Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Will the Resource Family Approval (RFA) Portal be in the CWS-CARES site, or is this a separate site with a separate log in?
A: For the resource family, the Resource Family Approval (RFA) Portal will be a separate site with a separate log-in from CWS-CARES. However, the data from the RFA Portal will be available within CWS-CARES for the worker.
Q: There are more required fields in CWS-CARES than CWS/CMS. Is the county expected to fill in the new fields required when working on a converted case?
A: There are instances where a field is newly considered mandatory in CWS-CARES which was not required or entered in CWS/CMS. If a user opens a converted record for editing, they will be prompted to provide values for any unpopulated mandatory field before their changes can be saved.
Q: After Go-Live, when CWS/CMS goes into read-only mode, how do counties terminate account access for staff who are no longer with the division? County Admins will not have the ability to terminate access like before. Additionally, will the State be automatically terminating CWS/CMS access when a CWS-CARES Account is terminated? Will County Admins need to submit a ticket to the State for termination?
A: Counties will need to submit CWS/CMS Help Desk tickets to IBM to request termination of account access. County Admins will not have the ability to terminate that access like before but will be given access to weekly deactivation reports in CWS-CARES to help support this process. Please note that CWS/CMS account access will not automatically be terminated when an CWS-CARES account is terminated, so please ensure to submit a CWS/CMS ticket to IBM for CWS/CMS account access termination.
Q: 1. Are we documenting the results and feedback of the CFT Meeting in CWS-CARES? 2. Are staff then able to generate a specific Document “results of CFT Meeting” which is currently the SOC 96? 3. If not, what is the plan going forward?
A: Yes, the results and feedback documented from the Child and Family Team (CFT) meeting can be entered into CWS-CARES and staff should be able to generate the meeting results. However, the SOC 96 form was developed after this functionality was implemented and is slated for development post go-live with a specific date to be determined. Additionally, the ACL 25-54 reads "CFT Action Plan Beginning January 1, 2026, pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC) Section 16501(a)(5)(B), placing agencies are required to document the occurrence and summary of each CFT meeting within the CFT Meeting Summary and Action Plan issued by the CDSS. Pending automation of an updated CFT Action Plan form by the CDSS, placing agencies may use either the existing CFT Meeting Summary and Action Plan or a CFT Action Plan developed by the placing agency that aligns with the content of the CDSS-issued template." As previously mentioned, the Project has plans to update this functionality and will release that information in a communication once available. Until then, please follow the guidelines as laid out in the All-County Letter.
Q: About the existing Resource Family Homes (RFHs) that will already be onboarded: 1. What email address will the email be sent from to existing RFHs/Resource Family Approvals (RFAs)? 2. Is there a draft of the content of the email? 3. Also, what email address will the new county-initiated requests to RFA applications to access the RFA portal come from?
A: Existing Resource Family Homes (RFHs) that will be onboarded should expect an email coming from the No-Reply CWS-CARES Mailbox. Yes, there is a rough draft of the email's content, which has been included as a screenshot below. To access the portal, new county workers will use their work email and new Resource Family Approval (RFA) parents will use their personal emails. Users will receive emails from the No-Reply Salesforce Mailbox on behalf of No-Reply CWS-CARES Mailbox concerning new requests coming from counties for RFA applications and portal access with the transition to CWS-CARES.
Q: Will e-signatures be allowed on adoption forms?
A: E-signatures will be allowed on specific adoption forms, not necessarily all forms. The list of E-signable Adoption Forms below contains a current and verified list of Adoption forms where E-signature is allowed:
- PPADOP
- AD0856
- AD0513
- AD0580
- AD0090
- AD0551A
- AD0067
- AD0067A
- AD0907
- AD0907A
- AD0558
- AD0230
- AD0824
- AD0200
- AD0225
- AD4320
- JV0477
- JV0475
Q: How are the Regional Office Staff, Social and Mental Health Services (SAMMS), Duty Emergency Response Supervising Children’s Social Worker (ER SCSW), and Assigned Emergency Response Children’s Social Worker (ER CSW) notified of a new Immediate Response (IR) Referral? Who sends the alerts, are they automated?
A: If someone gets assigned to a unit of work as a primary or secondary, they will then get notifications pertaining to that assignment. Supervisors also get an email once the screening has been submitted for approval. Any other noticing will have to be handled per county business processes as determined by each county whether that is by assignments within CWS-CARES or an external county business process.
Q: Will the CWS-CARES registration process be changing post-Go-Live? How will this look for new employees coming post-Go-Live?
A: After Go-Live, County Admins are responsible for creating new user accounts and assigning permissions in the Admin Console for any staff who join the department post–Go-Live.
Q: For the Resource Family Approval (RFA) Portal, which email address will be used from CWS/CMS? There are 2 spots for email addresses, one under the Service Care Provider (SCP) tab or the payee tab, which will be carried over into CWS-CARES?
A: Moving from CWS/CMS to CWS-CARES, the email on the Primary Applicant/Resource Parent's Person record will be used for the Resource Family Approval (RFA) Portal. This should correspond with the email on the Primary Service Care Provider (SCP) in CWS/CMS.
Q: Will all documents that have been scanned and imported in CWS/CMS be available in CWS-CARES Version 1 (CARES V1)?
A: Yes, all documents that have been scanned, imported and made available for cases in CWS/CMS will be available in CWS-CARES. Documents with valid file extensions that successfully pass the malware scan are migrated to CWS-CARES Version 1.
Any documents that are infected, corrupted, or have non‑supported/invalid file extensions will be excluded and not brought over to CWS-CARES. Legacy documents will continue to be available in the read‑only system and users will still be able to view, download, and print these documents. The limitation applies only to creating or editing documents in the legacy system. Additionally, all legacy generated documents up to April 17th, 2026, have been moved to Production Simulation otherwise known as CARES 100.