CWS/CMS

Updated CWDS Single Point of Contact (SPOC) Guide - Version 3.0

All SPOCs, Training Contacts and Technical Contacts:
Customer Relations is pleased to announce that the Single Point of Contact (SPOC) Guide has been updated to version 3.0. This version has refreshed links to the Child Welfare Digital Services (CWDS) website and current information on:
  1. Child Welfare Services/Case Management System (CWS/CMS)
  2. California Automated Response and Engagement System - Live (CARES-Live)
  3. Child Welfare Services California Automated Response and Engagement System (CWS-CARES) – In Development
Important Sections of the SPOC Guide:
  • SPOC, Customer Relations and Specific County Roles and Responsibilities
  • Web Administration
  • CWDS Meeting Information
  • County Resources – including the following:
  • CWDS Website (https://cwds.ca.gov/) resources including:
    • CWS/CMS Release Information
    • Data Deletion Request (DDR)
    • System Change Request (SCR)
    • Server Based Computing (SBC)
  • CWS-CARES User Resources, including:
    • CWS-CARES Users – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
    • CWDS Glossary
    • CWS-CARES Newsletters
    • RFA Application Process Release Notes
  • County Funding Process (Logon Required)
    • Advanced Planning Document
  • County Contacts
Action Required
Please review the attached SPOC Guide for information regarding SPOC responsibilities and available CWDS reference materials. The attached guide is also located on the CWDS website under the Stakeholder Resources tab>CWS/CMS Users>CWS/CMS Guides>Website and Web Application Guides>See the SPOC Guide PDF.

Release 9.4 and 9.4.0 (15-Day) Informational Bulletin

The mandatory VB6 version of Release 9.4 will be implemented on Saturday, Saturday, July 20, 2024.

Coexistent county CWSCMS.MSI file availability:

The CWSCMS.MSI file will be available by Friday,
June 28, 2024, for technical staff to begin testing the installation of the release.  The code will be located on the CWSDFSr share in the following location:
  •  \CODEDIST\Staging\R94
Perform any necessary testing, but do not install countywide before July 20, 2024. The new release will not work with the database until then.

Dedicated County CWSCMS.MSI file delivery:

By
Friday, June 28, 2024, dedicated county users should start seeing the CWSCMS.MSI file copied to their workstations during Windows logon. Technical staff can verify that they have received the file by checking for its presence in the C:\CACW\R94 folder. This file must exist on the workstation for the installation of Release R9.4 to take place on or after July 20, 2024.

Release 9.4 documents are located on the CWDS website. More documents will be added as the release go-live date approaches.

Solicitation for County Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) for CWS/CMS R9.6

All SPOCs and Training Contacts:
 
The Child Welfare Digital Services (CWDS) Office is requesting county staff to participate as Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) in the Release 9.6 Business Needs Analysis (BNAs) meetings and Joint Application Design (JAD) to give feedback on issues. SMEs will participate in Release 9.6 activities, tentatively scheduled to GO LIVE in June 2025.

R9.6 BNAs will be held in mid-July. SMEs will receive an Outlook invitation once all responses are received.

R9.6 JAD has not yet been scheduled, but SMEs will receive an Outlook invitation once a date is selected.
System Change Requests (SCRs) include:
The five (5) SCRs listed below are newly proposed for Release 9.6
  • SCR 8982 – Add Missing Name for Placement Homes (Data Quality) (Prioritized #1) - Application Support Contact: James Sidebotham
  • SCR 8983 – Adding Missing Name for Non-Foster Case Facility (Data Quality) (Prioritized #2) - Application Support Contact: James Sidebotham
  • SCR 8999 – Update Client Dates out-of-range for CARES (Data Quality) (Prioritized #3) - Application Support Contact: James Sidebotham
  • SCR 8985 – Make Name Mandatory for Non-Foster Care Facility (Data Quality) (Prioritized #4) - Application Support Contact: Nora O’Hara
  • SCR 8989 – Cleanup Outdated Home Studies (Data Quality) (Prioritized #5) – Application Support Contact: James Sidebotham
The SCRs listed below were covered during a previous BNA. A brief meeting will be held to ensure nothing has changed.
  • SCR 8843 – Transfer Enrollment between DOE Schools (Data Quality) (Prioritized #6) – Application Support Contact: James Sidebotham
  • SCR 8967 – Duplicate Hearing Notebook (Data Quality) (Prioritized #7): Application Support Contact: Nora O’Hara
  • SCR 8972 – ACL 22-95 ICWA Mandatory Fields (Data Quality) (Prioritized #8): Application Support Contact: Kim Carpenter
  • SCR 8973 – ACL 22-95 ICWA Reminder (Data Quality) (Prioritized #9): Application Support Contact: Gina Blakemore
  • SCR 8943 – Expand Merge History Log (Data Quality) (Prioritized #10): Application Support Contact: Kim Carpenter
  • SCR 8853 – Validate & Cleanse Collateral Demographic Data (Data Quality) (Prioritized #11) – Application Support Contact: James Sidebotham
  • SCR 8852 – Validate & Cleanse Reporter Demographic Data (Data Quality (Prioritized #12) – Application Support Contact: James Sidebotham
Counties are encouraged to register individuals with knowledge and experience working in the areas mentioned above. A mix of end users with casework or supervisory experience will also be very helpful.

