Implement New Mexico Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP)

[hua7450]

Summary

Implements New Mexico's Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), administered by the Early Childhood Education and Care Department (ECECD), under 8.15.2 NMAC. The subsidy reimburses providers per child based on a four-dimensional rate table (provider type × FOCUS star level × age group × service unit), with copays waived since 2022-05-01 and a no-income-limit Universal Child Care era beginning 2025-11-01.

Closes #8706

Regulatory Authority

• 8.15.2 NMAC — "Requirements for Child Care Assistance Programs for Clients and Child Care Providers" (HTML, SRCA): https://www.srca.nm.gov/parts/title08/08.015.0002.html (HTML source — no #page= anchor). Subsections used:
  • 8.15.2.9 — initial certification income tiers (Priority 1/100%, Priority 4/200% FPL)
  • 8.15.2.11.C(3),(4),(5),(6),(8)(b) — income basis, $1M asset limit, counted income, exempt income, conversion factors
  • 8.15.2.11.D / .E / .F / .G / .H / .I — NM residence, citizenship/qualified-immigrant, age 6 wk–<13, special-supervision 13–18, no benefit during school hours, work/education activity
  • 8.15.2.12 — recertification (250% FPL)
  • 8.15.2.13.B / .C — copay formula and service-unit adjustment
  • 8.15.2.24 — annually-published copay schedule
• ECECD Child Care Assistance Rates flyer (Effective August 2023, 10 pp PDF; rate tables on pp. 2–5): https://www.nmececd.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Cost-Model-Reimbursement-Rate-Flyer-English-and-Spanish-Revised-May-2024.pdf#page=2
• ECECD Copayment Waiver flyer (1 pp): https://www.nmececd.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/CCA-Co-payments-waived_rev1l.pdf
• ECECD Universal Child Care announcement / page: https://www.nmececd.org/universal/ (no income limit from 2025-11-01; corroborated by the Universal Child Care Brief, Dec 11 2025: https://www.nmececd.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Universal-Child-Care-Brief-12-11-25_FINAL_REV2.pdf#page=1)

Eligibility

Requirement	Source	How Modeled
Eligible-child age	8.15.2.11.F	nm_ccap_eligible_child — age < 13 (eligibility/child_age_limit.yaml = 13). 6-week lower bound NOT modeled (see Not Modeled)
Special-needs age extension	8.15.2.11.G	nm_ccap_eligible_child — has_developmental_delay & age < 18 (eligibility/special_needs_child_age_limit.yaml = 18). Court-supervision route not modeled (no PE input)
NM residence	8.15.2.11.D	defined_for = StateCode.NM on all NM CCAP variables
Citizenship / qualified immigrant	8.15.2.11.E	Citizen/qualified-immigrant CHILD required pre-UCC (8.15.2.11.E NMAC); toggled off from 2025-11-01 under UCC (child served with state funds — funding-source only) via immigration_test_in_effect. Reuses federal is_ccdf_immigration_eligible_child
Asset limit ($1,000,000)	8.15.2.11.C(4)	nm_ccap_asset_eligible — spm_unit_assets <= 1_000_000 (eligibility/asset_limit.yaml); state-specific, not the federal CCDF limit. Retained for all years (incl. post-UCC); rarely binds (modeling simplification)
Work / school / training activity	8.15.2.11.I, 8.15.2.7	nm_ccap_activity_eligible — each head/spouse caretaker weekly_hours_worked > 0 OR is_full_time_student
Income — intake 200% FPL / recert 250% FPL	8.15.2.9, 8.15.2.12	nm_ccap_income_eligible reads nm_ccap_enrolled to pick fpl_limit/initial.yaml (2.0) vs continuation.yaml (2.5) against spm_unit_fpg
TANF-transition bypass (Priority 2)	8.15.2.9	is_tanf_enrolled categorical bypass in nm_ccap_income_eligible (also breaks the CCAP↔TANF circular dependency)
Universal Child Care — no income limit	ECECD Universal page	eligibility/income_limit_in_effect.yaml toggles true → false on 2025-11-01; income test short-circuits to eligible
Countable income	8.15.2.11.C(3),(5),(6)	nm_ccap_countable_income sums a positive list of 11 PE income variables (income/countable_income/sources.yaml); exempt categories excluded by omission

Note: the parent's immigration status is never an eligibility factor (45 CFR 98.20(c)); only the child's citizenship/qualified-immigrant status was ever modeled, and that child-level test toggles off under UCC (the child is then served with state funds — immigration status sets only the funding source, not eligibility).

