Production Simulation

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

As part of ongoing readiness efforts for the December 7, 2026, CWS-CARES V1 Go-Live, the Project will refresh the CWS-CARES Production Simulation (CARES100) environment to provide users with more current converted data and additional system fixes for continued validation.

Prod Sim (CARES100) Data Refresh

Prod Sim (CARES100) will be temporarily unavailable from October 7–18 while the Project completes the data refresh and related environment activities. During this period, Training (CARES104) and County Dev (CARES102) will remain available to users with existing access.

When Prod Sim (CARES100) reopens on October 19, users will have access to converted data as of September 20, 2026, including Sealed and Sensitive data, along with additional code and data fixes. The refreshed environment will provide users with more current data and functionality to support continued validation closer to CARES V1 Go-Live.

As part of the refresh, prior Prod Sim (CARES100) data will be overwritten, including user-created and interface-driven data, and replaced with updated converted data from legacy systems and interfaces. Users can begin new validation activities with converted and new test data when Prod Sim (CARES100) reopens. Separate guidance will be provided to administrators regarding user permissions associated with the refresh.

The Snowflake database will also be refreshed with the converted data as of September 20, 2026, including Sealed and Sensitive data and conversion data fixes that were previously not applied. County Developers and Data Extract partners will have access to continue extract development, Tableau Report development, and validation using the refreshed data.

CalSAWS Refresh

The CalSAWS data refresh beginning September 24 at 5:00 PM will clear existing CARES-to-CalSAWS links. CalSAWS will be available again beginning September 28, allowing users to test new cases and new transactions through October 6. Prod Sim (CARES100) will be unavailable beginning October 7 its data refresh, so end-to-end CARES-to-CalSAWS validation will pause until Prod Sim (CARES100) reopens on October 19.

From September 28 through October 6, counties should not manually link cases converted from the CWS/CMS in Prod Sim (CARES100). Manually linked cases could disrupt the final automated case-linking process and the creation of baseline eligibility transmission (EAT) records. These baseline records will prevent a large legacy data transmission after CARES V1 Go-Live.

After the Prod Sim (CARES100) refresh, cases between CARES and CalSAWS will be relinked, allowing counties to validate transactions using refreshed records, including AAP, Kin-GAP, and foster care transactions.

Prod Sim (CARES100) Deployment Plan after Data Refresh 

Weekly code and data fix deployments and Prod Sim (CARES100) support will continue through November 20. As the Project moves into final Go-Live stabilization, only critical and high-priority defects will continue to be addressed; other identified defects may be planned for post-Go-Live resolution. User access to Prod Sim (CARES100) will continue.

Key Dates

• September 24: CalSAWS data refresh; existing CARES-to-CalSAWS links will be eliminated
• September 28 – October 6: CalSAWS will be available, allowing users to test new cases and new transactions; counties should not manually link cases converted from CWS/CMS during this period
• September 28: Final planned Prod Sim (CARES100) weekly deployment before the refresh
• October 7–18: Prod Sim (CARES100) temporarily unavailable; Training (CARES104) and County Dev (CARES102) environments remain available
• October 19: Prod Sim (CARES100) reopens with refreshed data and approximately 2–3 weeks of accumulated code and data fixes
• November 20: Prod Sim (CARES100) support ends; user access to the environment will continue, but no additional code or data fixes will be deployed to this environment
• December 3 at 5:00 PM CWS/CMS becomes Read Only
• December 7: CWS-CARES V1 Go-Live

Additional information will be shared as details are finalized.

Thank you for your continued partnership and participation in CWS-CARES readiness activities.

Please contact the Customer Relations mailbox for questions.

Action Required

Please continue validating in Prod Sim (CARES100) and reporting identified issues throughout the remaining Production Simulation period. During the Prod Sim (CARES100) refresh, users may continue applicable validation and training activities in Training (CARES104) and County Dev (CARES102) environments.

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Security Protocols for Prod Sim Case Data

The Prod Sim environment contains converted CWS/CMS cases reflecting actual system data as of April 17, 2026. Because this includes real, sensitive Personally Identifiable Information (PII), all case information must be strictly protected or redacted.

