All Pilot County RFA Implementation Coordinators and SPOCs:
September 5, 2024 UPDATE: The CWS-CARES team has pushed back the timeframe for the scheduled maintenance activity for the CWS-CARES Resource Family Approval (RFA) Application Submission, Review, and Approval Process for tonight, Thursday, September 5, 2024. It will now begin at 6:00 PM and conclude at 10:00 PM.
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The CWS-CARES team has scheduled maintenance activity for the CWS-CARES production environment for Thursday, September 5, 2024, beginning at 5:00 PM and concluding at 9:00 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 generation functionality will not be available.
Action Required
No action required for 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.
Update
CWS-CARES Release 0.14 Production Release
All SPOCs and Technical Contacts:
EFFECTIVE September 18, 2024, CWS-CARES RELEASE 0.14 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 September 18, 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 0.14:
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 0.14 on September 18, 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:
RFA Pilot County users review new features in the CWS-CARES Production Environment after September 19, 2024.
All Release Notes, including information for this release once available, can be found here: RFA Application Process Release Notes and Interim Processes
EFFECTIVE September 18, 2024, CWS-CARES RELEASE 0.14 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 September 18, 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 0.14:
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 0.14 on September 18, 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
RFA Pilot County users review new features in the CWS-CARES Production Environment after September 19, 2024.
All Release Notes, including information for this release once available, can be found here: RFA Application Process Release Notes and Interim Processes
CWS/CMS: R9.4 - IN11723987 Issue - RESOLVED
All SPOCs and Technical Contacts:
September 3, 2024 UPDATE: The IBM team implemented the fix for incident ticket IN11723987 in production on Saturday, August 31, morning as scheduled. The implementation was successful with no issues. If a county continues to experience an issue, please contact the IBM Help Desk at 800-428-8268 for assistance.
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An issue has been discovered with the Release 9.4 code that went live on Saturday, August 17. When searching for a Service Provider, if the user selects the 'Search Blank Names Only' check box, no results are being returned.
As a workaround, unchecking the 'Search Blank Names Only' check box will show all results, including those with blank names, which will appear at the top.
The code issue has been identified, and IBM is working on a fix. The fix is planned to be implemented on Saturday, August 31 at 10:00 AM and will be implemented in the background with no outage or impact to end users.
Action Required
No action is needed from county technical staff to implement this update.
CWS/CMS
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.
September 3, 2024 UPDATE: The IBM team implemented the fix for incident ticket IN11723987 in production on Saturday, August 31, morning as scheduled. The implementation was successful with no issues. If a county continues to experience an issue, please contact the IBM Help Desk at 800-428-8268 for assistance.
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An issue has been discovered with the Release 9.4 code that went live on Saturday, August 17. When searching for a Service Provider, if the user selects the 'Search Blank Names Only' check box, no results are being returned.
As a workaround, unchecking the 'Search Blank Names Only' check box will show all results, including those with blank names, which will appear at the top.
The code issue has been identified, and IBM is working on a fix. The fix is planned to be implemented on Saturday, August 31 at 10:00 AM and will be implemented in the background with no outage or impact to end users.
Action Required
No action is needed from county technical staff to implement this update.
CWS/CMS
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-CARES Scheduled Outage - UPDATE
Santa Clara County RFA Implementation Coordinators and SPOCs:
August 28, 2024 UPDATE: During the Hyperforce Migration on August 23, 2024, it was identified that Santa Clara County RFA users were having issues connecting to the CWS-CARES Resource Family Approval (RFA) Application Submission, Review and Approval Process. The CWS-CARES project team is actively working with Santa Clara County technical personnel to resolve this issue as quickly as possible. More details will be shared as soon as they become available.
Action Required:
No action is required for Santa Clara County RFA users. More details will be shared as soon as they become available.
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The CWS-CARES team has scheduled maintenance activity for the CWS-CARES production environment for Friday, August 23, 2024, beginning at 5:00 PM and concluding at 11:00 PM. During this maintenance window, the CWS-CARES Resource Family Approval (RFA) Application Submission, Review, and Approval Process will be inaccessible for the pilot counties of Contra Costa, Fresno, Placer, and Santa Clara.
Action Required
No action required for end-users is needed 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.
August 28, 2024 UPDATE: During the Hyperforce Migration on August 23, 2024, it was identified that Santa Clara County RFA users were having issues connecting to the CWS-CARES Resource Family Approval (RFA) Application Submission, Review and Approval Process. The CWS-CARES project team is actively working with Santa Clara County technical personnel to resolve this issue as quickly as possible. More details will be shared as soon as they become available.
Action Required:
No action is required for Santa Clara County RFA users. More details will be shared as soon as they become available.