Those who volunteer are welcome to register for one or more SCRs. Participants will work with other County and State SMEs as well as vendor support staff. We seek a diverse group of participants from large, medium, and small counties. The CWDS Office will work with SMEs to determine the details of participation. If you have any questions regarding this recruitment, please contact OSI CWDS Application Support via email @ CWS_AppSupport@osi.ca.gov.
 
Action Required
Staff should submit a Release 9.6 SME Online Registration Form (see link below) for each potential SME.
 
Link: R9.6 Subject Matter Expert Online Registration Form
The forms should be submitted no later than July 12, 2024.

CWS/CMS: CDT Service Desk Bulletin – New Citrix Environment Migration - REMINDER

All SPOCs, Technical Contacts, and SBC Administrators:
May 31, 2024 UPDATE:  The California Department of Technology (CDT) has rescheduled this Citrix environment migration from June 8, 2024, to Saturday, June 22, 2024.
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The California Department of Technology (CDT) has scheduled the migration of Server Based Computing Services (SBCS) users to a new Citrix environment. The migration window is scheduled for Saturday, June 8, 2024, beginning at 6:00 AM, and concluding at 2:00 PM.

During the migration window, users connected to the CWS/CMS application via SBCS, either through physical tokens, through ‘soft’ tokens, or through the ‘token-less’ environment used by Probation staff may be kicked out of the application or unable to log in to the SBCS environment. If users are kicked out the SBCS environment, they will need to wait until the maintenance window is completed to sign back in.

Action Required
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.

CWS/CMS: Release 9.4 - Informational (30-Day) Bulletin

All SPOCs and Technical Contacts:
This communication is a notification that a bulletin has been posted to the CWDS website. As a reminder, ‘Bulletins’ are located beneath the ‘Follow Our Progress’ header on the CWDS website’s home page. The bulletin provides a reminder and direction prior to Release 9.4 on Saturday, July 20, 2024.
 
Action Required
Please review the bulletin and share the information with county personnel.

Release 9.4 and Interim Release 9.4.0 Informational (30-day) Bulletin

The mandatory VB6 version of Release 9.4 will be implemented on Saturday, July 20, 2024.

Coexistent county CWSCMS.MSI file availability:


The CWSCMS.MSI file will be available by Friday, June 28, 2024, for technical staff to begin testing the installation of the release. The code will be located on the CWSDFSr share in the following location:
  •  \CODEDIST\Staging\R94
Perform any necessary testing, but do not install countywide before July 20, 2024. The new release will not work with the database until then.

Dedicated County CWSCMS.MSI file delivery:


By Friday, June 28, 2024, dedicated county users should start seeing the CWSCMS.MSI file copied to their workstations during Windows logon. Technical staff can verify that they have received the file by checking for its presence in the C:\CACW\R93. folder. This file must exist on the workstation for the installation of Release R9.2 to take place on or after July 20, 2024.

Release 9.4 documents are located on the CWDS website. More documents will be added as the release go-live date approaches.

 

