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@hua7450 hua7450 commented Feb 4, 2026

Summary

Implements Rhode Island LIHEAP (Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program) eligibility determination and benefit calculation.

Closes #7319

Regulatory Authority

  • Federal: 42 U.S.C. Section 8624 - Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program
  • Regulation: 45 CFR 96.85 - Income eligibility
  • State: Rhode Island Department of Human Services LIHEAP Program

Income Eligibility

Rhode Island households are income-eligible when gross income is at or below 60% of State Median Income (SMI).

Source: 42 U.S.C. Section 8624(b)(2)(B); RI DHS LIHEAP Program

Categorical Eligibility

None - Rhode Island does NOT provide automatic eligibility based on SNAP, SSI, or TANF participation. All households must meet the income test.

Priority Households

Per 42 U.S.C. Section 8624(b)(5), Rhode Island gives priority to households with:

  • Elderly member (age 60+)
  • Disabled member
  • Young child (under age 6)

Benefit Calculation (FFY 2026)

Benefits are determined by Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG) percentage and heating fuel type.

Benefit Amounts by FPG Bracket and Fuel Type

FPG Range Deliverable Natural Gas Electric
0-75% $861 $232 $393
76-100% $805 $211 $357
101-125% $752 $192 $324
126-150% $704 $175 $295
151%+ $657 $159 $268

Special Categories

Category Amount
Heat in Rent (Direct Pay) $400
Heat in Rent (Secondary Electric) $80
Subsidized Housing (Secondary Electric) $50

Source: Rhode Island LIHEAP FFY 2026 Benefit Matrix

Min/Max Benefits

Measure FFY 2025 FFY 2026
Maximum $1,285 $861
Minimum $75 $50

Files Added

Parameters (14 files)

Eligibility & Priority:

  • gov/states/ri/dhs/liheap/priority/elderly_age.yaml (60 years)
  • gov/states/ri/dhs/liheap/priority/young_child_age.yaml (6 years)
  • gov/states/ri/dhs/liheap/snap_nominal_payment.yaml ($20.01)

Benefit Amounts:

  • gov/states/ri/dhs/liheap/heating/maximum.yaml
  • gov/states/ri/dhs/liheap/heating/minimum.yaml
  • gov/states/ri/dhs/liheap/crisis/maximum.yaml ($1,500)
  • gov/states/ri/dhs/liheap/benefit/deliverable/amount.yaml
  • gov/states/ri/dhs/liheap/benefit/natural_gas/amount.yaml
  • gov/states/ri/dhs/liheap/benefit/electric/amount.yaml
  • gov/states/ri/dhs/liheap/benefit/heat_in_rent/direct_pay.yaml
  • gov/states/ri/dhs/liheap/benefit/heat_in_rent/secondary_electric.yaml
  • gov/states/ri/dhs/liheap/benefit/subsidized_housing/secondary_electric.yaml

Variables (7 files)

Eligibility:

  • ri_liheap_eligible - Overall program eligibility
  • ri_liheap_income_eligible - Income eligibility (60% SMI)
  • ri_liheap_priority_household - Priority household identification

Benefit Calculation:

  • ri_liheap - Main benefit amount
  • ri_liheap_heating_benefit - Heating benefit by fuel type
  • ri_liheap_fpg_ratio - Income-to-FPG ratio
  • ri_liheap_heating_type - Heating fuel type enum

Tests (9 files, 133 tests)

  • Unit tests for each variable
  • Integration tests with realistic scenarios
  • Edge case tests for boundary conditions

References

hua7450 and others added 2 commits February 3, 2026 20:31
Starting implementation of Rhode Island LIHEAP (Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program).
Documentation and parallel development will follow.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Implement Rhode Island Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
eligibility based on the federal 60% State Median Income (SMI) threshold.

Variables added:
- ri_liheap_income_eligible: Income eligibility check against 60% SMI
- ri_liheap_priority_household: Priority group identification (elderly 60+,
  disabled, or young child)
- ri_liheap_eligible: Overall program eligibility

Parameters added:
- Heating assistance benefit range (minimum/maximum)
- Crisis assistance maximum
- Priority group age thresholds (elderly, young child)
- SNAP nominal payment amount

Sources: RI DHS LIHEAP program guidelines, 42 U.S.C. Section 8624,
45 CFR 96.85, HHS State Median Income tables

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
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codecov bot commented Feb 4, 2026

Codecov Report

✅ All modified and coverable lines are covered by tests.
✅ Project coverage is 100.00%. Comparing base (67abb79) to head (32b3ef5).
⚠️ Report is 30 commits behind head on main.

Additional details and impacted files
@@             Coverage Diff              @@
##             main     #7320       +/-   ##
============================================
+ Coverage   72.11%   100.00%   +27.88%     
============================================
  Files        3794         7     -3787     
  Lines       54662       105    -54557     
  Branches      275         0      -275     
============================================
- Hits        39418       105    -39313     
+ Misses      15228         0    -15228     
+ Partials       16         0       -16     
Flag Coverage Δ
unittests 100.00% <100.00%> (+27.88%) ⬆️

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Implement heating benefit calculation with:
- Benefit amount parameters by heating type (natural gas, electric, deliverable, heat in rent, subsidized housing)
- FPG ratio calculation for benefit tier determination
- Heating type variable for categorical benefit assignment
- Comprehensive test coverage for all heating types and income tiers

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
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Implement Rhode Island LIHEAP (Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program)

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