CWS-CARES

CARES SPOCs, Implementation Coordinators, OCM Coordinators, County Leadership, Tribe Leadership, Probation Leadership, and State Leadership:
 

Data Dictionary V0.06 – Now Available

CWS-CARES Data Dictionary V0.06 is now available on the Microsoft Teams Channel: CARES Data Dictionary under Files. 

The Intro tab of the CWS-CARES Data Dictionary highlights all updates in the new version, making it easy to see what is new or changed.

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County Forms: AEM vs Word

Having trouble deciding whether to build a form in Word or Adobe AEM? Here are some key questions to ask: 

• Does the final output (CWS-CARES generated document) need to be a Word document? Use Word as the template.    

• Does this document require collaboration with members outside of CWS-CARES before finalizing content for generation in CWS-CARES? Use Word. 
• Does this document require track changes and/or commenting to be turned on during collaboration before finalizing content for generation in CWS-CARES? Use Word.
• Is there a need for the template to have advanced features? Use Adobe AEM.
• Does this document require CWS-CARES to automatically trigger e-Sign? Good news: you can use either Word or Adobe AEM!

If you have any questions about the features available for Word or Adobe AEM, please reach out to CWDS CARES Forms.

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Dreamforce Conference Recap

The CWS-CARES Project attended Salesforce’s Dreamforce Conference from October 14-16 to gain a deeper understanding of the Salesforce platform and to connect with our partners.

Kimberly Glenn participated in a Health and Human Services Panel to help other government agencies understand how CWS-CARES is solutioning for the children and families of California.

Julie Al-Huneidi (Director of Product Development) and Arun Sukumaran (Architecture and Engineering Chief) participated in a panel to help government agencies understand the importance of building a Center of Excellence (CoE) for their Salesforce projects with their Salesforce Customer Success and Professional Services partners.

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October 2025 Stakeholder Briefing Recap

Thanks to all those who attended the October 2025 Stakeholder Briefing! Three hundred and two participants attended, with representation from 39 counties and four partner organizations.

The recording of the session is now available on the CWS-CARES Stakeholder Webinar Materials page on the CWDS website. The accessible slide deck and Q&A document will be posted in coming weeks.

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Share Your Feedback and Subscribe

Thank you for following our progress! Share your feedback on this CWS-CARES Weekly Digest here: CWS-CARES Weekly Digest Feedback Form. Subscribe to future issues here: CWS-CARES Weekly Digest Subscription Form. 

Action Required

We request that all CARES Single Point of Contacts (SPOCs) and Implementation Coordinators coordinate and distribute the CARES Weekly Digest to all staff impacted by CWS-CARES, at their discretion. 

All Pilot County RFA Implementation Coordinators and SPOCs:

The CWS-CARES team has scheduled maintenance activity for the CWS-CARES production environment for Friday, October 31, 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.

All Pilot County RFA Implementation Coordinators and SPOCs:

The CWS-CARES team has scheduled maintenance activity for the CWS-CARES production environment for Friday, October 24, 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 at https://cwds.service-now.com/csm. 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.

CARES SPOCs, Implementation Coordinators, OCM Coordinators, County Leadership, Tribe Leadership, Probation Leadership, and State Leadership:

The October Stakeholder Briefing is on Wednesday, October 22, 2025

We are excited to host the CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #4 this week, on October 22, 2025, from 10:00 AM – 12:00 Noon! This live webinar will feature updates from the Project and a 30-minute demonstration on the Administrative Service Console in CWS-CARES. 

A recording of the session, along with the presentation deck and Q&A documentation, will be available on the Stakeholder Briefings and Webinars page on the CWDS Website.

Register now: CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #4: October 2025 Registration. Note: registration is required to attend.

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New CWS-CARES Data Dictionary V0.06 and Office Hours Reminder

This update covers the new CWS-CARES Data Dictionary version and a reminder for CWS-CARES Office Hours (Data Dictionary and SQLDBM) Discussion.

New Version Available on October 24, 2025: CWS-CARES Data Dictionary V0.06 

• CWS-CARES Data Dictionary V0.06 will be available on the Microsoft Teams Channel: CARES Data Dictionary under Files on Friday, October 24, 2025.     

• The Intro tab of the CWS-CARES Data Dictionary highlights all updates in the new version, making it easy to see what’s new or changed. 

Reminder: CWS-CARES Office Hours 

Join us for the CWS-CARES Data Dictionary and SQLDBM Office Hours on November 4, 2025, from 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM. This is a drop-in session designed to provide hands-on training, live demonstrations, and answers to your questions about the Data Dictionary and SQLDBM. 

Please contact CWDSDataManagement@otsi.ca.gov if you have any questions. if you have any questions. 