CWS/CMS Infected and Unsupported File Extension File Cleanup – UPDATE

CWS Directors, SPOCs and Technical Contacts in Affected Counties:  
June 14, 2024 UPDATE:  In order to allow counties additional time to submit their responses on whether a County wants to request the transfer of CWS/CMS quarantined unsupported/infected files from CDSS to County stewardship, an extension of the previous deadline has been extended to July 31, 2024. Please submit your transfer request and provide the needed contact information by this new due date.
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June 5, 2024 UPDATE: This is a reminder, if a County wants to request the transfer of CWS/CMS quarantined unsupported/infected files from CDSS to County stewardship and have not yet done so, to please complete the steps listed below. Please submit your transfer request and provide the needed contact information by 5:00 PM on Friday, June 14, 2024.
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April 16, 2024 UPDATE: Upon further discussion with the California Department of Social Services (CDSS), we discovered that the March 15, 2024, communication (see below) included some inaccurate information. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) will be signed by CDSS before sending it to the County for their signature. As a reminder, the MOU is needed to allow for the transfer of the infected/unsupported documents/files from CDSS to County stewardship.
The updated steps for a County to request the transfer of CWS/CMS quarantined unsupported/infected files from CDSS to County stewardship are:
  1. County signifies that they want to receive a copy of the unsupported/infected documents/files by sending an email to the CWDS Customer Relations mailbox (CWS_CustRel@otsi.ca.gov).
  2. County provides the Point of Contact within the County to receive the media with the unsupported/infected documents/files, with the following contact information:
    1. Name
    2. Role
    3. Address
    4. Phone Number
    5. Email Address
  1. County provides the signatory to be listed on the MOU, with the following information:
    1. Name
    2. Title
    3. Address
    4. Phone Number
    5. Email Address
  1. CDSS will use the provided information to draft the MOU.
  2. CDSS will send the MOU (signed by CDSS) to the County.
  3. County signs the MOU and emails it to the CDSS Contracts and Procurement Services Branch.
  4. CDSS or its designee(s) will contact the County to make arrangement for the transfer of the requested files.
  5. CDSS or its designee(s) will copy the requested County files to an external storage medium mutually agreed upon by the Parties.
  6. CDSS or its designee(s) shall send the external storage medium to County using a secured overnight courier that, at a minimum, requires signature receipt confirmation.
  7. County will confirm receipt of the media and the files.
  8. Upon county confirmation of files being received, the State may delete the original quarantined files from the CWDS quarantined area after 90 Days. After the original quarantined files have been deleted, the CDSS will terminate the MOU.
Please NOTE: Counties that have already sent in their signed MOUs requesting release of the documents/files to the County will be contacted by CDSS with a new draft of the MOU (signed by CDSS) with a request for the County to sign the new MOU.
We apologize for any confusion caused by the previous communication.
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March 15, 2024 UPDATE:  CDSS acknowledges and appreciates your continued caution regarding the approvals for the deletion of the infected/unsupported documents/files in the Child Welfare Services/Case Management System (CWS/CMS). In response to County requests for an opportunity to remediate the infected/unsupported documents/files removed from CWS/CMS and placed in quarantine, the CDSS has developed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to allow for the transfer of the infected/unsupported documents/files from CDSS to county stewardship.
Steps to request the transfer of CWS/CMS quarantined unsupported/infected files from CDSS to county stewardship:
  1. County submits the signed CDSS MOU requesting release of the files to the County. The MOU shall be signed by the County Director signature/approval. Please see the attached MOU.
  2. CDSS or its designee(s) will copy the requested County files to an external storage medium mutually agreed upon by the Parties.
  3. CDSS or its designee(s) shall send the external storage medium to County using a secured overnight courier that, at a minimum, requires signature receipt confirmation.
  4. County will confirm receipt of the media and the files.
  5. Upon county confirmation of files being received, the State may delete the original quarantined files from the CWDS quarantined area after 90 Days.
Please note, if additional infected/unsupported documents/files are identified in the future a County will need to submit -a new MOU to request transfer of those files.
If you are interested in requesting the transfer of files for your county, please send your signed MOU to CWS_CustRel@otsi.ca.gov . Once received CWDS or its designee(s) will contact you to make arrangement for the transfer of the files requested. 
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February 8, 2024 UPDATE:  The California Department of Social Services (CDSS), the CWDS Project and IBM are still working on determining an approach for sharing with counties the documents that have been quarantined. This decision will take a little longer to complete than originally thought. The updated ETA for the decision is now March 15, 2024. An update will be shared out to everybody once the decision has been made.
In the meantime, the CWDS Office is still awaiting notification from the CWS Directors from a majority of the impacted Counties on your preference to delete or to keep quarantined the affected files. If you have not yet shared your preference, please do so by the extended deadline of February 29, 2024.
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December 26, 2023 UPDATE:  The California Department of Social Services (CDSS), the CWDS Project and IBM have decided that the safest option is to quarantine the identified infected and unsupported files in CWS/CMS. The files will not be deleted from CWS/CMS, but users will be prevented from opening the affected documents. The affected documents will be saved to a quarantined area of CWS/CMS on Saturday, January 6, 2024. If a CWS/CMS user attempts to open one of the quarantined documents, they will receive the following error message:


