Implement Maryland TCA (Temporary Cash Assistance)

[hua7450]

Summary

Implements Maryland Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA), the state's TANF program.

Closes #7136

---

Regulatory Authority

• COMAR 07.03.03 (Temporary Cash Assistance)
• COMAR 07.03.03.13 (Income)
• COMAR 07.03.03.17 (Benefit Schedules)
• FIA Information Memo 25-12 (2025 Benefit Increase)

---

Variables Implemented

Variable	Description
md_tca	Maryland TCA benefit amount
md_tca_eligible	Overall TCA eligibility
md_tca_income_eligible	Income eligibility check
md_tca_maximum_benefit	Grant standard by household size (1-21)
md_tca_countable_earned_income	Countable earned income after disregards
md_tca_childcare_deduction	Childcare expense deduction
md_tca_countable_income	Total countable income

---

Folder Structure

tca/
├── eligibility/
│   ├── md_tca_eligible.py
│   └── md_tca_income_eligible.py
├── income/
│   ├── deductions/
│   │   └── md_tca_childcare_deduction.py
│   ├── md_tca_countable_earned_income.py
│   └── md_tca_countable_income.py
├── md_tca_maximum_benefit.py
└── md_tca.py

---

Income Eligibility Test

Countable income must be at or below the grant standard (by household size).

Source: COMAR 07.03.03.13

---

Income Deductions & Exemptions

Earned Income Disregards

Recipient Status	Disregard Rate	Kept
Applicant (not enrolled)	20%	80%
Recipient (enrolled)	40%	60%

Formula: countable_earned = gross_earned * (1 - rate) - childcare_deduction

Source: COMAR 07.03.03.13.E(3)(a-b)

Childcare Expense Deduction

Employment Status	Deduction Cap
Full-time (≥100 hrs/month)	$200/month
Part-time (<100 hrs/month)	$100/month

Source: COMAR 07.03.03.13.E(3)(c)

---

Income Standards (Grant Standards)

Explicit values for household sizes 1-21 (effective January 1, 2025):

Size	Grant	Size	Grant	Size	Grant
1	$339	8	$1,421	15	$2,243
2	$596	9	$1,553	16	$2,386
3	$753	10	$1,656	17	$2,605
4	$902	11	$1,806	18	$2,749
5	$1,046	12	$1,889	19	$2,893
6	$1,149	13	$2,005	20	$3,037
7	$1,292	14	$2,122	21	$3,183

For sizes 22+: Add $146 per additional person

Sources:

• FIA Information Memo 25-12 (2025)
• FIA Action Transmittal 20-06 (2019)

---

Benefit Calculation

Benefit = max(Grant Standard − Countable Income, 0)

Where:

Countable Income = Countable Earned Income + Gross Unearned Income
Countable Earned Income = max(Gross Earned × (1 - Disregard Rate) - Childcare Deduction, 0)

Source: COMAR 07.03.03.17

---

What Uses Federal Baseline

This implementation uses federal TANF variables where Maryland rules match federal:

• Demographic eligibility: Uses is_demographic_tanf_eligible (federal age rules)
• Immigration eligibility: Uses is_citizen_or_legal_immigrant
• Income sources: Uses tanf_gross_earned_income and tanf_gross_unearned_income

---

Not Implemented (Simplifications)

Item	Regulation	Reason
$10 minimum benefit threshold	COMAR 07.03.03.13	Not modeled in this PR
SSI recipient income exclusion	COMAR 07.03.03.13.E(2)(d)	Simplification for this PR
Self-employment 50% disregard	COMAR 07.03.03.13.E(3)(a-b)	Using employment rate for all earned income
Child income exclusion	COMAR 07.03.03.13.E(2)(a)	Assuming children have no income

---

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Codecov Report

✅ All modified and coverable lines are covered by tests.
✅ Project coverage is 100.00%. Comparing base (3ddb69c) to head (8c78c7a).
⚠️ Report is 10 commits behind head on main.

Additional details and impacted files

@@             Coverage Diff             @@
##             main     #7137      +/-   ##
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+ Coverage   97.00%   100.00%   +3.00%     
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  Files           7         7              
  Lines         100       101       +1     
  Branches        1         0       -1     
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+ Hits           97       101       +4     
+ Misses          2         0       -2     
+ Partials        1         0       -1     

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