Benefit Calculation

For each eligible child, the per-child subsidy is the lesser of the provider reimbursement rate and the actual pre-subsidy childcare charge, minus the copay, floored at zero:

subsidy_per_child = max(0, min(provider_rate, pre_subsidy_childcare_charge) − copay)

The SPMUnit nm_ccap benefit sums this across eligible children. The copay (nm_ccap_copay) is $0 for all modeled periods because copay/waived.yaml is true from 2022-05-01.

The provider rate (nm_ccap_monthly_rate) is a four-dimensional lookup:

• Provider type (nm_ccap_provider_type enum) × FOCUS star level (nm_ccap_focus_level enum) × age group (nm_ccap_age_group, derived from age-in-months brackets) — yields the full-time base rate.
• Service unit (nm_ccap_service_unit) scales the base rate by service_unit_fraction.yaml: Full time = 100%, Part time 1 = 75%, Part time 2 = 50%, Part time 3 = 25%.
• Non-traditional-hours differential (nm_ccap_non_traditional_hours) adds +5% / +10% / +15% of the applicable rate for after-hours care (7pm–7am weekdays and weekends).

Registered Home / In-Home providers use a single rate per age group (no star levels).

Provider Reimbursement Rates

Rates come from the ECECD Child Care Assistance Rates flyer (Effective August 2023). Full-time base monthly rates are stored per provider type:

• rates/center.yaml and rates/group_home.yaml and rates/family_home.yaml — breakdown: [focus_level, age_group], five FOCUS levels (2-Star, 2+Star, 3-Star, 4-Star, 5-Star) × four age groups (Infant, Toddler, Preschool, School Age).
• rates/registered_home.yaml — breakdown: [age_group], single rate, no star levels.
• rates/service_unit_fraction.yaml — FT/PT1/PT2/PT3 fractions (1.0 / 0.75 / 0.50 / 0.25) applied once, so part-time columns are not transcribed per provider.

All rate cells were verified against the rate-flyer PDF (pp. 2–5) at 200 DPI. Age-group boundaries (0–23 / 24–35 / 36–71 / 72+ months) follow the 8.15.2.7 definitions, which are more precise than the flyer's age labels.

