Frequently Asked Questions
Features & Functionality
Q: Will counties have the ability to 'delete' county-created forms from CWS-CARES or do they have to open a ticket with the state to do it? If the counties can't delete the form, will they be able to mark it inactive and will marking it inactive not display the form in the drop-down during forms generation?
A: Counties will not be able to permanently delete county-created forms in CWS-CARES. However, county form authors can mark forms as “Inactive” within the document configuration page. Once a form is marked “Inactive”, it will no longer appear in the dropdown list during form generation.
Q: Will we be able to see all the information when a case is transferred from Child Welfare to Probation?
A: Yes, all previous child welfare case information and history will be available for the probation worker to access and view.
Q: Regarding Optimistic Concurrency, will there be a warning message when 2 people are editing the same record (For example, the same contact note, same warrant, etc.)?
A: In CWS-CARES, updates are written directly to the cloud. If two users attempt to edit the same record at the same time (e.g., the same contact log or case record), the second user will receive an error indicating that the record has been updated. They will then need to refresh the page, re-enter their changes, and save.
To be clear, records are not locked during editing since Salesforce handles Optimistic Concurrency through conflict detection instead.
Q: Can the tribal information in Resource Management directory (for example, Tribe name changes etc.) be edited by the counties or is this going to be a state only functionality?
A: Only approved state personnel are allowed to view/edit a Tribe Organization in CWS-CARES.
Q: I believe in one of the CWS-CARES meetings we were shown a demonstration that would allow us to look up the current facility roster that shows the children placed in a specific facility. Can you confirm whether that is accurate?
A: Yes, users can see a list view of currently placed children and list of historical placements.
Q: What Binti modules are approved for CWS-CARES data conversion?
A: The approved Binti modules for CWS-CARES data conversion are as listed below:
- Resource Family Approvals (RFA)
- Placement
- Family Finding
Q: Can the Project provide more information about Prospective Young Adult Re-Entry into Extended Foster Care (EFC), including what triggers the process and the points of re-entry?
A: CWS-CARES will have one consistent location for documenting re-entry into EFC activities, so that documentation can be better captured and monitored by the county. The user will be able to manage all of the tasks required when an eligible young adult wishes to re-enter EFC, and the system will prompt the user to complete the required tasks. Training materials are being developed to guide this process. There are various points of re-entry, including at screening and within case units of work. A recent demo is available on the CWDS website under Case Management, titled "Extended Foster Care - Initial Entry & Re-Entry into EFC".
Q: Does the information in CWS-CARES mirror the information in CalSAWS?
A: CWS-CARES will receive client-specific assistance payment details from CalSAWS. That information will be read-only in CWS-CARES.
Note: while CalSAWS sends Assistance Payment information to CWS-CARES, it won't be displayed the same way in CalSAWS and CWS-CARES. That is, if a user looks at an Issuance Detail in CalSAWS and then looks at an Assistance Payment record in CWS-CARES, they will see some of the same data elements, but that page layout and user interface won't be the same.
Q: Since cases will remain with the same worker but the worker is having their office/unit changed, is there a way to update the worker's profile to show a change in the office/unit?
A: There would be three steps to this process:
- Step 1: Create a new Unit Staff relationship in the Unit/Office that the worker will be moving to. This will allow the worker to be a part of that structure.
- Step 2: Navigate to the Caseload and update the Office, Unit and Staff Name fields to match that of the new relationship that has been created in Step 1. You do not need to use the Caseload Summary screen or Bulk Assignment for this. You can simply reassign the Caseload.
- Step 3: Navigate to the old Unit Staff relationship and mark it as “inactive” and add a reason.
Q: Why aren't all Juvenile (JV) Forms going to be created by the Project in CWS-CARES?
A: Approximately 145 JV Forms are currently projected to be developed by the Project at this time, based on prioritization decisions made by the Project team. Please note that this list is subject to change as development activities continue.
The full list of forms is maintained in the CARES Forms Tracker, available through the CARES Forms Workgroup Teams Channel. To access the tracker, please email the CWS-CARES Forms Mailbox to request permission. Once granted, users can export the list to Excel and apply filters (e.g., Form Title, Disposition) to view specific form types, including JV forms.