To protect CWS-CARES case data, please follow these important security guidelines when working with our support teams:

• Redact Ticket Info: Do not send Protected Health Information (PHI), PII, or confidential case details to the Service Desk via email or ticket. Sensitive and confidential data cannot be stored in the ticketing system.
• Secure Screen Shares: During support-requested screen shares, limit attendees to essential personnel only. Recording of sensitive information is strictly prohibited.
• Consult for Tier 3 Transfers: If Tier 3 support needs sensitive data, use secure transmission methods. Contact your county Privacy Officer or the CWDS ISO if you need assistance with secure routing.

We appreciate your dedication to protecting the safety and privacy of vulnerable children and families while we work together to support your needs.

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

Please note that the regular CWS-CARES Production Simulation (CARES100) maintenance window will be extended by 4 hours this weekend to conduct a Disaster Recovery (DR) exercise immediately following the planned outage.

Updated Outage Window:

• Start: Friday, September 18, 2026 at 5PM PST
• End: Saturday, September 19, 2026 at 12PM PST

Purpose of the Disaster Recovery Exercise

Immediately following the regular maintenance window, the CWS-CARES technical team will conduct a comprehensive DR exercise. This exercise validates overall DR capabilities — verifying that failover and recovery procedures work as intended, systems can be brought back online, and that recovery time can be met in the event of a major disruption such as a power outage, hardware failure, cyber incident, or natural disaster.

County Opportunities to Participate

This DR exercise is targeted. Participation is limited to a pre-selected group of county users who have already been contacted and coordinated with directly. No further action or testing involvement is required from other county teams during this window.

We acknowledge that this extension reduces system access, and we appreciate your support in coordinating around this time to minimize impacts on staff.

Thank you for your partnership as we complete this critical exercise to ensure long-term system stability and data protection for California's child welfare operations.

Please contact the Customer Relations mailbox for questions.

Please share this communication with your staff that are impacted by this information.

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Security Protocols for Prod Sim Case Data

The Prod Sim environment contains converted CWS/CMS cases reflecting actual system data as of April 17, 2026. Because this includes real, sensitive Personally Identifiable Information (PII), all case information must be strictly protected or redacted.

To protect CWS-CARES case data, please follow these important security guidelines when working with our support teams:

• Redact Ticket Info: Do not send Protected Health Information (PHI), PII, or confidential case details to the Service Desk via email or ticket. Sensitive and confidential data cannot be stored in the ticketing system.
• Secure Screen Shares: During support-requested screen shares, limit attendees to essential personnel only. Recording of sensitive information is strictly prohibited.
• Consult for Tier 3 Transfers: If Tier 3 support needs sensitive data, use secure transmission methods. Contact your county Privacy Officer or the CWDS ISO if you need assistance with secure routing.

Please contact the Customer Relations mailbox for questions.

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

We are sharing important details regarding automatic system notification emails from the CWS-CARES Production Simulation environment (CARES100) and how this functionality may impact your staff.

Email Notification Schedule:

1. Email notifications start September 14 through September 18. Users may start receiving CWS-CARES emails as early as September 12 as the feature is enabled during the release window.
2. Email volume will be monitored through September 18. Based on system activity and feedback, automated emails may remain enabled through September 25 or longer.
3. Users with an assigned role in the Production Simulation (CARES100) environment may receive email notifications from CWS-CARES even if they are not actively logging in or participating in Prod Sim activities. 
4. Please continue to consolidate details at the county level and submit findings and observations regarding email volume and functionality through the appropriate Regional Tiered Support channel.
5. Further communications will be shared if these dates change.

Automated Email Triggers

While outgoing emails to external parties remain blocked, county users should expect potential automated system notification generated by Prod Sim (CARES100) activities. Common scenarios include:

1. Assignment Updates: Notifications sent to workers or supervisors when primary or secondary assignment change.
2. Approval Requests: Notifications triggered when a supervisor’s approval is requested.
3. Task Assignments: System alerts generated for newly assigned tasks with an upcoming due date.
4. RFA Portal or FFPSA Portal Account Activation: Welcome emails containing first-time login and password setup instructions sent when new user accounts are created.

Recognizing & Verifying CWS-CARES Emails

To help staff distinguish simulation emails, here are details on the messages:

1. Emails will display the CWS-CARES logo with a red banner stating “Sandbox Not a live System.” as depicted in the picture: 
   Email Alert Message.pdf
2. The subject line will begin with “Sandbox:” and arrive from one of these addresses:

1. • no-reply@cares.cwds.ca.gov
   • no-reply-test@cares.cwds.ca.gov
   • noreply@salesforce.com

3. System emails may include direct links to CWS-CARES records. If staff are uncertain about an email’s authenticity, they are not required to click the link and can instead log in to CWS-CARES directly and locate the record using its identifier.
4. Staff who prefer to configure personal email filtering rules must set them up individually per local county guidelines.

