Production Simulation

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.

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

We want to share an important update on the CWS-CARES Train-the-Trainer (TTT) schedule, to support county requests for more preparation time and ensure seamless training experiences. TTT will now be conducted from July 20 to August 28, 2026 (shifted from the original July 6 - August 14 timeline).

Why We Are Making the Adjustment

More Prod Sim Time: Counties need more time in the Prod Sim environment for their users to complete prerequisites and build system familiarity while data scenarios and bugs are finalized.

Improved Environment Stability: It allows time to resolve open bugs, interface readiness, and data load issues to minimize training disruptions.

Better Timing: This shortens the gap between TTT, Instructor-Led Training (ILT), and Go-Live, boosting knowledge retention. We are currently analyzing its potential impact on ILT dates.

What Is Next

CWS-CARES Training Coordinators will contact Organization Training Coordinators directly to share specific TTT dates and registration details for each organization.

Next week we will share detailed preparation steps, including prerequisites, recommended enablement program sequencing, and environment access confirmations.

Thank you for your flexibility and your continued partnership as we prepare for a successful rollout.

Action Required

If you have questions about how this impacts your training plan or prerequisites, please connect with your training coordinator or CWDS Training.

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

We are sharing an important update regarding the CWS-CARES Production Simulation (Prod Sim) and other environments as we track toward our CWS-CARES Version 1 Go-Live on October 26, 2026.

CWS-CARES Prod Sim (CARES 100) will be continuously enhanced with planned, coordinated releases leading up to the October Go-Live. The final CWS-CARES V1 Production environment will reflect the latest code deployed in Prod Sim; consequently, Prod Sim's exact features will evolve over the coming months.

A primary objective of Prod Sim is to validate system functionality in place of a traditional pilot, ensuring that the statewide deployment of CWS-CARES maintains our commitment to child safety. Prod Sim provides the most accurate, up-to-date representation of the system available. We recommend that organizations actively utilize Prod Sim to support readiness and enable staff to test and validate. Please note that while Prod Sim reflects the core design, we are continuously fixing defects ahead of launch. Detailed communications will be shared by July 6 to outline the exact features and fixes included in the V1 release versus those scheduled for post-Go-Live.

Attached to this email is a detailed document outlining the current capabilities, limitations, and system status as of June 22, 2026, 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 updates scheduled for July 6 and August 4.

The attached document covers:

Prod Sim

1. June 22^nd User Onboarding & Objectives: An overview of the June 22 Production Simulation onboarding group, their designated objectives, and the schedule for subsequent July onboarding. This includes a summary of the adjustments made to the original onboarding requests and the plan forward.
2. 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.
3. Resolved Issues: A summary of resolved bugs and defects. Users should report these if any unexpected behavior persists within these specific areas.
4. Open/Reported Issues, Capabilities Not Available on June 22: 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.
5. 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 the configuration, data sets, access rights, and feature availability.

We acknowledge how critical these environment insights are 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 July 6. 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: CWS_CustRel@otsi.ca.gov