Frequently Asked Questions
External Systems
Q: What is the benefit of validating External System functionality in Production Simulation for systems already assessed by the CWS-CARES V1 Preliminary Scope Assessment and Gap Analysis process?
A: The CWS-CARES V1 Scope Assessments are preliminary and based on functionality descriptions provided by organizations. Production Simulation provides the opportunity for organizations to validate functionality in CWS-CARES V1 prior to go-live, in order to identify any gaps or issues that were not previously identified or documented by the gap analysis process. Use of the Production Simulation environment also allows organizations an early opportunity to validate and finalize business process changes ahead of go-live. This will minimize the effort for Fully-In-Scope decommissioning planning as validated systems can be made inactive or read-only prior to December 31, 2027.
Q: When was the Family Finding module added?
A: The Binti Family Finding module was part of the original scope for Binti data conversion, it was not added later on.
Q: Is the data in the Production Simulation mock data or actual data from Binti and CWS/CMS?
A: The data in Production Simulation will consist of data brought over from Binti and CWS/CMS.
Q: Will Binti documents be converted?
A: Yes. Binti documents, often referred to as unstructured data, are planned to be migrated into CWS-CARES.
Q: Will Production Simulation be canceled if the project does not receive federal approval?
A: The State intends to utilize state funds in order to proceed with Production Simulation and is not dependent on federal approval.
Q: How will CWS-CARES handle Resource Family Approval (RFA) home naming conventions when Binti does not create facility names the same way as CWS/CMS?
A: For CWS-CARES data migration, CWS/CMS remains the system of record. Naming and facility records will follow CWS-CARES standards, with issues reviewed during data mapping and validation.
Q: Is the Foster Care Eligibility Determination (FCED) Interface sending information from CWS-CARES into CalSAWS, or just from CalSAWS into CWS-CARES?
A: In general, this interface is bidirectional, meaning information will be flowing both ways. CWS-CARES will send certain information to CalSAWS, and CalSAWS will send certain information to CWS-CARES. For Assistance Payments specifically, the flow of information is strictly from CalSAWS to CWS-CARES.
Q: How will CWS-CARES match Binti records to CWS/CMS when IDs and names do not align one-to-one?
A: Matching records from Binti to CWS-CARES will rely on external or licensing identifiers rather than names alone. Counties play a role in ensuring those identifiers are populated.
Q: Will CWS/CMS data overwrite Binti data?
A: Yes. CWS/CMS is the system of record. If a field already exists in CWS/CMS, Binti data will not override it.
Q: Will counties receive their data from Binti prior to the Binti Data Mapping - Large Group sessions?
A: No, the data conversion team is not able to share Binti data. Counties will have to coordinate with Binti directly to receive the files due to data security risks.