Frequently Asked Questions
External Systems
Q: What progress has been made to improve the reliability and usability of form generation in WORD and AEM?
A: IBM is developing the top‑priority 2,400 county forms in Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) by mid August, and counties may create or modify forms in either format and upload them themselves. California Juvenile (JV) court forms are not allowed to be edited per JCC.
Q: What is the plan for system cutover, and how will downtime be minimized?
A: The plan for system cutover, as voted and approved by the Board of Directors on September 3, 2026, is to switch CWS/CMS to read‑only on Thursday at 5 p.m. This approach minimizes the amount of time counties operate in read‑only mode and helps reduce overall downtime. Because the cutover occurs shortly before Go‑Live, final validation and remediation are limited to one day prior, which reduces the time available for pre‑launch validation and issue resolution.
For full details, see the Important Update: CWS-CARES Go-Live Date Adjusted to December 7, 2026 communication on the CWDS website.
Q: Where can I find additional information regarding the Binti data conversion transition?
A: Additional information was released to all counties on August 31, 2026. For full details, see the Binti County Guidance Update: Contracts, 181 Report Planning, New Workshop Series and Resources – 8/31/2026 communication in the CWDS website.
Q: If there is not one statewide behavioral health system, what will P-CIS connect to?
A: Currently, California does not have a statewide behavioral health system. In partnership with Opeeka, the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) is implementing the Person-Centered Intelligence Solution (P-CIS) into CWS-CARES as an interface. Once users log in to the CWS-CARES single sign on, they will have access to P-CIS. The CWS-CARES will send the required data to generate the CANS Assessment to the P-CIS system. The assessment itself is generated, completed, and approved in P-CIS.
Q: Has there been any change to the requirements for completing Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) Assessments prior to the completion of a case plan? The timing of these assessments are a concern and potential barrier for jurisdiction, disposition, and voluntary Family Maintenance.
A: The Project is aware of this county concern and is currently working on a solution to allow case plans to be completed before a Child and Adolescent Strengths (CANS) assessment is completed.
Q: Will the California Department of Education (CDE) interface replace Foster Focus?
A: No, the California Department of Education (CDE) and Foster Focus serve different purposes. The CDE interface available in CWS-CARES V1 will not replace Foster Focus. Foster Focus is expected to continue operating after CWS-CARES Go-Live. Additionally, the Sacramento County Office of Education is leading the work on updating Foster Focus to accept new CWS-CARES Version 1 data. The CDE Interface will provide updated school (resource) data elements within CWS-CARES, similar to what is currently in CWS/CMS. This information will not include child specific school or grade level information.
Q: Who is responsible for ensuring current Resource Family Approval (RFA) caregivers in Binti counties are informed about CWS-CARES account access? What is the communication approach for informing RFA applicants that there will be a transition from Binti to CWS-CARES?
A: Approved Resource Family Homes (RFHs)/applicants with an email address associated with their Binti account will receive communications from the Project and/or county regarding the transition from Binti to CWS-CARES and any actions needed to maintain progress toward approval. As part of this transition, RFHs/applicants will receive an invitation to the RFA portal and will follow the steps to create a CWS-CARES portal account. It is expected that information previously submitted in Binti will be available to them within the CWS-CARES portal.
Q: Will out of scope external systems be built into CWS-CARES beyond CWS-CARES Version 1?
A: The scope for CWS-CARES beyond V1 has not been finalized. External systems currently identified as out of scope for CWS-CARES V1 will be reevaluated for duplicative functionality following the release of future CWS-CARES scope.
Q: If counties want to keep Binti in read-only mode beyond April 2027 for data clean-up efforts, will that be allowed?
A: Yes, continued use of Binti in a read-only capacity beyond the CWS-CARES V1 Go-Live date will be at the county’s own expense.
Q: Regarding the Decommissioning Activities Timeline, can decommissioning activities for external systems begin before February 2027?
A: Yes, decommissioning activities can begin prior to February 2027. Organizations (California Department of Social Services, Counties, Tribes with California Title IV-E Agreement(s)) are encouraged to begin validating fully In-Scope functionality in the Production Simulation environment. Early validation can provide opportunity to minimize duplicate data entry, revise and finalize business processes in preparation for Go-Live, and/or move forward with plans to set fully In-Scope system(s) to read-only or decommission.