Please note that this DRMS 00122 error message is informational only and that the user will be able to continue to work in the CWS/CMS application after receiving the error message.
The CWDS Project and IBM are still looking to receive responses from the CWS Directors indicating their permission to permanently delete these files. Please contact CWDS Customer Relations (CWS_CustRel@otsi.ca.gov) by January 31, 2024, with your decision whether to have IBM delete the files in a batch file deletion process.
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December 18, 2023 UPDATE:  In the attached letter the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has provided updated guidance to Counties impacted by the CWS/CMS infected and unsupported file cleanup effort.
Please contact CWDS Customer Relations (CWS_CustRel@otsi.ca.gov) with any questions related to this guidance.
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As part of planning for CWS-CARES V1, the CARES Data Conversion team has been performing incremental conversion from CWS/CMS data and documents into CWS-CARES. After the documents are extracted from CWS/CMS, they are scanned to ensure that no viruses are introduced into the CARES environment. During this process, it was discovered that, out of 73 million documents that are stored in the CWS/CMS database, approximately 2,400 documents are infected with a virus or malware. Of these 2,400 documents, 95% were last updated in 2001 or before. 
Further, there are an additional 2,600 files that have an unsupported file extension. 
Due to security concerns, these documents and files cannot be moved into the CWS-CARES application. 
Please NOTE: These infected documents are stored in binary large object (BLOB) format on the mainframe in the Db2 database. As a result, these documents do not affect CWS/CMS data on the mainframe.  However, if the document is opened, the virus can infect the user’s personal computer.   Please ensure that you have a current antivirus operating on your workstation.
If you are receiving this communication, it means that your county is impacted by this issue.  
For each affected County, we will send a report listing the infected files and unsupported file extension files, with additional details pertaining to that County.   The reports will be sent to affected counties after the Kick-off meetings.
Please provide a point of contact including IT Support and Security Officer as appropriate and their information (Name, Email, Role, etc.) for the person that should receive your County’s report no later than 11/8/23. The report will be sent via encrypted email to that person.
Please use this form to provide the point(s) of contact: https://forms.gle/2tXrqpkevqUryxk39
Once Customer Relations receives the point of contact person’s information, they will be invited to the Kick-off meetings scheduled for 11/14/23 and 11/16/23. The intent of those meetings will be to review next steps.  
Action Required
Please provide a point of contact and their information (Name, Email, etc.), using the link above, for the person that should receive your County’s report no later than 11/8/23.

CWS/CMS: Business Intelligence County Access Data – Upgrade to CAD BOBJ 4.3

All SPOCs, Technical Contacts, and CAD Contacts:
The Business Intelligence (BI) County Access Data (CAD) application will upgrade to version CAD BOBJ 4.3 on September 14, 2024. The BI team will provide a demo of the updated version on Thursday, August 8, from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM. You will receive a meeting invite from OSI-CWS-CAD@osi.ca.gov for the Thursday, August 8, 2024 demo soon.
 
The enhancements are primarily focused on visual differences, featuring a new User Interface. Our goal is to ensure that users can easily navigate through this updated version. To facilitate that goal, we will be offering a Sandbox version for a five-week period starting Friday, August 9, until Friday, September 13.

You will need a CAD ID to log onto the Sandbox environment. 

NOTE: Most CAD users already have CAD IDs, however if you do not:
  • Please contact one of your County CAD Contacts to request a CAD ID.
    • You can locate your County CAD list of contacts on the CWDS website.
Action Required
  • Accept the meeting invite from OSI-CWS-CAD@osi.ca.gov scheduled for Thursday, August 8, 2024 from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM.
  • Explore the new BI Interface from Friday, August 9, through Friday, September 13.
  • If you have issues, contact Chris Lovejoy at Chris.Lovejoy@osi.ca.gov

CWS/CMS: CDT Service Desk Bulletin – SBCS Infrastructure Servers Security Patching

All SPOCs, Technical Contacts, and SBC Administrators:
The California Department of Technology (CDT) has scheduled maintenance on Saturday, June 29, 2024, beginning at 6:00 AM and concluding at 10:00 AM.  During the maintenance window, CDT will apply Standard Monthly OS Security Patches to SBCS Infrastructure Servers. There is no anticipated outage for this maintenance; however, CDT is asking that everyone log off from the Citrix SBC system, if not actively using it during the maintenance window.

Action Required
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.

CWS/CMS: Education Provider Information from the California Department of Education (CDE)

What is Impacted: CWS/CMS Application

On Friday, June 21, 2024, from 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM the CDE Interface will run to update Education Provider information for public schools, private schools, and school districts in the CWS/CMS application. This update applies to CDE school information only. School information manually created by a CWS/CMS user will not be affected. During this time, users may be unable to perform Education Provider searches in the CWS/CMS application.

Due to differences in data and formatting between CDE and the CWS/CMS application, some otherwise valid Education Providers may be end-dated.  If this occurs, please refer to the Work Around section below. A list of all end-dated Education Providers will be sent to the SPOCs via email as soon as they become available.

Work Around
If an existing CDE Education Provider has been end-dated because of this process, users will need to conduct a search for the current Education Provider and create a new Education Notebook for the client.

Contact
CWDS Customer Relations