Frequently Asked Questions
Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA)
Q: Who will provide support for the CWS-CARES Resource Family Approval (RFA) and Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) Portal once CWS-CARES goes live, including password resets? How does someone get access to the portals?
A: The CWDS Service Desk will provide system support for the RFA and FFPSA portals. Each portal includes a self-serve password reset option, which resolves most issues such as forgotten passwords. If a user does not receive the password reset email within 24 hours, they should contact the CWDS Service Desk for additional assistance.
Counties are responsible for basic applicant support, such as helping applicants understand how to complete an application or answering general questions.
Portal access varies by portal:
RFA Portal
- Applicants can access the RFA portal through the public link on CWDS or county websites to submit an application
- CWS-CARES RFA Worker or Supervisor may invite an applicant directly only in Emergency Placement situations
- Existing Resource Family Homes (RFH) with an email on file will receive an invitation to the portal
- These actions occur within the CWS-CARES application, and training materials will be provided on how to accomplish this task
- To access an RFA Portal end-to-end demonstration, click the “RFA_Applicant_Portal_-_03-26-2025-_Core_Constituent_Demonstration_for_RFA.mp4” video on the CWS-CARES RFA Demo Videos page.
- Access is by invitation only to Community Based Organizations (CBOs)
- A CWS-CARES worker invites prospective or existing Service Providers by adding or updating the provider record, including email, in CWS‑CARES
- The provider then receives an email to establish a password and update any applicable information.
- CWS-CARES will provide CARES workers with training materials on how to accomplish this task
- To access a FFPSA demonstration, click the “02_23_2026_FM_FFPSA_Portal_CC_Demo_Recording.mp4” video on the CWS-CARES Financial Management Demo Videos page.
Q: Is CWS-CARES only for Title IV covered Services? Is there a plan to open the FFPSA Provider Portal up to non-Evidence Based Practice (EBP) providers?
A: For CWS-CARES V1, the FFPSA functionality will only cover the FFPSA IV-E EBPs approved by the state. CWS-CARES will not provide portal access for non-EBP providers for CARES V1. The project team does not have information about what will be part of CARES V2.
Q: When will Resource Family Approval (RFA) and FFPS portals will be available in Production Simulation?
A: The project is working to finalize a plan for when both portals will be available for testing in Production Simulation and will share the details of that plan in a formal communication once available.
Q: What are the Candidacy Determination Request and the Family Well-Being Plan, and will they be mandatory?
A: A Candidacy Determination Request is the process that will determine if the child meets the IV-E eligibility requirements to receive services under Title IV-E funding. This is required to be completed for each child that is referred to prevention services. If approved, a worker would continue the process of coordinating prevention services. If the child has an open case and/or is receiving services from the county themselves, the county will be required to create a Family Well Being Plan in CWS-CARES. This plan will only be used in the FFPSA process and can be added as part of a case plan. In short, the Candidacy Determination Request and/or Family Well-Being Plan are to be used for FFPSA only.
Q: Can a contractor access the Person-Centered Intelligence Solution (P-CIS) as a stand-alone system outside of CWS-CARES to record the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) assessment?
A: No. External partners, such as contractors, cannot access P-CIS outside of CWS-CARES. Any CANS assessment conducted as part of a child welfare case must be completed through CWS-CARES.
Q: What does the 'FOP' label on one of the records mean?
A: The 'FOP' followed by a series of numbers indicates the individual person record ID number for the child or person receiving services.
Q: For the cost-tracking template, is that a set unit rate and how many units are being provided?
A: Unit rates will be county-specific based on the county-specific contracts. CDSS plans to issue additional guidance via an ACL regarding this.
Q: Is the expectation for approving each Cost Tracking Template submitted by the provider that the worker is checking that the cost details of each transaction are accurate? Or is a more rigorous review expected?
A: Yes, counties will approve cost tracking information that a provider submits. One of the big reasons the Product Team introduced the approval process is to allow counties the opportunity to reject or correct an inaccurate cost that may have been entered by a provider.
Q: Will county fiscal departments be flagged that a Family Well Being Plan is ending?
A: Yes, there will be functionality for county fiscal to be notified when a plan is about to end.
Q: Where there is a breakdown of the 'IV-E eligible percentage' and service units, the county does not currently know which unit would fill this out at a given point in time. How will counties enter this data?
A: Units of service for FFPSA EBPs will be statewide. The expectation is that the provider of the service enters the Number of Units provided along with the coordinating Unit of Service. The provider will also document the cost of the service. This does not include administrative-related costs associated with the service. CDSS will be issuing guidance to assist counties in this process of units of service.