Virginia TANF: va_tanf_grant_standard and the maximum payment are fractional; VDSS pays the whole-dollar Section 304, Appendix 2 amounts #10495

Problem

va_tanf_grant_standard multiplies the 7/20 Section 304, Appendix 2 table by gov.states.va.dss.tanf.standard_multiplier (1.1 from July 2021, 1.155 from July 2022). The result has cents. VDSS rounds up after each year's increase and prints whole-dollar standards. va_tanf computes its maximum as ceil(base_max * multiplier), which is also $1 low for the Group II maximum from July 2022.

TANF Manual 502.1 A pays the budgetary deficiency "adjusted to the next lower dollar". With the fractional standards, the model drops the standard's cents as well as the income's. Once #10261 adds that floor, most no-income units get $1-$2 less than the printed standard from July 2021 on.

Printed values

TANF Manual Section 304, Appendix 2 (7/22), Group II, file page 29 and Group III, file page 30 (Transmittal 74):

Rounding up after each increase reproduces every printed 7/22 value: 7/20 × 1.1, round up (the 7/21 table), × 1.05, round up. For example 332 → 365.2 → 366 → 384.3 → 385, and 625 → 687.5 → 688 → 722.4 → 723. A single ceil(base × 1.155) is still $1 low for 12 of the 24 amounts. rulespec-us#1921 lists the 7/20, 7/21 and 7/22 printed values.

The manual's own example, 502.2 A, Example 1 (Chapter 500, file page 4): a Group II mother and two children with no income get "$482.00". The model gives $481.64 on main and $481 with #10261's floor.

Proposed fix

Store the printed 7/21 and 7/22 Appendix 2 standards, additions and maximums as dated values, or round up after each increase. The need standard (va_tanf_need_standard) and the July 2020 TANF-UP schedule (va_tanf_up_grant_standard) use the same multiplier; check their printed tables too. Pre-July 2020 standards come from the same multiplier (0.7691 to 0.8696); a single ceil reproduces the 7/19 values that Transmittal 68's Appendix 3 kept (for example 417 × 0.8696 = 362.62 → 363).

Overlap

• Pay Virginia TANF-UP units the TANF standards of assistance in every year #10253 (approved) edits the maximum-payment lines of va_tanf.py and records this gap as a known limitation.
• Apply the $10 minimum payment in Michigan FIP, Virginia TANF, South Carolina TANF and Maryland TCA #10261 adds the 502.1 A floor and the $10 minimum. Its 2025 tests use the printed $482 standard as an input.

Found in DTrim99's review of #10261 (2026-10-26, Should address 2).