If you or your staff have questions or need to verify an email from CWS-CARES, please reach out through your Regional Tiered Support channel. Thank you for your continued partnership and support.

Please contact the Customer Relations mailbox for questions.

Action Required

Please share this communication with your staff that are impacted by this information.

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Security Protocols for Prod Sim Case Data

The Prod Sim environment contains converted CWS/CMS cases reflecting actual system data as of April 17, 2026. Because this includes real, sensitive Personally Identifiable Information (PII), all case information must be strictly protected or redacted.

To protect CWS-CARES case data, please follow these important security guidelines when working with our support teams:

• Redact Ticket Info: Do not send Protected Health Information (PHI), PII, or confidential case details to the Service Desk via email or ticket. Sensitive and confidential data cannot be stored in the ticketing system.
• Secure Screen Shares: During support-requested screen shares, limit attendees to essential personnel only. Recording of sensitive information is strictly prohibited.
• Consult for Tier 3 Transfers: If Tier 3 support needs sensitive data, use secure transmission methods. Contact your county Privacy Officer or the CWDS ISO if you need assistance with secure routing.

We appreciate your dedication to protecting the safety and privacy of vulnerable children and families while we work together to support your needs.

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

Please join the Project Team for a CWS-CARES Production Simulation Kickoff Meeting for Resource Family Approval (RFA) and Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) portals testing. The testing period for RFA and FFPSA portals is September 14 to September 25.

This optional meeting will introduce the purpose of portal testing, user expectations, how to access and test the portals, and support available. All RFA and FFPSA testers are encouraged to attend. The meeting will be recorded and shared with users on the CWS-CARES Production Simulation Hub.

All meetings will share identical content. You should only plan to attend one meeting:

• Meeting Option 1: Wednesday, September 9, 2026 | 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM 
  Register now at: Option 1: CWS-CARES Production Simulation Kickoff Meeting for RFA and FFPSA Portals Testing
• Meeting Option 2: Monday, September 14, 2026 | 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM 
  Register now at: Option 2: CWS-CARES Production Simulation Kickoff Meeting for RFA and FFPSA Portals Testing

Please note that each session is limited to the first 1,000 participants. If you are unable to attend, please review the recording that will be available on the CWS-CARES Production Simulation Hub.

If accommodation is needed, please contact the CWS-CARES Production Simulation Support Mailbox as soon as possible.

Action Required:

Please share the registration links and kickoff details with all staff involved in RFA and FFPSA portal testing.

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Security Protocols for Prod Sim Case Data

The Prod Sim environment contains converted CWS/CMS cases reflecting actual system data as of April 17, 2026. Because this includes real, sensitive Personally Identifiable Information (PII), all case information must be strictly protected or redacted.

To protect CWS-CARES case data, please follow these important security guidelines when working with our support teams:

• Redact Ticket Info: Do not send Protected Health Information (PHI), PII, or confidential case details to the Service Desk via email or ticket. Sensitive and confidential data cannot be stored in the ticketing system.
• Secure Screen Shares: During support-requested screen shares, limit attendees to essential personnel only. Recording of sensitive information is strictly prohibited.
• Consult for Tier 3 Transfers: If Tier 3 support needs sensitive data, use secure transmission methods. Contact your county Privacy Officer or the CWDS ISO if you need assistance with secure routing.

We appreciate your dedication to protecting the safety and privacy of vulnerable children and families while we work together to support your needs.

County Security Administrators, System Administrators, Authorized Provisioning Leads, CARES SPOCs, Implementation Coordinators, OCM Coordinators, County Leadership, Tribe Leadership, and State Leadership:

It has come to our attention that generic, test login credentials (e.g., generic training logins, shared Prod Sim, or Training credentials) are being created or requested within the CWS-CARES Prod Sim (CARES 100) environment.

This communication serves as an official notice that the creation, use, or facilitation of unauthorized or generic accounts in any environment with production data is strictly prohibited.

