December 06, 2024
Communications
To: Child Welfare Directors, Child Welfare Director-Alternates, Tribal Leadership, Probation Leadership, and Core Constituents CC: All CARES SPOCs and Implementation Coordinators
Child Welfare Leadership and Core Constituents,
As part of our ongoing effort to provide you greater insight into upcoming meetings for the CWS-CARES project, please see the updated CWS-CARES Meeting Calendar for December 2024, January 2025, and February 2025. This calendar includes all meetings hosted by the CWS-CARES project, including Core Constituent demonstrations, implementation meetings, and key workgroups.
This calendar includes the following Core Constituent sessions:
- Prototype Demonstrations: Core Constituents see some of the feedback they provided in the Prototype Demonstrations reflected in CWS-CARES and provide further feedback on the developed product.
- Build Review Demonstrations: Core Constituents see some of the feedback they provided in the Prototype Demonstrations reflected in CWS-CARES and provide further feedback on the developed product.
- Milestone User Feedback: Participants test specific functionalities for a subset of milestones in CWS-CARES, scheduled for January 6 - January 17, 2025. Core Constituents were requested to recruit participants for this feedback activity. Note: Extended User Scenario Testing (EUST) 2, where Participants test end-to-end real-world scenarios in CWS-CARES, begins in March 2025 and will be reflected on the March calendar.
Action Required
Please share this information with those at your organization you feel should be informed. Note: This calendar is point-in-time and subject to change. The CWS-CARES project aims to deliver a sustainable, more real-time calendar solution that will be accessible to all meeting participants and leadership in the future.
If you have any questions, please contact CWS_CustRel@osi.ca.gov.
December 05, 2024
Communications
All Pilot County RFA Implementation Coordinators and SPOCs:
The CWS-CARES team has scheduled maintenance activity for the CWS-CARES production environment for Wednesday, December 11, 2024, 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 Contra Costa, 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.
December 02, 2024
Communications
All SPOCs and Technical Contacts:
EFFECTIVE December 16, 2024, CWS-CARES RELEASE 0.15 PRODUCTION RELEASE IS PLANNED TO MOVE INTO PRODUCTION
The CWS-CARES team has scheduled release activity that will interrupt connectivity to the CWS-CARES Resource Family Approval (RFA) Application Submission, Review, and Approval Process for pilot counties Contra Costa, Fresno, Placer, and Santa Clara. The release activity is planned to begin at 5:00 PM on December 16, 2024, and conclude at 11:00 PM. During this scheduled outage, users in pilot counties will not be able to access the CARES RFA application.
CWS-CARES Release 0.15:
The purpose of this release is to primarily deliver fixes for known issues, enhancements to behind-the-scenes functionality and security improvements to CWS-CARES Resource Family Approval (RFA) Application Submission, Review, and Approval Process.
CWDS is excited to share the new RFA features that are planned to be available following the implementation of CWS-CARES Release 0.15 on December 16, 2024, to the CARES-RFA Pilot County users. These new features are derived from user feedback as well as project planned enhancements.
As a resource to pilot counties, over the next few weeks, your organization can expect to receive information regarding a Webinar along with an updated Participant and Quick Reference Guide. These resources will provide the system users with details of the features/functionality that have been added since the last production release.
RFA Application Process:
The RFA Application process is the Receipt, Record, Submission, and Assignment of an Application. The RFA Application process was selected as the first software build for CARES. CARES will ultimately replace the legacy Child Welfare System CWS/CMS. The RFA Application Process will operate in a totally new Production Environment without integrating with other legacy systems, such as the CWS/CMS and CARES-Live applications.
RFA Application Process Features:
- Allows an applicant or County staff member to initiate an emergency or standard application to become a resource family home
- Creates a facility profile that tracks required information to complete this process, including background check results, completion of orientation and training hours, physical home assessment, and family evaluation
- Aggregates information into a report to recommend approval or disapproval of a resource family application
Action Required
RFA Pilot County users review new features in the CWS-CARES Production Environment after December 17, 2024.
All Release Notes, including information for this release once available, can be found here: RFA Application Process Release Notes and Interim Processes
November 21, 2024
Communications
Specific CWDA Staff Related to Child Welfare, County Directors and Alternates, Organization Leadership, CARES Implementation Coordinators, and CARES SPOCs, ELT, PMO, State Communications, Strategic Communications, Implementation Management, Implementation Leads, and Evident Change:
There have been many questions regarding the future of SafeMeasures® and Structured Decision Making® (SDM) assessments with the implementation of CWS-CARES. You may have heard previously that SafeMeasures will exist as a separate function. To address this, we are providing more information and guidance on the integration approach.
To enhance efficiency and data-driven decision making with CWS-CARES Version 1, SDM® assessments will be seamlessly integrated into the CWS-CARES platform via single sign-on. The CWS-CARES Project is currently planning the SafeMeasures integration. Ultimately, SafeMeasures and SDM tools will be embedded into CWS-CARES, and 25 years of historical data collected through these tools will be accessible.