Requirements Coverage

REQ	Description	Param	Variable	Test
REQ-001	Eligible child age <13 (upper bound)	eligibility/child_age_limit.yaml	nm_ccap_eligible_child	nm_ccap_eligible_child.yaml
REQ-002	Special-needs age extension 13–18	eligibility/special_needs_child_age_limit.yaml	nm_ccap_eligible_child	nm_ccap_eligible_child.yaml (cases 4,5,7,8)
REQ-004	NM residence	— (defined_for=StateCode.NM)	all NM CCAP vars	integration.yaml (case 7)
REQ-005	Citizenship / qualified immigrant (toggled off under UCC)	eligibility/immigration_test_in_effect.yaml	nm_ccap_eligible_child	nm_ccap_eligible_child.yaml (case 6)
REQ-006	Asset limit $1,000,000	eligibility/asset_limit.yaml	nm_ccap_asset_eligible	nm_ccap_asset_eligible.yaml (4 cases incl. boundary)
REQ-007	Work / school activity	—	nm_ccap_activity_eligible	nm_ccap_activity_eligible.yaml (6 cases)
REQ-010	Income 200% intake / 250% recert FPL	fpl_limit/initial.yaml, fpl_limit/continuation.yaml	nm_ccap_income_eligible, nm_ccap_enrolled	nm_ccap_income_eligible.yaml
REQ-012	TANF-transition bypass	—	nm_ccap_income_eligible (is_tanf_enrolled)	nm_ccap_income_eligible.yaml, integration.yaml (case 4)
REQ-015	UCC: no income limit from 2025-11-01	eligibility/income_limit_in_effect.yaml	nm_ccap_income_eligible	nm_ccap_income_eligible.yaml (2026-01), integration.yaml (case 6)
REQ-016	Countable income positive list	income/countable_income/sources.yaml	nm_ccap_countable_income	nm_ccap_countable_income.yaml
REQ-018	Exempt income by omission	—	nm_ccap_countable_income	nm_ccap_countable_income.yaml (case 2)
REQ-019	Subsidy = min(rate, charge) − copay	—	nm_ccap	integration.yaml (13 cases)
REQ-020	Provider types	rates/{center,group_home,family_home,registered_home}.yaml	nm_ccap_provider_type	nm_ccap_monthly_rate.yaml (cases 1–13)
REQ-021	FOCUS star levels	rate files keyed by focus level	nm_ccap_focus_level	nm_ccap_monthly_rate.yaml (cases 1–5)
REQ-022	Age groups	rates/age_group/months.yaml	nm_ccap_age_group	nm_ccap_age_group.yaml
REQ-023	Service unit FT/PT1/PT2/PT3	rates/service_unit_fraction.yaml, rates/service_unit/hours.yaml	nm_ccap_service_unit	nm_ccap_service_unit.yaml, nm_ccap_monthly_rate.yaml (cases 14–16)
REQ-024	Non-traditional-hours differential	supplements/non_traditional_hours.yaml	nm_ccap_non_traditional_hours	nm_ccap_monthly_rate.yaml (cases 17–22), integration.yaml (case 5)
REQ-025	Copay waived ($0) from 2022-05-01	copay/waived.yaml	nm_ccap_copay	nm_ccap_copay.yaml
REQ-027	Register in CCDF program list	gov/hhs/ccdf/child_care_subsidy_programs.yaml	nm_child_care_subsidies	—
REQ-028	CCDF state implementation entry	programs.yaml	nm_ccap	—

Not Modeled

What	Source	Why excluded
6-week lower age bound	8.15.2.11.F	PolicyEngine age has no sub-year granularity (all infants <1 yr read age == 0), so a 6-week floor would wrongly exclude every infant. Upper bound (<13) and special-needs (<18) are modeled.
Pre-2022 copay formula	8.15.2.13.B	Deferred — copay is $0 today; the regulation's "× (low end of bracket)" middle term is dimensionally suspect, and the published annual copay schedule (8.15.2.24) is the operational source of truth.
Essential-worker Priority 4 Plus (400% intake / 425% recert FPL)	8.15.2.9, 8.15.2.12	Deferred — narrow population, no is_essential_worker PE input; moot under UCC (no income limit from 2025-11-01).
Income conversion factors (weekly 4.3 / biweekly 2.15 / semimonthly 2)	8.15.2.11.C(8)(b)	Subsumed by the framework — PE income inputs are annual and auto-convert to monthly, so there is no raw weekly/biweekly pay input for these factors to apply to.
Priority 1 / 1B (100% FPL) and Priority 5 waitlist tiers	8.15.2.9	Affect waitlist ordering, not the binary income/benefit test. Priority 5 (income/activity/copay all waived) has no PE input for "at-risk / department-approved."
No benefit during school / Head Start / pre-k hours	8.15.2.11.H	We don't track per-hour program attendance.
Temporary-change allowance (<3-month interruption)	8.15.2.7	We don't track temporary activity interruptions.
UCC work/school exemptions (grandparents raising grandchildren, substance-exposed newborns, housing instability, CYFD-involved)	ECECD Universal page	No PE inputs for these statuses.
Minor-earner and grandparent-non-guardian income exclusions	8.15.2.11.C(3),(6)	A flat adds list cannot filter countable income by earner relationship/age.

