July 29, 2025
Communications
All SPOCs and Technical Contacts:
Effective July 31, 2025, CARES-Live 2.8.34 Release is Scheduled to Move into Production
The CARES-Live team has scheduled release activity that will interrupt connectivity to the CARES-Live application. The release activity will begin at 6:00 PM on Thursday, July 31, 2025, and conclude at 9:00 PM. During this release, the CARES-Live team will focus on application changes.
Users will not be able to access the CARES-Live application during this scheduled outage.
CARES-Live 2.8.34:
- This release addresses security findings, Java upgrades, and other infrastructure updates and security patches not visible to CARES-Live users.
Action Required
If users experience any issues with CARES-Live, please follow your county process for reporting issues. CARES-Live County Administrators may contact the CARES Service Desk through the CWDS ServiceNow Customer Support Management (CSM) Portal. Alternate methods are phoning 1-855-292-3444 or via email at Servicedesk@cwds.ca.gov during normal business hours. You may also email after hours and a Service Desk representative will contact you the next business day.
June 30, 2025
Communications
All SPOCs and Technical Contacts:
To support the transition to CWS-CARES, the CWDS Project Team decided to conclude CARES-Live releases. The CARES-Live Release 2.8.36 has been tentatively scheduled for February and this will be the final release unless a critical event occurs that requires an additional update.
The CARES-Live team will review and assess the stories in the backlog to finalize the scope for the remaining releases. The below list will provide the information of the remaining releases and their Go-live dates:
- CARES-Live Release 2.8.34 – July 31, 2025
- Scope: Security enhancements and infrastructure updates, including as Elasticsearch upgrade.
- CARES-Live Release 2.8.35 – November 20, 2025
- Scope: Security enhancements and infrastructure updates.
- CARES-Live Release 2.8.36 – February 2026
- Scope: Security enhancements and infrastructure updates.
Customer Relations continues to be available to provide support for CARES-Live users. Additionally, the CWDS Service Desk will continue tracking and working with the technical teams to review tickets reported by CARES-Live users until the statewide rollout of CARES V1.
Action Required
No action required. Contact CWDS Customer Relations if you have any questions.
June 25, 2025
Communications
The CARES-Live team has scheduled maintenance for the CARES-Live application. The maintenance is scheduled for Thursday, June 26, 2025, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM. During this scheduled maintenance the CARES-Live team will focus on application maintenance changes that are not visible to CARES-Live users.
NOTE: Users will not be able to access the CARES-Live application during the scheduled outage.
Action Required
If users experience any issues with CARES-Live, please follow your county process for reporting issues. CARES-Live County Administrators may contact the CARES Service Desk through the CWDS ServiceNow Customer Support Management (CSM) Portal. Alternate methods are phoning 1-855-292-3444 or via email at Servicedesk@cwds.ca.gov during normal business hours. You may also email after hours and a Service Desk representative will contact you the next business day.
June 24, 2025
Communications
All SPOCs and Technical Contacts:
The California Department of Technology (CDT) will perform an upgrade to the CWS/CMS and CARES-Live production databases during the Preventative Maintenance (PM) window on Saturday, September 6, 2025. The PM window begins at 6:00 AM and ends at 9:00 AM. Both the CWS/CMS production application and the CARES-Live production application will be unavailable to all (direct access or remote access) during this maintenance window.
CWS-CARES RFA will not be impacted by this upgrade.
Action Required
CWS/CMS Users: If users experience any issues with CWS/CMS, please follow your county process for reporting issues or you may contact the IBM Boulder Help Desk at 1-800-428-8268.
CARES-Live Users: If users experience any issues with CARES-Live, please follow your county process for reporting issues. CARES-Live County Administrators may contact the CARES Service Desk through the CWDS ServiceNow Customer Support Management (CSM) Portal. Alternate methods are phoning 1-855-292-3444 or via email at Servicedesk@cwds.ca.gov during normal business hours. You may also email after hours and a Service Desk representative will contact you the next business day.
May 30, 2025
Communications
All SPOCs and Technical Contacts:
May 30, 2025 at 8:05 AM - UPDATE: The California Department of Technology (CDT) has reported that service has been successfully restored. If you are still experiencing any connectivity issues, please contact the IBM Help Desk.
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CDT has received reports that the Network is inaccessible. Verizon has confirmed a major outage due to a fiber cut. There is currently no estimate of when access will be restored. Updates will be sent out as new information is received.
Action Required
If users experience any issues with CWS/CMS, CARES-Live or CARES RFA, please follow your county process for reporting issues or you may contact the IBM Boulder Help Desk at 1-800-428-8268.