This integration provides a unified user experience and reduces the need for switching between multiple systems. Further, it will ensure continuity for counties, with CWS-CARES handling more direct operational reports and SafeMeasures continuing to provide more complex reporting. SafeMeasures in CWS-CARES will retain its critical and most-used features and reports, as well as the collaborative service relationship between CDSS, counties, and Evident Change.
SafeMeasures and SDM will be part of CWS-CARES and should not be treated as separate, external systems. Therefore, they will not require the same level of effort or planning as external systems, particularly for tasks like data conversion, ongoing operations, or decommissioning.
Here is the impact on county budgets and the transition of SafeMeasures costs:
CWS-CARES Project Coverage: The CWS-CARES project will cover the costs associated with integrating SafeMeasures into the system and ongoing maintenance. This means there will be no additional costs to county budgets for these specific activities.
State Assumption of Costs: Based on the planned CWS-CARES Version 2 implementation date, the State expects to take over county costs associated with SafeMeasures starting on July 1, 2028. As such, counties will continue to be responsible for their existing SafeMeasures contracts and access until June 30, 2028. This includes any associated costs during this period. Counties must continue to submit an Advance Planning Document (APD) to the California Department of Social Services prior to executing, renewing, or amending the agreement or paying for associated services. Please see County Fiscal Letter 23/24-12 for APD submission requirements and details. This means counties shall plan to end their contracts on June 30, 2028, and will no longer be responsible for these costs after this date.
In summary:
- SafeMeasures and SDM tools will be embedded into CWS-CARES via a single sign-on with access to historical data and reports already in use.
- Counties will not incur additional costs for the integration and maintenance of SafeMeasures and SDM into CWS-CARES.
- Counties will continue to be responsible for their contracts until June 30, 2028.
- The state will assume the costs of SafeMeasures starting July 1, 2028.
Counties will receive additional communications about this transition once details are finalized, including the impact on APD submission for current county SafeMeasures costs and determining county budgets.
Sincerely,
The CWS-CARES Project – Executive Leadership Team
California Department of Social Services (CDSS)
Action Required
No action needed.
November 08, 2024
Communications
Child Welfare Leadership and Core Constituents,
As part of our ongoing effort to provide you greater insight into upcoming meetings for the CWS-CARES project, please see the attached updated CWS-CARES Meeting Calendar for November and December 2024 and January 2025. This calendar includes all meetings hosted by the CWS-CARES project, including Core Constituent demonstrations, implementation meetings, and key workgroups.
The calendar includes Core Constituent Build Review Demonstrations, which are a follow up to the Core Constituent Demonstrations of CARES prototypes that occurred in September and October. Participants may see feedback they provided during the prototype demonstrations incorporated into this Build Review. Please note that the CARES Product Team is still prioritizing some of the feedback and suggestions from the previous sessions. Please also note that invites will come from either the PaaS SI Product Team or the Rework mailboxes.
The CWS-CARES project is in the process of identifying Milestone User Feedback session dates for January 2025. Milestone User Feedback is a feedback period to test specific functionalities for a subset of milestones in the developed product before Extended User Scenario Testing (EUST), which will begin in March 2025.
Action Required
Please share this information with those at your organization you feel should be informed. Note: This calendar is point-in-time and subject to change. The CWS-CARES project aims to deliver a sustainable, more real-time calendar solution that will be accessible to all meeting participants and leadership in the future. If you have any questions, please contact CWS_CustRel@osi.ca.gov.
November 07, 2024
Communications
CARES SPOCs, Implementation Coordinators, County, Tribe, Probation, State Leadership, OCM Coordinators and specific CWDA Staff related to child welfare
We are pleased to present the fifth issue of the CARES Compass, the two-page executive summary with upcoming project communications and brief informational highlights.
In this issue, you will find:
- CWDS Planning Roadmap Update: The CWDS Planning Roadmap is enhanced with milestone descriptions, critical training and implementation activities, and Extended User Scenario Testing (EUST) periods. A high-level roadmap focusing on the CARES V1 Project Lifecycle is also available.
- Stakeholder Briefings Series: We're pleased to announce the dates for all upcoming Stakeholder Briefing sessions. These sessions will provide you with valuable insights into CWS-CARES and an opportunity to ask questions.
- Core Constituent Survey 2: We describe how we are applying the feedback collected from this survey.
- Holistic Design Update: We share statistics on the feedback and sessions conducted related to holistic design.
- Upcoming Events and Communications: A list of CWS-CARES communications that will be released in the next three months.
The fifth issue of the CARES Compass is available here: The CARES Compass, Volume 1 – Issue 5 – November 2024
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 at CWS_CustRel@osi.ca.gov.
