CWS-CARES Production Simulation Hub
CWS-CARES Production Simulation: RFA and FFPSA Portals Testing:
The RFA and FFPSA Portals testing period in CWS-CARES Production Simulation, which began on September 14, has been extended.
CWS-CARES leverages web-based portals to allow providers, families, and related organizations to exchange information and data with the CWS-CARES platform. Two (2) Portals in scope for this limited testing period are:
- RFA Portal - Allows prospective and existing Resource Families (caregivers, foster parents, adoptive parents) to complete and submit RFA-related documentation.
- FFPSA Portal - Allows Community Based Organizations (CBOs) and counties to exchange prevention-related information, including service referrals and federally required service delivery and cost data.
RFA Portal - County testers enrolled in RFA Portal testing will be prompted to create an application through the portal: RFA Portal and Recruitment Inquiry.
FFPSA Portal - Testers fulfilling the role of CBO for FFPSA Portal testing purposes will receive an activation email from the portal to initiate testing activities: FFPSA Portal.
The following tables help outline the different guides and materials that are available for portal users, along with the user permissions and who can participate in certain portal activities. All training guides, materials and videos are located on the Quick Access - CWS-CARES V1 page.
| FFPSA Portal Guides, Materials, and Actions | User Type |
|---|---|
| Activating Portal Access to an FFPSA Provider | FFPSA CWS-CARES Worker |
| Deactivating Portal Access to an FFPSA Provider | FFPSA CWS-CARES Worker |
| FFPSA Provider Portal Navigation and Submission of information | FFPSA CBO |
| Send Prevention Service Request to FFPSA Provider | FFPSA CWS-CARES Worker |
| RFA Portal Guides, Materials, and Actions | User Type |
|---|---|
| Emergency Placement Invitation and Login to RFA Portal | RFA CWS-CARES Workers |
| Submitting an Application | RFA Portals Tester |
| Submitting an Online Recruitment Inquiry | RFA Portals Tester |
| Viewing Upcoming Home Visits | RFA Portals Tester |
Additional information and training that was provided as a part of EUST 3 for both the FFPSA and RFA portals can be found on the Quick Access - EUST3 Portal Training page. EUST 3 scenarios will also be provided as a guide to navigate through the portals as an additional resource on the Production Simulation Training Materials page.
The meeting recordings from the Kickoff Calls can be found in the Meeting Materials folder (left-hand navigation).
September 28, 2026
The CWS-CARES Production Simulation (CARES100) and DC Val (CARES 105) environments had a planned downtime from 5:00 PM on Friday, September 25, 2026, until 2:00 PM on Saturday, September 26, 2026, to deploy a new system update.
This release delivers a total of 83 defect fixes that were incrementally resolved to improve reliability, accuracy, and user experience. These fixes have been identified through various iterative project testing phases occurring in parallel with the Production Simulation phase and are being made available to users to improve case management, resource management, intake and investigation, and courts.
For more information on the CWS-CARES Prod Sim (CARES100) environment usage, current system behavior, known and expected issues, open/reported issues, and capabilities not available, please refer to: System Updates & Release Notes Webpage.
For more information on this release, please refer to System Updates & Release Notes.
Upcoming Support Clinics:
Adoptions Support Clinic: The Prod Sim Tier 2 Support Team will be hosting one Support Clinic on Adoptions in CWS-CARES. This session is optional. Meeting links are provided below and will be posted on the Prod Sim Hub main page.
No invites will be sent - please reach out if you would like the invitations.
Meeting Details:
- Tuesday October 6th, 2026, at 10:30 AM to 12noon
- Microsoft Teams meeting
- Meeting ID: 256 924 209 528 424
- Passcode: Ef7mJ3c4
- Users who interact with adoptions cases in CWS-CARES, including but not limited to Case Management Workers, Eligibility Workers, and Adoptions Workers.