Unlike legacy systems (such as CWS/CMS), CWS-CARES relies strictly on individual identity authentication for user auditing, system logging, and access control. Per the California SAM (State Administrative Manual) and SIMM (Statewide Information Management Manual) policies (SAM 5300-5, SAM 5360, NIST 80-53 Rev5 (IA-2)), every account in Prod Sim (CARES 100) or any technical environment with production data must map directly to an authorized, authentic individual.

County or office administrators must not attempt to bypass local directory integration, change automated email attributes, or establish dummy accounts to shortcut provisioning processes.

Any unauthorized, shared, or generic accounts identified in Prod Sim (CARES 100) or any technical environment with production data will be revoked immediately to protect system security and data integrity.

Required Actions for County Administrators

1. Immediately discontinue creating or requesting generic or placeholder user profiles within CARES 100 / Prod Sim.

2. Verify that all active user profiles assigned within your county or administrative scope correspond to valid, single-user identities.

3. If your county encounters onboarding delays or permission mapping issues, do not implement unauthorized workarounds. Instead, submit a ticket through the standard Tier 2 Help Desk so the project team can assist you directly.

We appreciate your prompt attention to maintaining the security standards of the CWS-CARES environment. Please reach out to the project help desk if you have any questions regarding proper provisioning workflows.

If you have questions, please contact the CWDS Information Security mailbox.

Action Requested:

Please share this communication with all staff who should be aware of these details.  

CWDS Customer Relations

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

Please be advised that the scheduled deployment release outage for the CWS-CARES Production Simulation (CARES 100) and DC Val (CARES 105) environments this weekend has been extended beyond its normal timeframe. Please note that this additional time — from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. — will allow us to deliver long-awaited new features and functionality for counties and organizations.

Updated Outage Schedule:

• Environment: Production Simulation (CARES 100) and DC Val (CARES 105)
• Outage Start: Friday, August 28, 2026 at 5:00 PM
• Estimated End: Saturday, August 29, 2026 at 2:00 PM

We are aware that several counties may have specifically planned and scheduled weekend work within these environments. We sincerely apologize for the significant inconvenience and disruption this extended downtime will cause to them. Our technical teams are working diligently to complete this release and restore full access as quickly as possible.

Please contact the Customer Relations mailbox for questions.

Action Required: 

Please share this communication with staff who utilize these environments, so they are aware.

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

Please be aware that CalSAWS experienced a brief outage yesterday, Wednesday, August 19, between 2:00 PM and 2:40 PM PDT, to complete an emergency deployment for a critical defect.

If your staff were active in CWS-CARES Production Simulation (CARES 100) during this window and attempted to submit transactions to and from CalSAWS, please advise them to review their recent activity and follow the steps below:

• Transactions Marked "Successful" in CWS-CARES but Missing in CalSAWS: If a transaction sent between 2:00 PM and 2:40 PM shows as successful in CWS-CARES but has not appeared in CalSAWS, please log a CalSAWS finding.

• Transactions Marked "Failed" in CWS-CARES: If any transaction submitted during this window is showing as failed on CWS-CARES, please re-submit the transaction.

We appreciate your patience as we work to ensure data consistency across system environments.

Please contact the Customer Relations mailbox for questions.

Action Required

Please share this communication with staff who utilize these environments, so they are aware.

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

To continually improve system performance and resolve known issues, we are establishing a weekly maintenance and update schedule for the CWS- CARES Production Simulation (Prod Sim) - CARES100 and Data Conversion Validation (DCVal) - CARES105 environments.

Please review the schedule and potential system impacts below:

Weekly Maintenance Schedule 

• Start Time: Every Friday starting at 5:00 PM 
• Code Deployment & Testing: Scheduled to be completed by Saturday at 8:00 AM 
• Data Fixes: If urgent data updates are required, they may be processed throughout the day on Saturday, depending on priority. 
• Please Note: This standard weekly maintenance window specifically applies to the CARES100 and CARES105 environments. If updates are required for any other CWS-CARES environments, we will communicate their specific schedules and system availability details when they are determined. 

What to Expect (System Impacts) 

While the CARES100 and CARES105 environments will remain accessible, you may experience minor performance impacts during this Friday night to Saturday maintenance window, including: 

• Slower system response times. 
• Intermittent issues with search functionality. 
• To keep users informed, a system banner will be displayed in the environments starting every Thursday to alert counties of the maintenance window. This banner will be removed once the maintenance is complete. 

