Child Welfare and Probation CARES SPOCs, Child Welfare Implementation Coordinators, County, Tribe, Probation, and State Leadership, and OCM Coordinators:
Thank you for taking the time to attend the CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #3 held on Wednesday, June 25, 2025. We were thrilled to have over 482 participants join live, representing an impressive 50 of the 58 California counties, in addition to one tribal community, and five partner organizations. We captured 57 questions during the session that are now published on the CWDS website. Thank you for your active participation and interest in CWS-CARES!
For your convenience, the presentation slides, session recording, and Q&A document are now available on our website at CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefings | Child Welfare Digital Services. Please note that a log-in is required to view the session materials using the link at the bottom of the page.
We value your feedback. Please share your thoughts on the CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #3 using this three-minute survey: Complete this Survey
Save the date! We look forward to seeing you at the CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #4 on October 22, 2025. Invitations to register will be shared in the coming months.
Action Required
If you have further questions or require additional information, please do not hesitate to contact CWDS Customer Relations.
CARES
CARES Compass – Volume 2, Issue 4 - July 2025
CARES SPOCs, Implementation Coordinators, County Leadership, Tribe Leadership, Probation Leadership, State Leadership, and OCM Coordinators:
We are pleased to present the newest issue of the CARES Compass, the two-page executive summary with upcoming project communications and brief informational highlights.
In this issue, you will find:
We appreciate your continued commitment to staying informed.
Action Required
If you have any questions, need clarification, or have any accessibility issues, please do not hesitate to contact Customer Relations.
We are pleased to present the newest issue of the CARES Compass, the two-page executive summary with upcoming project communications and brief informational highlights.
In this issue, you will find:
- Pilot Counties Announcement: find out which counties are included in the Pilot Plan and learn about next steps.
- Meeting Reminders: a recap of the Stakeholder Briefing #3 and an overview of a new meeting series, External Systems Monthly Meetings, which kicks off July 10, 2025, at 10:00AM.
- CWS-CARES Pop-Up Shop Announcement: learn about a new limited-time online shop for CWS-CARES merchandise coming September 2025!
- New CARES 101 Video: watch the newest video in the CARES 101 Video Series, Intake: Screening and Investigations.
- Update on the CWS-CARES Data Dictionary: learn about SqlDBM, a new tool introduced in this Data Dictionary update.
- Upcoming Events and Communications: a list of CWS-CARES communications and activities that will be released in the next three months.
We appreciate your continued commitment to staying informed.
Action Required
If you have any questions, need clarification, or have any accessibility issues, please do not hesitate to contact Customer Relations.
CWS-CARES Scheduled Maintenance - June 30, 2025 | 6 AM - 8 AM
All Pilot County RFA Implementation Coordinators and SPOCs:
The CWS-CARES team has scheduled maintenance activity for the CWS-CARES production environment for Monday, June 30, 2025, beginning at 6:00 AM and concluding at 8:00 AM. During the maintenance window, the CWS-CARES Resource Family Approval (RFA) Application Submission, Review, and Approval Process will be accessible for pilot counties Fresno, Placer, and Santa Clara.
During the maintenance window, document related functionality in the CARES application will not be accessible.
Action Required
No action required from end-users during this maintenance window.
If users experience any issues with the CWS-CARES, please follow your county process for reporting issues. CWS-CARES 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.
The CWS-CARES team has scheduled maintenance activity for the CWS-CARES production environment for Monday, June 30, 2025, beginning at 6:00 AM and concluding at 8:00 AM. During the maintenance window, the CWS-CARES Resource Family Approval (RFA) Application Submission, Review, and Approval Process will be accessible for pilot counties Fresno, Placer, and Santa Clara.
During the maintenance window, document related functionality in the CARES application will not be accessible.
Action Required
No action required from end-users during this maintenance window.
If users experience any issues with the CWS-CARES, please follow your county process for reporting issues. CWS-CARES 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.
The CARES Explorer Newsletter – June 2025 Issue
CARES SPOCs, Implementation Coordinators, County Leadership, Tribal Leadership, Probation Leadership, State Leadership, and OCM Coordinators:
We are pleased to share the CARES Explorer – June 2025 issue, the newsletter for staying up to date on the CWS-CARES project.