May 28, 2025
Communications
All SPOCs and Technical Contacts:
The CARES-Live team has scheduled maintenance for the CARES-Live application. The maintenance is scheduled for Thursday, May 29, 2025, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM. During this scheduled maintenance the CARES-Live team will focus on application maintenance changes that are not visible to CARES-Live users.
NOTE: Users will not be able to access the CARES-Live application during the scheduled outage.
Action Required
If users experience any issues with CARES-Live, please follow your county process for reporting issues. CARES-Live County Administrators may contact the CARES Service Desk through the CWDS ServiceNow Customer Support Management (CSM) Portal. Alternate methods are phoning 1-855-292-3444 or via email at Servicedesk@cwds.ca.gov during normal business hours. You may also email after hours and a Service Desk representative will contact you the next business day.
April 24, 2025
Communications
All SPOCs and Technical Contacts:
The CARES-Live team has scheduled maintenance for the CARES-Live application. The maintenance is scheduled for Thursday, April 24, 2025, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM. During this scheduled maintenance the CARES-Live team will focus on application maintenance changes that are not visible to CARES-Live users.
NOTE: Users will not be able to access the CARES-Live application during the scheduled outage.
Action Required
If users experience any issues with CARES-Live, please follow your county process for reporting issues. CARES-Live County Administrators may contact the CARES Service Desk through the CWDS ServiceNow Customer Support Management (CSM) Portal. Alternate methods are phoning 1-855-292-3444 or via email at Servicedesk@cwds.ca.gov during normal business hours. You may also email after hours and a Service Desk representative will contact you the next business day.
March 21, 2025
Communications
All SPOCs and Technical Contacts:
Effective March 27, 2025, CARES-Live 2.8.33 Release is Scheduled to Move into Production
The CARES-Live team has scheduled release activity that will interrupt connectivity to the CARES-Live application. The release activity will begin at 6:00 PM on Thursday, March 27, 2025, and conclude at 9:00 PM. During this release, the CARES-Live team will focus on application changes, and users will not be able to access the CARES-Live application during this scheduled outage.
Users will not be able to access the CARES-Live application during this scheduled outage.
CARES-Live 2.8.33:
- This release addresses security findings and Java upgrades and other infrastructure updates and security patches not visible to CARES-Live users.
Action Required
If users experience any issues with CARES-Live, please follow your county process for reporting issues. CARES-Live County Administrators may contact the CARES Service Desk through the CWDS ServiceNow Customer Support Management (CSM) Portal. Alternate methods are phoning 1-855-292-3444 or via email at Servicedesk@cwds.ca.gov during normal business hours. You may also email after hours and a Service Desk representative will contact you the next business day.
February 24, 2025
Communications
All SPOCs and Technical Contacts:
February 24, 2025 UPDATE: Due to a schedule conflict with another maintenance window, this CARES-Live maintenance has been rescheduled to Thursday, February 27, 2025, from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM.
Users will still not be able to access the CARES-Live application during the re-scheduled outage.
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The CARES-Live team has scheduled maintenance for the CARES-Live application. The maintenance is scheduled for Thursday, February 27, 2025, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM. During this scheduled maintenance the CARES-Live team will focus on application maintenance changes that are not visible to CARES-Live users.
NOTE: Users will not be able to access the CARES-Live application during the scheduled outage.
Action Required
If users experience any issues with CARES-Live, please follow your county process for reporting issues. CARES-Live County Administrators may contact the CARES Service Desk through the CWDS ServiceNow Customer Support Management (CSM) Portal. Alternate methods are phoning 1-855-292-3444 or via email at Servicedesk@cwds.ca.gov during normal business hours. You may also email after hours and a Service Desk representative will contact you the next business day.
February 24, 2025
Communications
All SPOCs and Technical Contacts:
The CARES-Live team has scheduled maintenance for the CARES-Live application. The maintenance is scheduled for Thursday, February 27, 2025, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM. During this scheduled maintenance the CARES-Live team will focus on application maintenance changes that are not visible to CARES-Live users.
NOTE: Users will not be able to access the CARES-Live application during the scheduled outage.
Action Required
If users experience any issues with CARES-Live, please follow your county process for reporting issues. CARES-Live County Administrators may contact the CARES Service Desk through the CWDS ServiceNow Customer Support Management (CSM) Portal. Alternate methods are phoning 1-855-292-3444 or via email at Servicedesk@cwds.ca.gov during normal business hours. You may also email after hours and a Service Desk representative will contact you the next business day.
