A: There is currently no timeline or policy limiting when a county can purchase and implement a new external system. However, if the external system has functionality that is duplicative CWS-CARES, the county will be required to decommission that system functionality once CWS-CARES goes live. If a county plans to purchase a new external system, they must submit an APD (Advance Planning Document) before signing a contract. Further, state policy requires CWS/CMS remain the system of record for child welfare data, and all case-related information must continue to be entered into CWS/CMS. Finally, there is no plan to convert data from external systems like Traverse into CWS-CARES, as all child welfare case related records should already reside in CWS/CMS and will migrate to CWS-CARES during the CWS/CMS data conversion process.

A: CWS/CMS limits the file size for uploaded documents to 5 MB per document. CWS-CARES will allow documents uploads of up to 100 MB. File types must be compatible with CWS-CARES, allowable file types include PDF, DOC/DOCX, XLS/XLSX, Jpeg/jpg, txt, mov/mkv/mp4 files. Users will be able to upload files into CWS-CARES using either individual or multifile selection into a case record.

A: The draft of the data dictionary will be published by the end of 2024.  CWS-CARES will remain in active development through March 2026. As a result, the data dictionary will continue to evolve till then. We plan on publishing updates to the CWS-CARES data dictionary every quarter after the initial draft is published by end of 2024.   

A: Yes, counties must complete and submit their scope assessment to finalize and confirm the list of external systems for CARES V1, as this will be used to identify which systems are in scope based on the counties’ unique system configurations and needs. A preliminary scope assessment for external systems has been provided to each county in the External System County Catalog. 

A: There is no plan to decommission Safe Measures. CWS-CARES is working alongside Safe Measures to make sure all reporting needs are covered. Currently, the data team is working on a cross walk, or data exchange, to compare what reports are completed in Safe Measures, CWS/CMS, and CWS-CARES so that we can efficiently identify reports already built in Safe Measures that won’t need to be rebuilt for CWS-CARES. Any state/federal required reports that are not built in Safe Measures will be built into CWS-CARES.

A: Upon the release of CWS-CARES V1, there will be a data exchange with the California Department of Developmental Services (DDS) that will add Regional Center data into the system. This Regional Center Listing will include names, address(s), and phone numbers. This information will be gathered from the DDS website and will be updated any time a new location or changes are made to the webpage. At the release of CWS-CARES V1, a more robust interface and data exchange with DDS is not feasible and the project will be looking towards building something more comprehensive in later iterations of CWS-CARES.

A: At this time, CWS-CARES plans to have two client-facing sites in CARES V1. A portal for prevention services providers to support Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) and a Resource Family Approval (RFA) applicant portal.  

A: Counties should continue to enter CWS/CMS Case Number in CalSAWS. This is required for data conversion to establish a link between CWS/CMS and CalSAWS Cases.

A: Counties will determine which of their external systems are in scope for decommission based on how they will interact with CWS-CARES. Counties will work with the CWS-CARES Project to develop a decommission plan (agreements, requirements, contract management, timeline).

A: External systems (a tool or technology used to deliver child welfare services in addition to, or outside of, the legacy CWS/CMS solution) will be addressed in the following ways during the move to CWS-CARES: 

• Select prioritized external systems will have data converted into CWS-CARES.
• Focus on external systems related to Resource Family Approval (RFA), Placement including Family Finding, and Prevention Services. 
• Continuing Operations of external systems.
• Counties and the CWS-CARES Project will work together on a strategy for continuing operations. 
• Includes Counties identifying data dependencies between existing systems, planning/updating systems to ensure business continuity after CWS-CARES go live and updating to-be process maps. 
• Decommission of external systems.
• Counties will determine which of their external systems are in scope for decommission based on how they will interact with CWS-CARES (example: functionality to CWS-CARES).