Files Added

policyengine_us/parameters/gov/states/nm/ececd/ccap/
  copay/waived.yaml
  eligibility/asset_limit.yaml
  eligibility/child_age_limit.yaml
  eligibility/immigration_test_in_effect.yaml
  eligibility/income_limit_in_effect.yaml
  eligibility/special_needs_child_age_limit.yaml
  eligibility/fpl_limit/continuation.yaml
  eligibility/fpl_limit/initial.yaml
  income/countable_income/sources.yaml
  rates/center.yaml
  rates/group_home.yaml
  rates/family_home.yaml
  rates/registered_home.yaml
  rates/service_unit_fraction.yaml
  rates/age_group/months.yaml
  rates/service_unit/hours.yaml
  supplements/non_traditional_hours.yaml

policyengine_us/variables/gov/states/nm/ececd/ccap/
  nm_ccap.py
  nm_child_care_subsidies.py
  nm_ccap_age_group.py
  nm_ccap_copay.py
  nm_ccap_countable_income.py
  nm_ccap_enrolled.py
  nm_ccap_focus_level.py
  nm_ccap_monthly_rate.py
  nm_ccap_non_traditional_hours.py
  nm_ccap_provider_type.py
  nm_ccap_service_unit.py
  eligibility/nm_ccap_activity_eligible.py
  eligibility/nm_ccap_asset_eligible.py
  eligibility/nm_ccap_eligible.py
  eligibility/nm_ccap_eligible_child.py
  eligibility/nm_ccap_income_eligible.py

policyengine_us/tests/policy/baseline/gov/states/nm/ececd/ccap/
  integration.yaml
  nm_ccap_age_group.yaml
  nm_ccap_copay.yaml
  nm_ccap_countable_income.yaml
  nm_ccap_monthly_rate.yaml
  nm_ccap_service_unit.yaml
  eligibility/nm_ccap_activity_eligible.yaml
  eligibility/nm_ccap_asset_eligible.yaml
  eligibility/nm_ccap_eligible.yaml
  eligibility/nm_ccap_eligible_child.yaml
  eligibility/nm_ccap_income_eligible.yaml

Registry edits:

• policyengine_us/parameters/gov/hhs/ccdf/child_care_subsidy_programs.yaml — added nm_child_care_subsidies to the CCDF adds list so the benefit flows into the federal child_care_subsidies.
• policyengine_us/programs.yaml — added the New Mexico CCAP state_implementations entry under federal CCDF (variable: nm_ccap, status: complete).

Verification TODO

• Confirm the rate schedule is current. The ECECD rate flyer is labeled "Effective August 2023" but the file is dated May 2024; no newer schedule was found. Verify the rate amounts remain current.
• Confirm the "2+Star == 3-Star" rate equality. The published flyer lists identical rates for 2+Star and 3-Star FOCUS across all provider tables. This was confirmed present in the source (not a transcription artifact) and is flagged here for reviewer awareness.

Test plan

• 92 tests pass (policyengine-core test policyengine_us/tests/policy/baseline/gov/states/nm/ececd/ccap -c policyengine_us -v)
• CI passes

[codecov]

Codecov Report

❌ Patch coverage is 99.15966% with 2 lines in your changes missing coverage. Please review.
✅ Project coverage is 99.15%. Comparing base (47cb26b) to head (8b4fe9f).
⚠️ Report is 13 commits behind head on main.

Files with missing lines	Patch %	Lines
...ariables/gov/states/nm/ececd/ccap/nm_ccap_copay.py	85.71%	1 Missing and 1 partial ⚠️

Additional details and impacted files

@@             Coverage Diff             @@
##              main    #8707      +/-   ##
===========================================
- Coverage   100.00%   99.15%   -0.85%     
===========================================
  Files            3       16      +13     
  Lines           47      238     +191     
  Branches         0        3       +3     
===========================================
+ Hits            47      236     +189     
- Misses           0        1       +1     
- Partials         0        1       +1     

Flag	Coverage Δ
unittests	99.15% <99.15%> (-0.85%)	⬇️

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