- Create an Adoption Case
- Adoption Assessments
- Parent-Child Suitability Summary
- Child Assessment and History
- Create an AAP Case
- AAP Eligibility
- Adoption Packets
- Freeing Packet
- Adoptive Placement Packet
- Adoption Finalization Packet
- Adoption Case Closure
"Got questions or need help? Please email the regional support mailboxes below."
| Bay Area | BARC-ProdSimSupport@otsi.ca.gov |
|---|---|
| Central Valley | CentralValley-ProdSimSupport@otsi.ca.gov |
| Northern | Northern-ProdSimSupport@otsi.ca.gov |
| Southern | Southern-ProdSimSupport@otsi.ca.gov |
| Los Angeles | LA-ProdSimSupport@otsi.ca.gov |
| Mountain Valley | MountainValley-ProdSimSupport@otsi.ca.gov |
| CDSS | CDSS-ProdSimSupport@otsi.ca.gov |
CWS-CARES Production Simulation Revised Dates & Key Details – 6/12/2026
CARES SPOCs, CARES Technical Contacts, Implementation Coordinators, OCM Coordinators, County Leadership, Tribe Leadership, Probation Leadership, and State Leadership:
Following up on our communication from June 5, 2026 regarding the postponement of the CWS-CARES Production Simulation (Prod Sim) environment, we are providing an update on what to expect over the next five months, specifically for Prod Sim user access, key features, data, and related environments leading up to our October 2026 Go-Live.
The Prod Sim Environment – Revised Dates & Key Details
- June 22, 2026: Counties begin hands-on validation of converted legacy data using subject matter experts and end users to verify data accuracy, business functionality, and readiness for expanded statewide testing.
- 'Sealed & Sensitive' cases and referrals are temporarily removed from Prod Sim.
- All CWS-CARES Version 1 (V1) interfaces will be available.
- July 6, 2026: Additional county users join testing while teams begin validating backend functions, including reports, forms, and data extracts, to ensure the system is performing as expected before go-live.
- The planned Self-Paced Training curriculum will be available.
- The ability to run forms, reports, and extracts will be available.
- In a forthcoming communication, there will be additional details on the number of users and role prioritization to assist counties with determining who will participate.
- August 3, 2026: Prod Sim access opens for all 25,000 CWS/CMS users.
- Users continue their use of Prod Sim until CWS-CARES V1 Go-Live on October 26, 2026.
- September 26, 2026: ‘Sealed & Sensitive’ cases and referrals will be added to Prod Sim.
Other Environments – Dates & Key Details
- June 15, 2026: The V1 Readiness (EUST 3) Environment will be decommissioned at 8AM to migrate interface connections for upcoming training.
- This will impact interfaces such as Case Management Assessment (CMA), Structured Decision Making (SDM), CalSAWS Foster Care Eligibility Determination (FCED), Juvenile Network (JNET), and potentially others.
- V1 Readiness Environment users who are neither trainers nor granted access to the County Forms Development Environment will be onboarded to the Prod Sim environment according to the timeline above.
- June 15 – August 7, 2026: The new IBM-converted CWS/CMS forms will be available in County Forms Development Environment 102 on a rolling basis as they are developed for testing and validation by counties.
- During planned outages, these forms will be available in the Prod Sim environment and migration of those documents will begin on July 6, 2026.
- June 16, 2026: Training Environment 104 opens for Train-the-Trainer (TTT) staff to start their prerequisite training.
- County-identified users will begin to receive onboarding emails on June 12, 2026.
What Is Production Simulation?
Production Simulation is an environment that closely mirrors CWS-CARES Version 1. It is designed to allow organizations to practice actual workflows, validate data, run reports and forms, and prepare staff for Go-Live operations. All 58 counties receive access approximately 5 months prior to Go-Live.
All participating organizations will use Production Simulation to:
- Log tickets through the CWS-CARES Service Desk
- Track issue resolution and use the Knowledge Base
- Familiarize staff with escalation paths before Go-Live
Production Simulation Office Hours
Optional Office Hours are available to support Phase 1 users during access, connectivity, and Production Simulation activities.
Production Simulation Support Office Hours
Optional sessions beginning on Wednesday, May 6 to assist users with questions and user issues related to the Production Simulation environment. Tier 2 will provide live assistance and troubleshooting. Initially available to Phase 1 users.
- Monday-Friday, 10:00-11:00am & 2:00-3:00pm
To attend User Access or Production Simulation Support office hours, see this page: Production Simulation Office Hours