Frequently Asked Questions
Features & Functionality
Q: Will the release date of CWS-CARES Version 1 (CARES V1) be adjusted?
A: At an ad hoc CWS-CARES Board of Directors meeting on September 3, 2026, the following decisions were voted and approved:
Go-Live Date: The system launch is moved to Monday, December 7, 2026. This later date gives counties more time to complete data validation and continue with readiness activities before the system goes live.
Post–Go-Live Release Strategy: After the December launch, the system will receive two scheduled releases, one in March 2027 and another in May 2027. This approach gives additional time after Go-Live to stabilize the system and thoroughly validate functionality before enhancements are introduced. All planned enhanced stories are expected to be completed by May 1, 2027.
Cutover Plan: For the transition from current systems to CWS-CARES, CWS/CMS will switch into read-only on Thursday, December 3, 2026 at 5 PM.
For full details, see the Important Update: CWS-CARES Go-Live Date Adjusted to December 7, 2026 communication on the CWDS website.
Q: What is the final disposition of the Essential Stories?
A: There were 313 total stories considered and discussed to determine essentiality for Go-Live launch.
- 83 enhancement stories delivered in Version 1.1 by March 1, 2027;
- 115 enhancement stories delivered in Version 1.2 by May 1, 2027.
Q: What updates can you share regarding improvements to access and permissions in CARES?
A: The Project reports that Roles Based Access will be ready for testing during Production Simulation, the CWS-CARES Administration team is supporting user setup, and staff lists have been updated to include only active users.
Q: What updates can you share regarding progress on improving the reporting functionality?
A: The Project is currently assessing options to support counties and evaluating improvements to the reporting experience aligned with post‑CWS-CARES Version 1 (CARES V1) priorities and capacity.
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 updates can you provide regarding improvements to Case Plan functionality, given the current limitations caused by requiring the CANS to be completed first?
A: The Project suspended the rule requiring a Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) assessment prior to a Case Plan completion, enabling users to either pre‑populate needs from an approved CANS or manually enter needs when a CANS is not yet completed.
Q: What progress has been made to improve Contact Note functionality, given the current challenges with multiple sections, limited space, and the inability to edit finalized notes?
A: At Go‑Live, counties will have the option to choose structured or unstructured contact notes. Supervisors will also have the option to require approval before submission. Unstructured notes currently support applying one contact to multiple children.
Q: What progress has been made to enhance Hotline functionality, particularly around data entry, ICWA contacts, and SDM assessments?
A: To address current Hotline and screening challenges, search functionality was enhanced and the system will allow screeners to approve screenings for referral movement without supervisor approval, except for Structured Decision Making (SDM), which must still be approved by a supervisor. A one‑page guide outlining mandatory fields was provided to CWDA and County Leadership for review and feedback. A final version of the Hotline Quick Start Guide & Intake demonstration was released on September 14, 2026.
Q: What progress has been made to ensure safety alerts are displayed consistently across key pages in the system?
A: Display safety alerts throughout all aspects of the screenings, referrals, and cases in CWS-CARES and are viewable in Production Simulation as of September 14, 2026.
Q: Given the issues with unreliable search and record‑management functions, including duplicate results and limitations with merge/unmerge, what progress has been made to address these problems?
A: The unmerge workflow is currently under development. This work was previously dependent on onboarding the new Service Desk vendor; however, due to contracting timelines, the Project has moved forward with development of the technical components of the unmerge workflow.
Technical testing will be completed, and the timing will be confirmed. Once the new Service Desk vendor begins onboarding in early October, the Project will work with the vendor to validate the end-to-end unmerge ticketing process, including routing, assignment, notifications, and the ability to support the targeted 48-hour SLA.
The Project deployed additional enhancements and refinements to the Civica Search tool in the Production Simulation environment at the end of August 2026, including enhancements to the “AND/OR” search criteria. The Project continues to refine search functionality based on testing results and county feedback.