CWS-CARES Production Simulation Hub

August 24, 2026

The CWS-CARES Production Simulation (CARES100) and DC Val (CARES 105) environments had a scheduled downtime from 5:00 PM on Friday, August 21, 2026, until 8:00 AM on Saturday, August 22, 2026, to deploy a new system update.

This release delivers 101 defect fixes aimed at improving system reliability, accuracy, and user experience across case management, courts, intake and investigation, and resource management. Key updates enhance caseload visibility, document generation, screening-to-referral transitions, and provider directory search accuracy. Additionally, the release addresses specific ServiceNow incidents submitted by counties—including Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Clara, Fresno, and Riverside—to ensure reported issues are resolved effectively.

To maintain data integrity during the ongoing rollout, 38 data conversion fixes were applied across nine core elements, resolving errors in child locations, administrative permissions, participant details, and intake narratives. This release also resolves 10 county-reported data issues from El Dorado, Tulare, Placer, Sonoma, Humboldt, Kern, and Stanislaus.

For more information on this release, please refer to System Updates & Release Notes.

Eligibility Walkthrough Support Clinics: The Prod Sim Tier 2 Support Team will be hosting four Support Clinics to provide a general overview of Eligibility functionality in CWS-CARES. These sessions are optional, and identical content will be shared in each session. 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 invitations forwarded. 

Intended audience: Case Management Workers & Supervisors

Available Support Clinics  

"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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. September 26, 2026: ‘Sealed & Sensitive’ cases and referrals will be added to Prod Sim.

Other Environments – Dates & Key Details

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
We acknowledge how critical these changes are for organizations, and that they have a direct impact on your readiness activities. We are dedicated to delivering on our commitments and working with you in partnership towards CWS-CARES V1 Go-Live on October 26, 2026. We will be providing forthcoming communication in the coming weeks that will outline in much greater detail the remaining critical dates, delivery of system or functionality fixes, and any outstanding items that will require workarounds until functionality can be fixed post Go-Live.

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​