Frequently Asked Questions
Case Management
Q: Can contact notes and observed conditions be documented in CWS-CARES?
A: Yes. These can all be documented in CWS-CARES. Observed conditions are documented in the person health section.
Q: Is a separate contact note required when updating the Health and Education Passport (HEP)?
A: It is not required but can be added if it aligns with a county's business practice.
Q: Can multiple people work on the same case at once, and can multiple cases be open at the same time?
A: Yes, multiple cases can be open at one time, organized by workspace tabs. More than one person can work in a case at the same time, as long as they are not working on the same record simultaneously — for example, one user can enter a placement while another enters a contact note.
Q: If parents retain education rights, will that be captured in the Health and Education Passport (HEP)?
A: Yes. There is a section in the Person Profile Education record to capture the education rights holder, and this is reflected in the Health and Education Passport (HEP). The section allows the user to document education decision information related to education rights, developmental rights, or both, including the representative's name, court order date, and relationship to the child.
Q: Will CWS-CARES include Medi-Cal eligibility information?
A: Yes. A health insurance section is part of the Person Profile for the focus child. Users can document the type of insurance — Medi-Cal, Medicaid, Mental Health, Health Insurance Coverage, Prescription Drug Coverage, or no coverage — along with details such as provider name, policy holder name, policy number, and date of issuance.
Q: Is there a group at the State level providing feedback on the health section of CWS-CARES?
A: The Case Management team worked with case management constituent counties to gather input on pain points for documenting health and education information in CWS/CMS, and also received documentation from prior public health workgroups. The team is reviewing End User Scenario Testing (EUST) 3 feedback related to the Health and Education Passport (HEP), and all feedback provided during Production Simulation will also be reviewed for inclusion in development.
Q: Will the child's/youth's health insurance information be incorporated into CWS-CARES?
A: This is part of the Health and Education Passport (HEP) on the person profile. CWS-CARES users can capture Medi-Cal, Medicaid and other Health Insurance coverage info in ‘Health Information’ section of Person Profile.
Q: Will all community (unmatched) Resource Family Approval (RFA) applications be handled by the county child welfare department? If not, how will the system determine if the application is handled by child welfare vs probation?
A: This is a county practice issue on how they process unmatched/community applicants. CWS-CARES will allow for internal county controls to manage unmatched/community applicants. CWS-CARES will not account for unmatched/community applicants that are outsourced to external agencies.
Q: Will adoptions workers have permission to access Resource Family Approval (RFA)?
A: This will be controlled by county administrators and their delegation of permissions per county business practice.
Q: Will Person Merge functionality be available in CWS-CARES to address duplicate client or person records?
A: Yes, Person Merge functionality will be available in CWS-CARES.