Thank you for your support as we work to successfully implement and maintain the CWS-CARES Data Dictionary.

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CWDA Conference Recap 

The CWS-CARES Project participated in the annual CWDA Conference, October 8 through 10, in Santa Clara. The conference theme this year was “Putting Families & Communities First.” About 1,000 participants and many vendors attended.

The CWS-CARES Project hosted a booth, three demonstration sessions, a drop-in discussion, and a 90-minute workshop focused on some new features that will be part of the CWS-CARES V1 Go-live. These activities provided fantastic opportunities to meet with counties and answer questions, as well as giving more people a chance to see CWS-CARES in action.

If you attended the conference, you can access CWS-CARES flyers and other resources in the conference app.

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External Systems Monthly Meeting: Continuing Operations

The External Systems Monthly Meeting was held on October 16, 2025, from 1:00 – 2:00 PM. It focused on the topic of Continuing Operations – determining which systems organizations will need to be maintained at Go-Live, how to make needed technical updates, and what support is available.

Materials and recordings will be posted on the new External Systems Portal. Reach out to the External Systems Coordination Unit (ESCU) team for support and clarifications at CWDS-ExternalStakeholder@otsi.ca.gov.

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Share Your Feedback and Subscribe

Thank you for following our progress! Share your feedback on this CWS-CARES Weekly Digest here: CWS-CARES Weekly Digest Feedback Form. Subscribe to future issues here: CWS-CARES Weekly Digest Subscription Form. 

Action Required

We request that all CARES Single Point of Contacts (SPOCs) and Implementation Coordinators coordinate and distribute the CARES Weekly Digest to all staff impacted by CWS-CARES, at their discretion. 

Child Welfare Leadership, CWS-CARES Points of Contact: SPOCs, Implementation Coordinators, OCM Coordinators, Probation Points of Contact, Tribe Points of Contact:

This communication is a critical update on the status of the CWS-CARES Project’s Advance Planning Document Update (APDU), specific implementation activities, and the impact of the recent federal shutdown.

Over the last week, an update was shared with county leadership and partners, Chief Probation Officers of California (CPOC), and Tribes with California Title IV-E Agreements. With the federal shutdown beginning on October 1, 2025, the CWS-CARES APDU has not been able to be submitted to, or approved by, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF). Given the current lack of approved federal funding and the uncertainty surrounding the federal shutdown, work on specific implementation activities including CWS-CARES Pilot, Process Simulation, Training, and Sandbox will be paused while options are assessed.

CWS-CARES Project executives are conducting discussions over the next several weeks to further define the path forward. We are committed to communicating the final decisions and impacts as quickly as possible.

Immediate Actions and Support Status

• Pilot and Process Simulation: (Note: Process Simulation is not the same as Process Information Sessions. They are separate and unique activities.) Specific meetings and activities for these areas will immediately stop for one month pending further evaluation. The Monthly County Pilot Workgroup meeting will continue as planned. 
• Sandbox: Existing Sandbox users will continue to have access to the sandbox and be supported as they are today. However, the Sandbox rollout to new users and all activities and planning related to adding future cohorts are stopped pending evaluation.
• Training: Specific Implementation Readiness/Training meetings will continue featuring potential facilitator changes and a revised agenda focusing on external systems planning, with training topics excluded. More details will be shared soon.

We want to reassure you that significant areas of the CWS-CARES Project are continuing without interruption including prototype and build reviews, Extended User Scenario Testing (EUST), forms, reports, data conversion and external systems activities. All work being performed by your organizations including readiness activities continues in the areas listed above.

The CWS-CARES Version 1 Go-Live Date remains October 2026.

Thank you for your understanding and continued partnership as we navigate these necessary adjustments. We will share the determined path forward when the executive discussions are complete.

Action Required

Please share this update with all appropriate personnel.

CARES SPOCs, Implementation Coordinators, OCM Coordinators, County Leadership, Tribe Leadership, Probation Leadership, and State Leadership:
 

Reminder: Register for the October Stakeholder Briefing

Registration is still open for CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #4 on October 22, 2025, from 10AM – 12 Noon!

This live webinar will feature updates from Project Leadership, Technology, External Systems, Implementation, OCM, and Training, and Product. The Briefing will conclude with a 30-minute demonstration on the Administrative Service Console in CWS-CARES.

A recording of session along with the presentation deck and Q&A documentation will be available on the Stakeholder Briefings and Webinars page on the CWDS Website.

Register now!

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Conference Season Updates – 2025 CWDA Annual Conference and Dreamforce 

The CWS-CARES Project participated in the annual CWDA Conference October 8-10 in Santa Clara. The CWS-CARES Project conducted a 90-minute Breakout Session and multiple demonstration viewings. Thanks to those who attended and visited our booth!