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The CWS-CARES team has scheduled maintenance activity for the CWS-CARES production environment for Friday, August 23, 2024, beginning at 5:00 PM and concluding at 11:00 PM. During this maintenance window, the CWS-CARES Resource Family Approval (RFA) Application Submission, Review, and Approval Process will be inaccessible for the pilot counties of Contra Costa, Fresno, Placer, and Santa Clara.
Action Required
No action required for end-users is needed 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.
CWS/CMS: Business Intelligence County Access Data – Upgrade to CAD BOBJ 4.3 – UPDATE
All SPOCs, Technical Contacts, and CAD Contacts:
August 22 - UPDATE: The CAD BOBJ 4.3 Sandbox Test Environment is currently down and not completely upgraded. The CWDS teams are working on a resolution. Additional updates will be sent out as new information is received.
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July 26, 2024 - REMINDER: The upgrade to County Access Data (CAD) - CAD BOBJ 4.3 will take place on September 14, 2024. The Business Intelligence (BI) team will provide a demo on Thursday, August 8, from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM, and a Sandbox environment will be available from Friday, August 9, through Friday, September 13. Please see the details below to ensure you have your County CAD ID.
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July 9, 2024 - REMINDER: This is a reminder of the upgrade to CAD BOBJ 4.3 on September 14, 2024. The Business Intelligence (BI) team will provide a demo of the updated version on Thursday, August 8, from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM, and a Sandbox environment will be available from Friday, August 9, through Friday, September 13. Please see the additional details below. As an additional update, the Demo will not be recorded due to privacy guidelines.
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June 13, 2024: 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:
August 22 - UPDATE: The CAD BOBJ 4.3 Sandbox Test Environment is currently down and not completely upgraded. The CWDS teams are working on a resolution. Additional updates will be sent out as new information is received.
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July 26, 2024 - REMINDER: The upgrade to County Access Data (CAD) - CAD BOBJ 4.3 will take place on September 14, 2024. The Business Intelligence (BI) team will provide a demo on Thursday, August 8, from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM, and a Sandbox environment will be available from Friday, August 9, through Friday, September 13. Please see the details below to ensure you have your County CAD ID.
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July 9, 2024 - REMINDER: This is a reminder of the upgrade to CAD BOBJ 4.3 on September 14, 2024. The Business Intelligence (BI) team will provide a demo of the updated version on Thursday, August 8, from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM, and a Sandbox environment will be available from Friday, August 9, through Friday, September 13. Please see the additional details below. As an additional update, the Demo will not be recorded due to privacy guidelines.
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June 13, 2024: 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.
- Location: Child Welfare Digital Services (ca.gov) >County Info (TAB)> County Contacts>(Select) your county>(Scroll down to find your) ‘CAD Contact’
- You can locate your County CAD list of contacts on the CWDS website.
- If your County CAD Contact is unavailable, contact IBM, Chris Lovejoy at Chris.Lovejoy@osi.ca.gov, or the CWS Operations Team at cwsoperationsteam@osi.ca.gov
- 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: Major Incident Status – Unable to Authenticate to VPN - RESOLVED
All SPOCs and Technical Contacts:
The California Department of Technology (CDT) reported a major incident, Virtual Private Network (VPN) users were unable to authenticate connectivity. CDT is investigating the issue.
CDT has since reported that the issue has been resolved. The CWDS Infrastructure Team and IBM are testing to confirm that the issue has been fixed. However, if new reports are received of continuing issues with VPN, we will send out an update with the revised status.
Action Required
If users experience any issues with CWS/CMS or with using VPN, please follow your county process for reporting issues or you may contact the IBM Boulder Help Desk at 1-800-428-8268.
The California Department of Technology (CDT) reported a major incident, Virtual Private Network (VPN) users were unable to authenticate connectivity. CDT is investigating the issue.
CDT has since reported that the issue has been resolved. The CWDS Infrastructure Team and IBM are testing to confirm that the issue has been fixed. However, if new reports are received of continuing issues with VPN, we will send out an update with the revised status.
Action Required
If users experience any issues with CWS/CMS or with using VPN, please follow your county process for reporting issues or you may contact the IBM Boulder Help Desk at 1-800-428-8268.
CWDS Website Update
All SPOCS, Technical Contacts and Training Contacts:
Due to a State requirement, the CWDS Website will be migrating to a new website template. The look of the CWDS Website pages, including the CWDS Portals, will appear different; however, the content of the site will not change. There are a few visual differences with the new template (see sample screenshots below):
Due to a State requirement, the CWDS Website will be migrating to a new website template. The look of the CWDS Website pages, including the CWDS Portals, will appear different; however, the content of the site will not change. There are a few visual differences with the new template (see sample screenshots below):
- Website pages will have a blue banner at the top of the page content
- Font type and sizes have been adjusted to comply to the State template
- CWDS Portals link will be moved to the Main Navigation Bar
The updated CWDS Website will go live on September 2, 2024. For questions regarding this change, please contact Customer Relations.
Action Required
None at this time.
Action Required
None at this time.