October 14, 2024
Communications
To: Child Welfare Directors, Child Welfare Director-Alternates, Tribal Leadership, Probation Leadership, Specific CWDA Staff, and Core Constituents CC: All CARES SPOCs and Implementation Coordinators:
Child Welfare Leadership and Core Constituents,
As part of our ongoing effort to provide you greater insight into upcoming meetings for the CWS-CARES project, please see the updated CWS-CARES Meeting Calendar for October, November, and December 2024. This calendar includes all CWS-CARES readiness meetings, including Core Constituent demonstrations, implementation meetings, and key workgroups.
The calendar will be posted on the CWDS webpage soon and will replace the CWS-CARES Meeting Matrix. The CWS-CARES project will send a communication to announce this change.
The calendar includes two types of Core Constituent demonstrations:
Prototype Demonstrations (September – October)
These sessions showcase system updates that enhance user experience and navigation, providing a more consistent look and feel across CWS-CARES. Attendees have reported that the new interface is cleaner, more organized, and easier to navigate than the version shown during EUST 1.
Build Review Demonstrations (will be scheduled for November – December)
Build Reviews are a follow up to the Core Constituent Demonstrations of CARES prototypes that occurred in September and October. Participants may see feedback they provided during the prototype demonstrations incorporated into this Build Review. However, the CARES Product Team is still prioritizing some of the feedback and suggestions from the previous sessions.
Following this message, designated points of contact for Core Constituent counties and organizations will receive invitations to attend Build Review Demonstration scheduled for November and December 2024. Recipients should forward these invitations to their organization’s relevant core constituents and subject matter experts.
In addition to these invitations, the CWS-CARES project will be reaching out in the coming weeks to Core Constituents to begin recruitment for EUST 2, which is scheduled for January 2025. Once participating users have been identified, the project team will be working to ensure that each user has the appropriate provision settings to access all testing materials and our staging environment.
Action Required
Please share this information with those at your organization you feel should be informed. Note: this calendar is point-in-time and subject to change.
The CWS-CARES project continues to a develop a long-term, live calendar solution that will be accessible to all meeting participants and leadership. We will notify you when this new calendar solution is ready.
If you have any questions, please contact CWS_CustRel@osi.ca.gov.
September 26, 2024
Communications
All SPOCs:
The Office of Technology and Solutions Integration (OTSI) has decided to phase out the use of WebEx and will use, instead, Microsoft Teams exclusively for all virtual meetings. Child Welfare Digital Services (CWDS) plans to make the move to Microsoft Teams by Monday, September 30, 2024.
Organizations will see many CWDS project meetings either updated or cancelled and rescheduled to make the change to Microsoft Teams instead of WebEx. This communication is being sent out to explain the reasoning of the updates to the existing meeting invites.
Recipients of “forwarded” meeting invites will not receive the updates to the meetings and will have the previous WebEx link on their calendar if they were not included in the invite distribution. If you have previously forwarded an invite to a meeting that has since been updated, please be sure to forward the updated invite to those parties, or work with the meeting organizer to add them to the invite’s distribution list, if appropriate.
Action Required
Please accept the updated meeting invites and remove the canceled meetings, due to the change from WebEx to Teams, as they are received.
Forward any updated meeting invites that you have previously forwarded, if the new recipients are not included in the meeting’s distribution. The other option is to work with the meeting organizers to add the appropriate people to the invite.
September 26, 2024
Communications
To: CARES SPOCs and Implementation Coordinators
CC: County, Tribe, Probation, and State Leadership, OCM Coordinators, Specific CWDA Staff Related to Child Welfare
We are pleased to share the CARES Explorer - September 2024 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), Organization Implementation Coordinators, and specific CWDA staff related to child welfare.
This issue contains information on:
- Stakeholders: Discover the ways that the County Welfare Directors Association (CWDA) is working on the project and understand the role of the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) as the CWS-CARES project sponsor. Read about El Dorado County’s contributions to CWS-CARES and how the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) serves as a voice for tribal governments and native children.
- CWS-CARES: This issue highlights the Case Management Service Area and seven related functions including Prevention Services, Case Plan, and Placement. There is a spotlight on the Smarty Streets address validation feature, an update on connectivity between CWS-CARES and CalSAWS, and ways that counties participate in data conversion.
- Hidden Gems: Learn more about our progress with holistic design, participation in conferences, and take the survey to vote on what merchandise to feature in our new CWS-CARES branded store.
We recommend that you share this newsletter at your discretion with staff that are impacted by the changes coming with CWS-CARES. When executives or key staff take the initiative to communicate about CWS-CARES directly, it shows staff that leadership values the project and its impact on child welfare. This fosters a sense of ownership and encourages staff to actively participate in learning about CWS-CARES.
The CARES Explorer – September 2024 issue is now available here: The CARES Explorer - September 2024
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.
September 24, 2024
Communications
All Pilot County RFA Implementation Coordinators and SPOCs:
The CWS-CARES team has scheduled maintenance activity for the CWS-CARES production environment for Tuesday, October 1, 2024, 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 Contra Costa, 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.