We appreciate your patience and cooperation as we work to keep our systems running smoothly and efficiently.  

Action Required

Please share this communication with staff who utilize these environments so they are aware of the weekly maintenance schedule and potential system impacts. 

Security Protocols for Prod Sim Case Data

The Prod Sim environment contains converted CWS/CMS cases reflecting actual system data as of April 17, 2026. Because this includes real, sensitive (Personally Identifiable Information (PII), all case information must be strictly protected or redacted.

To protect CWS-CARES case data, please follow these important security guidelines when working with our support teams:

• Redact Ticket Info: Do not send Protected Health Information (PHI), PII, or confidential case details to the Service Desk via email or ticket. Sensitive and confidential data cannot be stored in the ticketing system.
• Secure Screen Shares: During support-requested screen shares, limit attendees to essential personnel only. Recording of sensitive information is strictly prohibited.
• Consult for Tier 3 Transfers: If Tier 3 support needs sensitive data, use secure transmission methods. Contact your county Privacy Officer or the CWDS ISO if you need assistance with secure routing.

We appreciate your dedication to protecting the safety and privacy of vulnerable children and families while we work together to support your needs.

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

This is the July 6 update regarding the CWS-CARES Production Simulation (Prod Sim) and additional updates as we track toward our CWS-CARES Version 1 Go-Live on October 26, 2026.

Attached to this post are two linked documents:

1. How to Access & Self-Enroll in Enablement Guide

2. The CWS-CARES Prod Sim and Environment Status document

The How to Access & Self-Enroll in Enablement Guide explains how to sign up for CWS-CARES training. Non Train-the-Trainer (TTT) users should follow their role-based learning path, and consult their county training coordinator if needed. TTT users will receive separate communication soon regarding their specific Enablement programs.

The CWS-CARES Prod Sim and Environment Status is a detailed document outlining the current capabilities, limitations, and system status as of July 6 for CWS-CARES Prod Sim and other environments. This resource is designed to provide clarity on what to expect, what has changed, and how to understand the current system behavior.

Please note that the attachment is a living document. We will refresh this framework regularly, with the next update scheduled for August 4.

The CWS-CARES Prod Sim and Environment Status document covers:

Prod Sim

1. Prod Sim (CARES100) Revised Onboarding Approach: The onboarding approach is revised with all users being added to the CWS-CARES Prod Sim environment in phases between July 6th and July 16th. Individual counties have full control over their participants and the timing of their Prod Sim activities.

2. CWS-CARES Support and Data Security Protocols: To protect the case data in the Prod Sim environment, users must strictly redact PII/PHI from support tickets, prohibit screenshots or recordings during screen shares, and utilize secure transmission methods for all data transfers.

3. CWS-CARES Prod Sim Support Options: Support is available for system usage, technical issues, and feedback through daily Microsoft Teams office hours, regional clinics, and dedicated weekday email channels across six regions.

4. Known & Expected Issues, Current System Behavior: Highlights of known and expected issues, and current system behaviors users might encounter, focusing primarily on data-related issues.

5. Resolved Issues: A summary of resolved bugs and defects. Users should report these if any unexpected behavior persists within these specific areas.

6. Open/Reported Issues, Capabilities Not Available on July 6: A generalized overview of current Prod Sim issues classified by subject area; please note this does not represent the entirety of all reported active issues.

7. Forms Status: A dedicated status update on the readiness and functionality of project forms.

Environment Specifications 

• We are sharing information on the current operational status and specifications of the CWS-CARES environments including configuration, data sets, access rights, and feature availability.

We acknowledge how critical this information is to your planning, and we remain fully committed to partnering with you to ensure a smooth transition. We will continue to keep you informed with our next update scheduled for August 4. Thank you for your ongoing commitment to preparing your teams for the V1 Go-Live.

Action Required

No action is required.

Please contact Customer Relations for questions.

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

As previously noted on the login page banner earlier this week, the CWS-CARES Production Simulation (Prod Sim) environment (CARES100) will be temporarily unavailable due to scheduled system maintenance. Here are the outage details:

Start Time: Thursday, July 2 at 5:00 PM

End Time: Monday, July 6 at 8:00 AM

During this time, users will not be able to log in or access the environment. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your patience as we complete these necessary system updates.

Action Required

No action is required.