Reports of Outages impacting CWS/CMS Application - RESOLVED
All SPOCs and Technical Contacts:
August 2, 2024 UPDATE: The cause of yesterday’s CWS/CMS outage was found and fixed. A network interface located at the Gold Camp data center was faulty. It was repaired around 9:00 PM last night.
The issue has been resolved and connectivity to the CWS/CMS application is expected to be fully restored. If a county continues to experience an issue with connecting to CWS/CMS, please contact the IBM Help Desk at 800-428-8268 for assistance.
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The CWDS Office has received multiple reports of an outage impacting the CWS/CMS application. The CWDS teams are working with the California Department of Technology (CDT) on a resolution. Additional updates will be sent out as new information is received.
Action Required
CWS/CMS
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.
August 2, 2024 UPDATE: The cause of yesterday’s CWS/CMS outage was found and fixed. A network interface located at the Gold Camp data center was faulty. It was repaired around 9:00 PM last night.
The issue has been resolved and connectivity to the CWS/CMS application is expected to be fully restored. If a county continues to experience an issue with connecting to CWS/CMS, please contact the IBM Help Desk at 800-428-8268 for assistance.
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The CWDS Office has received multiple reports of an outage impacting the CWS/CMS application. The CWDS teams are working with the California Department of Technology (CDT) on a resolution. Additional updates will be sent out as new information is received.
Action Required
CWS/CMS
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-CARES Holistic Design Update
We are following up on the June 19th announcement regarding CWS-CARES holistic design. We know that many of you are interested in learning more about how this approach will impact you and your staff.
Here’s a quick recap:
The October 2026 Go-Live date and scope is not changing.
We are launching a more holistic approach to improve the user experience and deliver CWS-CARES Version 1 (V1).
Highlights
Here’s a quick recap:
The October 2026 Go-Live date and scope is not changing.
We are launching a more holistic approach to improve the user experience and deliver CWS-CARES Version 1 (V1).
Highlights
- Increased opportunities for user feedback and an enhanced user experience
- Users will provide feedback earlier with the holistic design process, in addition to Extended User Scenario Testing (EUST).
- Starting in September 2024, Core Constituents will be able to view a pre-built product in Salesforce that more closely resembles the final product. This preview is a new step that allows users to evaluate the design, give feedback, and identify potential improvements.
- Product reviews now include multiple scenarios for process validation that will cover several related processes. Previously, reviews of individual processes were conducted separately. By reviewing a group of connected processes, participants will be able to see how smaller steps fit into a larger workflow.
- Better user feedback visibility and traceability
- The product review feedback will be captured and tracked for traceability.
- We are implementing a new way for Core Constituents and users to locate and monitor their feedback and each other’s feedback from inception to disposition.
- Adjustments to upcoming Extended User Scenario Testing (EUST) phases
- There are four EUSTs (previously three).
- EUST 1 is complete. EUST 2 begins in March 2025, EUST 3 begins in February 2026 with a duration of six weeks (previously four weeks), and EUST 4 begins in May 2026 with End-to-End testing for the entire CWS-CARES Version 1 scope.
- We would like to include a larger group of participants in all upcoming EUSTs (2, 3, and 4) to gain insights from a wider range of users and include other counties in addition to Core Constituents.
- Attached is the updated calendar of CWS-CARES Core Constituent meetings. Participants will receive Outlook meeting invitations for all sessions through the month of September. This calendar is point-in-time and subject to change; we will share schedules at least one month in advance of upcoming meetings.
- We believe this shift towards holistic design will be instrumental in creating a better user experience. We're eager to embark on this journey together and integrate this approach into many aspects of our work.
- If you have any questions, please contact Customer Relations.
CWS/CMS: CDT Service Desk Bulletin – Statistical Analysis Software (SAS) Upgrade
All Identified SAS Users in Specific Organizations:
The California Department of Technology (CDT) has scheduled an upgrade to the Statistical Analysis Software (SAS) on Sunday, August 4, 2024, beginning at 6:00 PM and concluding at 7:00 PM. During the upgrade window, SAS will not be available to users.
Action Required
Reschedule SAS reports if they conflict with the scheduled SAS upgrade window.
If users experience any issues with CWS/CMS or with SAS reports, please follow your county process for reporting issues or you may contact the IBM Boulder Help Desk at 1-800-428-8268.
The California Department of Technology (CDT) has scheduled an upgrade to the Statistical Analysis Software (SAS) on Sunday, August 4, 2024, beginning at 6:00 PM and concluding at 7:00 PM. During the upgrade window, SAS will not be available to users.
Action Required
Reschedule SAS reports if they conflict with the scheduled SAS upgrade window.
If users experience any issues with CWS/CMS or with SAS reports, please follow your county process for reporting issues or you may contact the IBM Boulder Help Desk at 1-800-428-8268.
If unable to find a specific Bulletin, please contact Communications.