Frequently Asked Questions

Financial Management

Q: If the allocated amount for Implementation support does not meet the estimation of effort expected from the counties, will it be increased?

January 08, 2024

A: The Child Welfare Services-California Automated Response and Engagement System (CWS-CARES) Implementation Team estimated organization implementation participation hours that took into consideration the types of interactions it anticipated would be needed from the counties over the course of the next few years, recognizing that participation would increase as the go-live date gets closer. Examples of the types of activities that were anticipated in the near term include: 

  • Attendance at the bi-weekly CWS-CARES Implementation Meeting
  • Initiating organization engagement with the CWS-CARES Implementation Team by way of attendance at the Implementation Executive Briefing
  • County Implementation Coordinator Kickoff meetings, County Implementation Assessments, and then ongoing monthly interactions with each county
As indicated in County Fiscal Letter 23/24-03, if a county exceeds its CWS-CARES allocation, the County Expense Claim Reporting Information System (CECRIS) system will shift the state share of costs claimed through the Program Codes to county share via State Use Only code 0410 and funded at 100% county-only funds. During the year-end closeout process, if any surplus funds are available, those funds are redistributed from counties that underspend their allocations to counties that overspend. Furthermore, the CDSS reviews the Core County Participation (CCP) methodology assumptions for future years on a semiannual basis to fine tune estimates. For more information regarding the year-end closeout process, please contact the CDSS Fiscal Policy and Analysis Bureau at Fiscal.Systems@dss.ca.gov.
Financial Management, Implementation

Q: Will Rate Tables be added by CWS-CARES or will each county need to enter them manually?

January 05, 2020

A: The State will be responsible for entering and maintaining the Rate Tables in CWS-CARES. Counties will be able to view those rates to guide them when completing eligibility requests.

The Rate Tables in CWS-CARES are not directly connected to the Assistance Payments received by CalSAWS. That is, we aren't using the CWS-CARES Rate Tables to send Rate info to CalSAWS.
Features & Functionality, Financial Management, Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA)
Process Information Session (PIS)

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