The CWS-CARES Project is also going to Salesforce’s Dreamforce Conference this week (October 14-16) to gain a deeper understanding of the Salesforce platform and to connect with our partners. We are looking forward to strengthening relationships and building CWS-CARES together!

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Technical Improvements: Streamlined Document Management with Microsoft Word

In September, the project sent a communication to encourage counties and organizations to use Microsoft Word to create forms, as it may be more efficient. Since then, the project has been addressing and removing some of the barriers related to using Word.

The project team is pleased to announce a significant enhancement to CWS-CARES. In direct response to user feedback, our team has been working to simplify Word document management in CWS‑CARES.

Users will be able to view, edit, and save Word documents directly within the CWS-CARES application without the need to download them. Users will be able to save modifications directly within CWS‑CARES, without having to worry about version control.

This functionality – which was technically challenging to achieve until very recently – represents a major step forward. This feature is currently in development. We will share more details when it becomes available. For questions, please reach out to the CWS-CARES Forms Mailbox.

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October 2025 Data Dictionary/SqlDBM Office Hours

On October 7, 2025, the CWDS Data Management team held another drop-in Office Hours session designed to provide hands-on training, live demos, and answer your questions related to the Data Dictionary and SqlDBM.

This monthly meeting series is recorded. The recordings are posted on the CWS-CARES Data Dictionary channel. If you have any questions or would like to be invited to the series, please contact CWDSDataManagement@otsi.ca.gov.

Additional Office Hours for participants who have been to Tableau and AEM Forms training are also available:

• Wednesdays from 2:00 – 3:30: Tableau/Salesforce CARES102 Environment Office Hours Support
• Thursdays from 2:00 – 3:00: AEM Forms Office Hours for Form Authors

Check the Events Calendar for more details.

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Share Your Feedback and Subscribe

Thank you for following our progress! Share your feedback on this CWS-CARES Weekly Digest here: CWS-CARES Weekly Digest Feedback Form. Subscribe to future issues here: CWS-CARES Weekly Digest Subscription Form. 

Action Required

We request that all CARES Single Point of Contacts (SPOCs) and Implementation Coordinators coordinate and distribute the CARES Weekly Digest to all staff impacted by CWS-CARES, at their discretion. 

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 14, 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, Tableau reports refresh will be on hold in the CARES application.

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.

CARES SPOCs, Implementation Coordinators, OCM Coordinators, County Leadership, Tribe Leadership, Probation Leadership, and State Leadership:
 

CWS-CARES Progress and Engagement Summary: September 2025

The September Progress and Engagement Summary is now available. This monthly summary was specifically formulated as a direct response to your valuable stakeholder feedback. Each monthly summary includes the following data from the previous month: 

• Participation rates for key meetings 

• A list of product demos and topics covered, by date 

• Updates from teams across the project   

We encourage you to review and share the CWS-CARES Progress and Engagement Summary with your teams. 

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Update: Build Drop 4 Status 

As of October 6th, Build Drop 4 code has been deployed to the State QA environment for testing. This includes:  

• Adoption & After Care and Re-Entry (Finish a Case Process Area)  
• CalSAWS (Interface)  
• Forms for Adoption 
• After Care and Re-Entry  

The completion of the development in Build Drop 4 signifies that we are closing in on completing the development of the CWS-CARES application. These features will be available for testing during EUST 3. 

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Reminder: CWS-CARES is Coming to the 2025 CWDA Conference! 

The CWS-CARES Project is excited to participate in the annual CWDA Conference on October 8-10, 2025, in Santa Clara. Visit our booth to connect with the team, explore resources, and pick up giveaways. The CWS-CARES Project will conduct a 90-minute Breakout Session and multiple demonstration viewings. Participants will have an opportunity to learn more about CWS-CARES and ask questions to Project leadership. We hope to see you there! 

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Share Your Feedback and Subscribe

Thank you for following our progress! Share your feedback on this CWS-CARES Weekly Digest here: CWS-CARES Weekly Digest Feedback Form. Subscribe to future issues here: CWS-CARES Weekly Digest Subscription Form. 

Action Required

We request that all CARES Single Point of Contacts (SPOCs) and Implementation Coordinators coordinate and distribute the CARES Weekly Digest to all staff impacted by CWS-CARES, at their discretion. 

CARES SPOCs, Implementation Coordinators, OCM Coordinators, County Leadership, Tribe Leadership, Probation Leadership, and State Leadership:

CARES Explorer Newsletter – September 2025

We are pleased to present the September 2025 issue of the CARES Explorer, the long‑form newsletter published each quarter! For the best experience, please open the link using the Microsoft Edge browser. This issue includes the following article topics:

Project Updates: Read a message from the director of Product and get the latest details and a sneak peek into the October 2025 Stakeholder Briefing Agenda.

