Frequently Asked Questions
Case Management
Q: How will CWS-CARES populate user profiles — from CWS/CMS or from the probation directory?
A: For most counties, Probation workers in CWS/CMS have their own Office. Those workers will be converted from CWS/CMS to CWS-CARES into: 1) their office/unit/caseload, along with 2) the corresponding permissions.
Q: For children in Emergency Response (ER) or Intake Services (IS), will Public Health Nurse information — such as active Medi-Cal status, Geographic Managed Care (GMC) plan, assigned provider, and Benefits Identification Card (BIC) number — be available in CWS-CARES?
A: Yes, CWS-CARES will provide a location to document health insurance and service provider information. However, the CWS-CARES V1 scope does not include direct connectivity to a system that would automatically add this information to CWS-CARES.
Q: Will the Attorney-Client Log be mandatory for counties to use?
A: No. Counties are not required to maintain an Attorney-Client Log in CWS-CARES. However, it serves as a valuable tool for documenting confidential communications between County Counsel and agency personnel. Access is restricted to authorized individuals directly involved with the case (Primary, Supervisor, or Manager), and the log is protected from discovery and public records requests. This helps ensure that essential legal advice remains documented and accessible to relevant staff while maintaining confidentiality.
Q: Will CWS-CARES include any features that incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) tools?
A: There are currently no plans to incorporate AI functionality into CWS-CARES.
Q: Will CWS-CARES allow entry of extended relatives — such as great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents, aunts, and uncles — in the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) section?
A: Yes, CWS-CARES includes relationship modifiers up to the great-great-great level.
Q: Will caseworkers and supervisors receive a reminder in CARES-Live or SafeMeasures when an Integrated Practice Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (IP-CANS) assessment is due?
A: Yes. A "Reassessment Due Date" reminder will appear on the user's CANS Dashboard in CARES-Live. Users will receive this reminder when they have one month left before the six-month CANS deadline.
Q: What Financial Management functionality will be included in CARES V1, and what has been deferred to a later release?
A: The CWS-CARES V1 Scope Summary, available on the CWDS website, describes the Financial Management functionality included in V1. Functionality planned for releases beyond V1 has not yet been defined.
Q: Who will own and maintain the ERR00002 (Emergency Response Notice of Referral Disposition) form in CWS-CARES?
A: The ERR00002 (Emergency Response Notice of Referral Disposition - ERNRD) form is in development and will be ready for CWS-CARES V1. The Project will continue to maintain this form for the future.
Q: Is anything customizable in the Child and Family Team (CFT) documentation section, such as adding a section for the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) discussion?
A: Yes, in the CFT documentation section the meeting topics are customizable and have various options that can be selected, including “Other Topic”. There is also a section for meeting notes with a character limit of 5K.
Q: Where is the connection between the Child and Family Team (CFT) function and generating a Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) assessment?
A: The connection between CFT function and generating a CANS must be determined through CDSS Policy guidance and training.