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Refactor the California state supplement: state-share parameters and person-level amounts #7892
Description
Summary
Rewritten 2026-11-02 as the refactor plan. The earlier versions are in this issue's edit history.
California's State Supplementary Payment has two structural problems, and two stacked PRs address them:
- Combined totals: the parameters store federal plus state totals, so each federal cost-of-living adjustment cuts the modeled supplement until someone edits ten files. Store California state supplement parameters as state shares #10600 stores California's share instead.
- Unit-level amounts: the formula adds amounts across the SPM unit, while California sets one standard for each recipient or married couple. Compute the California state supplement per person #10601 computes the supplement per person.
Problem 1: parameters store combined totals
The model has the 2027 federal rates ($1,029 individual, $1,544 couple), but California's totals stop at 2026. From January 2027 the supplement falls $35 a month for an individual and $53 for a couple, unless ten files are edited again. California's share has barely moved:
| State share (monthly) | Jan 2025 | Jan 2026 | Jan 2027 (projected) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged or disabled | 239.94 | 239.94 | 239.94 |
| Blind | 324.32 | 324.32 | 324.32 |
| Aged or disabled, no cooking | 368.81 | 368.81 | 368.81 |
| Disabled minor | 97.27 | 97.27 | 97.27 |
| Non-medical out-of-home care | 632.07 | 632.07 | 632.07 |
| Title XIX facility | 32 | 32 | 32 |
| Couple, aged or disabled | 607.83 | 607.83 | 607.83 |
| Couple, blind | 833.35 | 833.35 | 833.35 |
| Couple, blind with aged or disabled | 747.44 | 747.44 | 747.44 |
| Couple, no cooking | 865.57 | 865.57 | 865.57 |
| Couple, non-medical out-of-home care | 1,748.14 | 1,761.14 | 1,779.14 |
| Couple, Title XIX facility | 64 | 64 | 64 |
Sources: the "State Supplement Level" column in POMS SI 01415.057 and SI 01415.058, and the CDSS 2026 May Revision tables. The January 2027 column is a May projection using a 3.8% federal adjustment rather than the final rate. The couple out-of-home care share moves because CDSS doubles the individual grant and then subtracts the SSI component; at the final 2027 rates it is $1,778.14.
Problem 2: amounts are added across the SPM unit
The law pays recipients and married couples, not SPM units or families:
- WIC 12150: people receiving SSI, or "who but for their income" could, "are entitled to receive state supplementation".
- WIC 12200: "An aged, blind or disabled applicant or recipient shall be paid an amount of aid which when added to his or her federal benefit" and other income "equals the following".
- 20 CFR 416.2025(b): "Countable income of an eligible individual or eligible couple" reduces the payment.
- CDSS SSI Total Monthly Payment Amounts 2026 and POMS SI 01415.058 B.2 list single-person and couple levels only.
| WIC 12200 | Category | Nature |
|---|---|---|
| (a)-(d) | Blind, aged or disabled, independent | Alternative |
| (e) | No cooking facilities | Additive, only under (c) or (d) |
| (f) | Disabled minor with a parent, guardian or relative | Alternative |
| (g) | Non-medical out-of-home care | Alternative |
| (h) | Medical facility personal needs | Alternative |
| (i) | Another person's household | Reduces (a)-(d) by the federal reduction |
Monthly ca_state_supplement for January 2026, calculated on main at cd06476, against the POMS SI 01415.058 level:
| Household | Model today | POMS level |
|---|---|---|
| Aged, out-of-home care | 1,393.25 | 632.07 |
| Aged couple, both in out-of-home care | 2,914.45 | 1,761.14 |
| Aged, Title XIX facility | 1,265.94 | 32 |
| Aged couple, both in a Title XIX facility | 2,162.83 | 64 |
| Aged, another person's household | 571.27 | 245.20 |
| Blind child with a parent | 97.27 | 324.32 |
| Disabled dependent aged 20 with a parent | 0 | 239.94 |
| Disabled child in out-of-home care | 97.27 | 632.07 |
| Disabled child in a Title XIX facility | 1,061.27 | 32 |
| Unrelated aged and blind people in one SPM unit | 0 | 564.26 |
| Unrelated aged people in one SPM unit | 110.83 | 479.88 |
| Aged, ineligible spouse earning $2,000 a month | 0 | 239.94 (POMS SI 01320.430 D) |
An aged person who declines SSI also gets $1,233.94 today, though SSA pays the supplement with SSI. The unit-level design forces workarounds elsewhere: SNAP's unit-level income list, San Bernardino General Relief projecting the amount down to people, and CAPI estimating the spouse's share pro rata. CAPI, CT, GA, MI and MN already compute person-level amounts and add them up.
Plan
- Mark disabled dependent children eligible for the California state supplement #10554: correct the eligibility flag for dependent children, with no change to SSP amounts.
- Store California state supplement parameters as state shares #10600: state-share parameters. No change in 2025 or 2026, and needed before January 2027.
- Compute the California state supplement per person #10601, stacked on Store California state supplement parameters as state shares #10600:
ca_state_supplement_personwith one state share per living arrangement through the sharedssi_state_supplementhelper.ca_state_supplementkeeps its name and adds up the person-level amounts, so API callers keep working.
Still open after these PRs
- Another person's household: POMS codes D, F and G list their own shares (245.20, 329.58, 624.40, 102.53; couples 615.70, 841.22, 755.31, 1,604.20). WIC 12200(i) reduces the grant by the federal reduction, which keeps the regular shares, so the sources differ and need a ruling before these are added. Compute the California state supplement per person #10601 uses the regular shares.
- Years before 2025: Backfill California SSI/SSP payment standards for 2008-2024 and remove the CAPI federal-rate floor #10480 backfills the shares, which now needs far fewer entries. Backdate California State Supplement (SSP) parameters #7787 backdates combined totals and should be reworked or closed.
- Partner cases: Compute the California state supplement per person #10601 changes results for the household types above, and the partner folder needs its own update.
- Statewide cost: the take-up gate and the facility corrections need a microsimulation check.
References
- California Welfare and Institutions Code Section 12150
- California Welfare and Institutions Code Section 12200
- CDSS Local Assistance Estimates, 2026 May Revision reference documents, SSI/SSP Payment Standards (pages 26-27)
- CDSS SSI Total Monthly Payment Amounts 2026
- SSA POMS SI 01415.058, California payment levels for January 2026
- SSA POMS SI 01415.057, California payment levels for January 2025
- 20 CFR 416.2025
Activity
Clarify the out-of-home care source note and record CA SSP gaps
Add California's 2026 SSI/SSP payment standards (#9709)
hua7450 commentedon Oct 29, 2026
Two updates from PR #10546 (open), which stops the no-cooking allowance from stacking on the blind rates:
mainthe allowance is $128.87 (standard $1,447.19); with Stop the California state supplement from adding the no-cooking allowance to the blind rates #10546 it is $44.49 (standard $1,362.81). Each person is entitled to their own standard: $1,318.32 + $1,362.81 = $2,681.13. Both model values leave out one person's whole individual standard. The unit-level structure is the cause; a per-person standard would fix it. No test covers this household.[-]CA SSP: payment standard double-counts for facility residents and stores combined totals requiring annual updates[/-][+]Refactor the California state supplement: state-share parameters and person-level amounts[/+]