Explore CWS-CARES: Learn about upcoming testing periods for CWS-CARES, information and document sharing between CWS-CARES and CalSAWS, and changes to Optimistic Concurrency in CWS‑CARES. Discover what to expect for Resource Family Approval (RFA) in CWS-CARES and the new External Systems resources available on the CWDS website.

Implementation Corner: Read about how the San Luis Obispo OCM team uses creativity to build excitement for CWS-CARES, and the latest statistics from the CWS-CARES Pop-Up Shop. Also, included is an update on the first user group in the CWS-CARES Sandbox.

We recommend that you share this newsletter at your discretion with staff that are impacted by the changes coming with CWS-CARES. You may also obtain all previous 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.

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Stakeholder Briefing #4 – Reminder to Register

Register now for Stakeholder Briefing #4 on Wednesday, October 22, 2025, at 10AM – 12PM. All stakeholders are invited to attend this webinar to hear an update on the CWS-CARES Project. Registration is required to attend.

All webinar materials, including a recording of the session, slides, and Q&A document, will be available on the CWDS website after the session. View page 3 of the September 2025 CARES Explorer for more information on Stakeholder Briefing #4.

We look forward to your participation!

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Thank you for Shopping! The Pop-Up Shop is Now Closed

Thank you to everyone who ordered from the CWS-CARES Pop-Up Shop! The first shop closed on September 26, 2025, with thousands of items ordered. We are thrilled by the participation from counties and organizations across the state! We are confident these items will build excitement and enthusiasm for CWS-CARES. Check out page 6 of the September CARES Explorer for more information and statistics on the most popular items from the Pop-Up Shop.

The next Pop-Up Shop is planned for March 2026 and will feature a new selection of branded items. If you have future item suggestions, please fill out the survey: CWS-CARES Pop-Up Shop: Merch Ideas.

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CWS-CARES is Coming to the 2025 CWDA Conference!

The CWS-CARES Project is excited to participate in the annual CWDA Conference on October 8-10, 2025, in Santa Clara. Visit our booth to connect with the team, explore resources, and pick up giveaways. The CWS-CARES Project will conduct a 90-minute Breakout Session and multiple demonstration viewings. Participants will have an opportunity to learn more about CWS-CARES and ask questions to Project leadership. We hope to see you there!

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Reminder: The CWS‑CARES Public Library

The CWS-CARES Public Library is designed to provide you with quick and easy access to articles about CWS‑CARES Product Features, Service Areas, Milestones, Teams & Roles, Data & Interfaces, and other important topics covered in the Explorer newsletter. On the CWS-CARES Public Library page, you can search by keyword or browse articles by category. Click on any article title to view the full text on its own page. No login is needed to access the articles; feel free to share these with your team!

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Share Your Feedback and Subscribe

Thank you for following our progress! Share your feedback on this CWS-CARES Weekly Digest here: CWS-CARES Weekly Digest Feedback Form. Subscribe to future issues here: CWS-CARES Weekly Digest Subscription Form. 

Action Required

We request that all CARES Single Point of Contacts (SPOCs) and Implementation Coordinators coordinate and distribute the CARES Weekly Digest to all staff impacted by CWS-CARES, at their discretion. 

CWDS Customer Relations

CWS_CustRel@otsi.ca.gov

CARES SPOCs, Implementation Coordinators, OCM Coordinators, County Leadership, Tribe Leadership, Probation Leadership, and State Leadership:

An important goal for CWS-CARES is to improve the efficiency of forms and document management for workers. CWS-CARES supports each organization's unique forms and document needs by accommodating county-specific templates created in both Microsoft Word and Adobe Experience Manager (AEM). 

Because AEM is a new tool for many organizations, the project team recommends using Microsoft Word for creating county-specific templates. Using it will save time and make the transition easier since most counties are already familiar with Word and have existing templates in that format.

While creating forms in AEM will still be an option, using Microsoft Word may be a more efficient way for counties and organizations to prepare their priority forms for CARES V1.

Important Forms Updates and Resources

• All counties have been given an inventory of their county‑specific forms which are available in CWS/CMS. ​
• The ‘CARES Forms Tracker’ is available in the CARES Forms Workgroup Microsoft Teams channel. The tracker contains all state forms for CARES V1 development. ​If you do not already have access, please contact the CARES Forms Workgroup at otsicwdscaresforms@otsi.ca.gov.
• A new environment, CARES102 (County Development), is available to specifically support county forms development activities. User onboarding is underway and will continue as additional users are trained and provisioned.
• Do you need help with forms management? The CARES Forms Workgroup can assist. Contact them at otsicwdscaresforms@otsi.ca.gov if you have any questions.

We appreciate your continued commitment to staying informed. 
 

Action Required

No action required.