This communication is sent directly to our key stakeholders for project communications: County, Tribe, Probation, and State leadership, CARES Single Point of Contacts (SPOCs), and Organization Implementation Coordinators.
The June 2025 issue contains information on:
Project Updates: Learn about the Child Welfare Systems Branch and new changes to Letters and Notices at CDSS. Get a sneak peak of our upcoming Stakeholder Briefing Webinar on June 25, 2025. You’ll also find information on a new resource: the CWS-CARES Progress and Engagement Summary.
CWS-CARES: This issue highlights how the Project partners with Tribes with Title IV-E agreements with CDSS to shape CWS-CARES. It also includes a summary of our findings and highlights from our recent Extended User Scenario Testing (EUST) 2 period, and an overview of the feedback received on the interface between CWS-CARES and CalSAWS. We share an overview of the Court Hearing Framework, which details some new features that will be included in CWS-CARES. In this issue, you will learn about how the Project is helping to make State and County Forms work more efficient, and the upcoming training available for Forms Authors. We also share more information on the collaborative Decommissioning Planning effort by Counties and the Project and announce a new meeting series dedicated to External Systems.
Implementation: Discover how Sacramento County has created an intranet site, complete with project resources, flyers, and videos, to build enthusiasm for CWS-CARES. Learn more about the recent Intake Process Information Sessions and changes to Intake from CWS/CMS to CWS-CARES. We are excited to share the selection of the Pilot Counties and Alternates, as well as an update on the Sandbox Environment. You will also find information on the CWS-CARES Super User program, including the dates of upcoming Orientation sessions in each region.
We recommend that you share this newsletter at your discretion with staff that are impacted by the changes coming with CWS-CARES.
The CARES Explorer – June 2025 issue is now available here: The CARES Explorer Vol 2, Issue 2
You may also obtain all CARES Explorer issues on the CWDS website: CARES Compass/Explorer | Child Welfare Digital Services
If you have any questions, need clarification, or have any accessibility issues, please do not hesitate to contact Customer Relations at CWS_CustRel@osi.ca.gov.
Action Required
We request that all CARES Single Point of Contacts (SPOCs) and Implementation Coordinators coordinate and distribute the CARES Explorer Newsletter to all staff impacted by CWS-CARES at their discretion.
We are pleased to share the CARES Explorer – June 2025 issue, the newsletter for staying up to date on the CWS-CARES project.
This communication is sent directly to our key stakeholders for project communications: County, Tribe, Probation, and State leadership, CARES Single Point of Contacts (SPOCs), and Organization Implementation Coordinators.
The June 2025 issue contains information on:
Project Updates: Learn about the Child Welfare Systems Branch and new changes to Letters and Notices at CDSS. Get a sneak peak of our upcoming Stakeholder Briefing Webinar on June 25, 2025. You’ll also find information on a new resource: the CWS-CARES Progress and Engagement Summary.
CWS-CARES: This issue highlights how the Project partners with Tribes with Title IV-E agreements with CDSS to shape CWS-CARES. It also includes a summary of our findings and highlights from our recent Extended User Scenario Testing (EUST) 2 period, and an overview of the feedback received on the interface between CWS-CARES and CalSAWS. We share an overview of the Court Hearing Framework, which details some new features that will be included in CWS-CARES. In this issue, you will learn about how the Project is helping to make State and County Forms work more efficient, and the upcoming training available for Forms Authors. We also share more information on the collaborative Decommissioning Planning effort by Counties and the Project and announce a new meeting series dedicated to External Systems.
Implementation: Discover how Sacramento County has created an intranet site, complete with project resources, flyers, and videos, to build enthusiasm for CWS-CARES. Learn more about the recent Intake Process Information Sessions and changes to Intake from CWS/CMS to CWS-CARES. We are excited to share the selection of the Pilot Counties and Alternates, as well as an update on the Sandbox Environment. You will also find information on the CWS-CARES Super User program, including the dates of upcoming Orientation sessions in each region.
We recommend that you share this newsletter at your discretion with staff that are impacted by the changes coming with CWS-CARES.
The CARES Explorer – June 2025 issue is now available here: The CARES Explorer Vol 2, Issue 2
You may also obtain all CARES Explorer issues on the CWDS website: CARES Compass/Explorer | Child Welfare Digital Services
If you have any questions, need clarification, or have any accessibility issues, please do not hesitate to contact Customer Relations at CWS_CustRel@osi.ca.gov.
