│   │   └── non_parent.yaml    # 130% FPG for non-parent relatives
│   └── deductions/
│       ├── flat.yaml          # $90 flat disregard
│       ├── percentage.yaml    # 30% percentage disregard
│       └── care_expenses/
│           └── amounts.yaml   # Child care deduction amounts
├── payment_standard/
│   ├── rate.yaml              # 36% base rate (with historical 20% cut)
│   └── reduction.yaml         # 37% reduction for no shelter
└── resources/
    └── limit.yaml             # $2,000 resource limit

Variables (11 files)

• az_tanf.py - Main benefit calculation
• az_tanf_eligible.py - Overall eligibility
• az_tanf_eligible_child.py - Child eligibility
• az_tanf_income_eligible.py - Income eligibility
• az_tanf_resources_eligible.py - Resource eligibility
• az_tanf_fpg_rate.py - FPG rate selector (100%/130%)
• az_tanf_fpg_baseline.py - 1992 FPG baseline calculator
• az_tanf_payment_standard.py - Payment standard (A1/A2)
• az_tanf_countable_income.py - Total countable income
• az_tanf_countable_earned_income.py - Countable earned income
• az_tanf_earned_income_after_disregard_person.py - Per-person earned income after disregards
• az_tanf_dependent_care_deduction.py - Dependent care deduction

Tests (12 files)

• Unit tests for each variable
• Integration test with 9 comprehensive scenarios

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🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[codecov]

Codecov Report

✅ All modified and coverable lines are covered by tests.
✅ Project coverage is 100.00%. Comparing base (67abb79) to head (6849f24).
⚠️ Report is 28 commits behind head on main.

Additional details and impacted files

@@             Coverage Diff              @@
##             main     #7150       +/-   ##
============================================
+ Coverage   72.11%   100.00%   +27.88%     
============================================
  Files        3794        11     -3783     
  Lines       54662       163    -54499     
  Branches      275         0      -275     
============================================
- Hits        39418       163    -39255     
+ Misses      15228         0    -15228     
+ Partials       16         0       -16     

Flag	Coverage Δ
unittests	100.00% <100.00%> (+27.88%)	⬆️

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[PavelMakarchuk]

PR Review - Arizona TANF Implementation

🔴 Critical Issues (Must Fix Before Merge)

1. Reference Corroboration: 100% FPL Limit Source Missing

File: policyengine_us/parameters/gov/states/az/hhs/tanf/income/fpg_limit/base.yaml

• The cited A.R.S. Section 46-292 does NOT establish a 100% FPL income limit
• Only the 130% limit for non-parent relatives is explicitly stated in the statute
• Action: Find an authoritative source that explicitly states the 100% FPL limit for standard TANF cases, or document that this is derived from the State Plan

2. Reference Section Mismatch: Wrong Subsection Cited

File: policyengine_us/parameters/gov/states/az/hhs/tanf/income/fpg_limit/non_parent.yaml

• Title cites A.R.S. Section 46-292(Q) but the 130% FPL threshold is in subsection P(2), not Q
• Fix: Change reference title to A.R.S. Section 46-292(P)(2) - Non-parent relative income limit

3. Period Access Error in Formula

File: policyengine_us/variables/gov/states/az/hhs/tanf/eligibility/az_tanf_income_eligible.py:19

• az_tanf_fpg_rate is defined with definition_period = MONTH but accessed with period.this_year
• Fix: Change spm_unit("az_tanf_fpg_rate", period.this_year) to spm_unit("az_tanf_fpg_rate", period)

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🟡 Should Address

1. Third-Party Reference Source

File: policyengine_us/variables/gov/states/az/hhs/tanf/eligibility/az_tanf_resources_eligible.py:9-11

• Uses db101.org (third-party) instead of official government source
• Consider replacing with: https://www.azleg.gov/ars/46/00292.htm or the TANF State Plan

2. Reference Format - Vague Subsections

Files: income/deductions/flat.yaml, income/deductions/percentage.yaml

• A.R.S. references cite (P) but should be more specific: (P)(1)

3. Missing Boundary Tests

• Income exactly at payment standard threshold
• Resources at $1,999 and $2,001 (unit test, not just integration)
• Earned income at $89 and $91 (flat disregard boundary)
• Housing cost at $1 (A1/A2 trigger boundary)

4. Missing Integration Test Scenarios

• Family with only unearned income (no earned income at all)
• Non-parent relative with A2 (no shelter) payment standard
• Pregnant woman with income

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🟢 Suggestions

1. Large family test coverage: Consider adding tests for 7-8+ member families
2. Reference accessibility: Several State Plan PDF links return 403 - consider verifying accessibility
3. Comment cleanup: Some comments are verbose; variable names and structure should be self-documenting

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✅ What's Implemented Correctly

Component	Verification
Payment Standard (36% of 1992 FPG)	✓ Matches A.R.S. 46-207.01
37% Shelter Reduction	✓ Matches A.R.S. 46-207(D)
$90 Flat + 30% Earned Disregard	✓ Matches A.R.S. 46-292(P)(1)
$200/$175 Dependent Care	✓ Matches A.R.S. 46-292(P)(1)
1992 FPG Values	✓ Verified against HHS records
Historical 20% Cut (2009-2023)	✓ Properly parameterized
No Hard-coded Values	✓ All values from parameters
Variable Naming	✓ All use az_tanf_* prefix
Pattern Usage	✓ Correct adds, add(), max_()
Entity Levels	✓ Proper SPMUnit/Person usage
Vectorization	✓ Uses where(), &, `

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Validation Summary

Check	Result
Regulatory Accuracy	✅ Implementation matches statutes
Reference Quality	⚠️ 2 critical issues (100% FPL source, wrong subsection)
Code Patterns	⚠️ 1 critical issue (period access)
Test Coverage	⚠️ Missing boundary tests
CI Status	✅ All checks passing

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Documented Limitations (Acknowledged)

The PR correctly documents these as NOT implemented:

1. 40% Self-Employment Income Standard Deduction
2. Disabled Adult Dependent Care Deduction ($175/month)

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Test Coverage: 75 Tests Passing

Category	Count
Unit tests per variable	63 tests
Integration scenarios	12 tests

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Next Steps

To auto-fix code issues: /fix-pr 7150

Or address manually:

1. Fix the period access in az_tanf_income_eligible.py line 19
2. Update reference subsection in fpg_limit/non_parent.yaml
3. Add authoritative source for 100% FPL limit in fpg_limit/base.yaml

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[PavelMakarchuk]

@hua7450 please take a look at the missing 100% fpl reference

[hua7450]

@hua7450 please take a look at the missing 100% fpl reference

Can't find it in Statues, but its in both state plan and official website of Arizona TANF