Action Required
We request that all CARES Single Point of Contacts (SPOCs) and Implementation Coordinators coordinate and distribute the CARES Explorer Newsletter to all staff impacted by CWS-CARES at their discretion.
CWS-CARES RFA Greenfield Release Cycle Ending
All SPOCs and Technical Contacts:
To support the transition to CWS-CARES, the CARES RFA Greenfield releases will be ending soon. The product team has confirmed that RFA0.17 will be the final release for RFA Greenfield, unless a critical incident arises that requires an additional update.
Customer Relations continues to be available to provide support for RFA Pilot Counties. Additionally, the CWDS Service Desk will continue tracking and working with the technical teams to review tickets reported by RFA Pilot Counties until the statewide rollout of CARES V1.
Action Required
No action required. Contact CWDS Customer Relations if you have any questions.
To support the transition to CWS-CARES, the CARES RFA Greenfield releases will be ending soon. The product team has confirmed that RFA0.17 will be the final release for RFA Greenfield, unless a critical incident arises that requires an additional update.
- The stories in the backlog will be assessed and the needed stories will be moved to the CARES V1 project for future consideration;
- All other remaining stories will be marked with the status: “Closed – Will not do”;
- This will help ensure better alignment with CARES V1 and avoid duplicating work;
- Additionally, it will provide a stable, unchanging environment to support data conversion activities.
Customer Relations continues to be available to provide support for RFA Pilot Counties. Additionally, the CWDS Service Desk will continue tracking and working with the technical teams to review tickets reported by RFA Pilot Counties until the statewide rollout of CARES V1.
Action Required
No action required. Contact CWDS Customer Relations if you have any questions.
CWS-CARES Scheduled Maintenance - June 19, 2025 | 5 PM - 6 PM
All Pilot County RFA Implementation Coordinators and SPOCs:
The CWS-CARES team has scheduled maintenance activity for the CWS-CARES production environment for Thursday, June 19, 2025, beginning at 5:00 PM and concluding at 6:00 PM. During the maintenance window, the CWS-CARES Resource Family Approval (RFA) Application Submission, Review, and Approval Process will be accessible for pilot counties Fresno, Placer, and Santa Clara.
There is no anticipated impact for CWS-CARES users. We are sharing this information in the unlikely circumstance that there is an actual impact during the scheduled maintenance window and the CWS-CARES application becomes inaccessible.
Action Required
No action required for end-users is needed during this maintenance window.
If users experience any issues with the CWS-CARES, please follow your county process for reporting issues. CWS-CARES 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.
The CWS-CARES team has scheduled maintenance activity for the CWS-CARES production environment for Thursday, June 19, 2025, beginning at 5:00 PM and concluding at 6:00 PM. During the maintenance window, the CWS-CARES Resource Family Approval (RFA) Application Submission, Review, and Approval Process will be accessible for pilot counties Fresno, Placer, and Santa Clara.
There is no anticipated impact for CWS-CARES users. We are sharing this information in the unlikely circumstance that there is an actual impact during the scheduled maintenance window and the CWS-CARES application becomes inaccessible.
Action Required
No action required for end-users is needed during this maintenance window.
If users experience any issues with the CWS-CARES, please follow your county process for reporting issues. CWS-CARES 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.
CWS-CARES Scheduled Maintenance
All Pilot County RFA Implementation Coordinators and SPOCs:
The CWS-CARES team has scheduled maintenance activity for the CWS-CARES production environment for Tuesday, June 17, 2025, beginning at 5:00 PM and concluding at 8:00 PM. During the maintenance window, the CWS-CARES Resource Family Approval (RFA) Application Submission, Review, and Approval Process will be accessible for pilot counties Fresno, Placer, and Santa Clara.
During the maintenance window, CARES Tableau reports refresh will be on hold.
Action Required
No action required from end-users during this maintenance window.
If users experience any issues with the CWS-CARES, please follow your county process for reporting issues. CWS-CARES 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.
The CWS-CARES team has scheduled maintenance activity for the CWS-CARES production environment for Tuesday, June 17, 2025, beginning at 5:00 PM and concluding at 8:00 PM. During the maintenance window, the CWS-CARES Resource Family Approval (RFA) Application Submission, Review, and Approval Process will be accessible for pilot counties Fresno, Placer, and Santa Clara.
During the maintenance window, CARES Tableau reports refresh will be on hold.
Action Required
No action required from end-users during this maintenance window.
If users experience any issues with the CWS-CARES, please follow your county process for reporting issues. CWS-CARES 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.
CWS-CARES Scheduled Maintenance - April 29, 2025 | 5 PM - 7 PM
All Pilot County RFA Implementation Coordinators and SPOCs:
The CWS-CARES team has scheduled maintenance activity for the CWS-CARES production environment for Tuesday, April 29, 2025, beginning at 5:00 PM and concluding at 7:00 PM. During the maintenance window, the CWS-CARES Resource Family Approval (RFA) Application Submission, Review, and Approval Process will be accessible for pilot counties Fresno, Placer, and Santa Clara.
There is no anticipated impact for CWS-CARES users. We are sharing this information in the unlikely circumstance that there is an actual impact during the scheduled maintenance window and the CWS-CARES application becomes inaccessible.
Action Required
No action required from end-users during this maintenance window.
If users experience any issues with the CWS-CARES, please follow your county process for reporting issues. CWS-CARES 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.
The CWS-CARES team has scheduled maintenance activity for the CWS-CARES production environment for Tuesday, April 29, 2025, beginning at 5:00 PM and concluding at 7:00 PM. During the maintenance window, the CWS-CARES Resource Family Approval (RFA) Application Submission, Review, and Approval Process will be accessible for pilot counties Fresno, Placer, and Santa Clara.
There is no anticipated impact for CWS-CARES users. We are sharing this information in the unlikely circumstance that there is an actual impact during the scheduled maintenance window and the CWS-CARES application becomes inaccessible.
Action Required
No action required from end-users during this maintenance window.
If users experience any issues with the CWS-CARES, please follow your county process for reporting issues. CWS-CARES 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.
The CARES Explorer Newsletter – March 2025 Issue
CARES SPOCs, Implementation Coordinators, County Leadership, Tribal Leadership, Probation Leadership, State Leadership, and OCM Coordinators:
We are pleased to share the CARES Explorer – March 2025 issue, the newsletter for staying up to date on the CWS-CARES project.
This is sent directly to our key stakeholders for project communications: County, Tribe, Probation, and State leadership, CARES Single Point of Contacts (SPOCs), and Organization Implementation Coordinators.
This issue contains information on:
Stakeholders: Discover how Yolo County uses creative ways to engage their staff in the changes coming with CWS-CARES. Read about how The Office of Tribal Affairs guides the California Department of Social Services efforts to help create and facilitate policies, procedures, and programs that serve Tribes, and tribal children and families.
CWS-CARES: This issue highlights Extended User Scenario Testing (EUST) 2, the second round of testing to improve system usability. We share details about the kickoff, scope, supporting tools, and the changes made from what we learned in the first round of testing. Understand who is participating and what training they will receive to prepare for EUST 2. We share an overview on external systems, and describe the ways that counties are analyzing their external systems in preparation for CWS-CARES. Understand more about the CARES V1 Scope Summary, the initial CWS-CARES Data Dictionary, and Interfaces in CARES V1.
Hidden Gems: Learn more about the CWS-CARES Public Library, the real-time CWDS Events & Meetings Calendar, and the Core Constituent survey and new guide. We also share a recap of the Stakeholder Briefing Session conducted in late January 2025.
We recommend that you share this newsletter at your discretion with staff that are impacted by the changes coming with CWS-CARES.
The CARES Explorer – March 2025 issue is now available here: CARES Explorer Vol 2 Issue 1.
You may also obtain all CARES Explorer issues on the CWDS website: CARES Compass/Explorer | Child Welfare Digital Services
If you have any questions, need clarification, or have any accessibility issues, please do not hesitate to contact Customer Relations.
Action Required:
We request that all CARES Single Point of Contacts (SPOCs) and Implementation Coordinators coordinate and distribute the CARES Explorer Newsletter to all staff impacted by CWS-CARES at their discretion.
We are pleased to share the CARES Explorer – March 2025 issue, the newsletter for staying up to date on the CWS-CARES project.
This is sent directly to our key stakeholders for project communications: County, Tribe, Probation, and State leadership, CARES Single Point of Contacts (SPOCs), and Organization Implementation Coordinators.
This issue contains information on:
Stakeholders: Discover how Yolo County uses creative ways to engage their staff in the changes coming with CWS-CARES. Read about how The Office of Tribal Affairs guides the California Department of Social Services efforts to help create and facilitate policies, procedures, and programs that serve Tribes, and tribal children and families.
CWS-CARES: This issue highlights Extended User Scenario Testing (EUST) 2, the second round of testing to improve system usability. We share details about the kickoff, scope, supporting tools, and the changes made from what we learned in the first round of testing. Understand who is participating and what training they will receive to prepare for EUST 2. We share an overview on external systems, and describe the ways that counties are analyzing their external systems in preparation for CWS-CARES. Understand more about the CARES V1 Scope Summary, the initial CWS-CARES Data Dictionary, and Interfaces in CARES V1.
Hidden Gems: Learn more about the CWS-CARES Public Library, the real-time CWDS Events & Meetings Calendar, and the Core Constituent survey and new guide. We also share a recap of the Stakeholder Briefing Session conducted in late January 2025.
We recommend that you share this newsletter at your discretion with staff that are impacted by the changes coming with CWS-CARES.
The CARES Explorer – March 2025 issue is now available here: CARES Explorer Vol 2 Issue 1.
You may also obtain all CARES Explorer issues on the CWDS website: CARES Compass/Explorer | Child Welfare Digital Services
If you have any questions, need clarification, or have any accessibility issues, please do not hesitate to contact Customer Relations.
Action Required:
We request that all CARES Single Point of Contacts (SPOCs) and Implementation Coordinators coordinate and distribute the CARES Explorer Newsletter to all staff impacted by CWS-CARES at their discretion.
New CWDS Meeting and Event Calendar
We are pleased to announce that the new CWDS Meeting & Event Calendar will go live on Friday, March 28, 2025. This will be a near real-time calendar that includes the meeting/event name, date and time. The new calendar will not require users to log in.
New CWDS Public Calendar: Streamlined Access to All Meetings and Events
CWS-CARES, CARES RFA, CARES-Live and CWS/CMS recurring meetings and ad-hoc meetings are streamlined into one view. This includes Core Constituent meetings, Implementation meetings, workgroups, and committees that engage external participants such as counties, Probation, Tribes with Title IV-E agreements with CDSS, and State and Federal partners.
Starting Friday, March 28, 2025, the CWDS public website will feature a new page where anyone can access the calendar of CWDS events at any time. The current Events Calendar at will be removed and a message will be displayed redirecting to the new calendar.
Additionally, the existing CWS-CARES Meeting Calendar will display a message and link to the new calendar.
NOTE: If you have bookmarked or saved the current Events Calendar URL, please refresh it with the new CWDS Meeting & Event Calendar URL. Feel free to share this communication with others in your organization. If you have suggestions to improve this calendar, please send them to the Customer Relations Team.
Action Required
Once this new calendar goes live, please update your saved bookmarks by replacing them with the new URL for the CWDS Meeting & Event Calendar in your web browsers.
New CWDS Public Calendar: Streamlined Access to All Meetings and Events
CWS-CARES, CARES RFA, CARES-Live and CWS/CMS recurring meetings and ad-hoc meetings are streamlined into one view. This includes Core Constituent meetings, Implementation meetings, workgroups, and committees that engage external participants such as counties, Probation, Tribes with Title IV-E agreements with CDSS, and State and Federal partners.
Starting Friday, March 28, 2025, the CWDS public website will feature a new page where anyone can access the calendar of CWDS events at any time. The current Events Calendar at will be removed and a message will be displayed redirecting to the new calendar.
Additionally, the existing CWS-CARES Meeting Calendar will display a message and link to the new calendar.
NOTE: If you have bookmarked or saved the current Events Calendar URL, please refresh it with the new CWDS Meeting & Event Calendar URL. Feel free to share this communication with others in your organization. If you have suggestions to improve this calendar, please send them to the Customer Relations Team.
Action Required
Once this new calendar goes live, please update your saved bookmarks by replacing them with the new URL for the CWDS Meeting & Event Calendar in your web browsers.
If unable to find a specific Bulletin, please contact Communications.