Frequently Asked Questions
Forms & Reports
Q: How does the Expected End Date field on the AD 4320 form auto-populate, and does it change if the form is completed to extend benefits?
A: The AD 4320 Expected End Date does auto-populate to the child's 18th birthday. AD 4320s that are completed to extend benefits would auto-pop to the child's 21st birthday.
Q: Will the forms that the state is migrating be available in CWS-CARES once Pilot begins?
A: Yes, all statewide forms developed by the state and identified as in-scope for CARES V1 will be available in CWS-CARES at the start of the Pilot phase. A detailed list of these statewide forms can be found in the CWS-CARES Forms Tracker, located in the CWS-CARES Forms Workgroup Teams Channel. If you’re not a member of this channel and need access to the document, please reach out to the CWDS CWS-CARES Forms Mailbox for support.
Q: Will CDSS or the Project provide updated confidentiality forms for CWS-CARES? The current forms reflect CWS/CMS.
A: Yes. The Project will provide updated confidentiality forms (such as the End User ID Application Form) for CWS-CARES. Once the CWS-CARES V1 permission sets are complete, the Project will release the official form.
Q: Will counties be able to modify state forms as it indicates in the process map?
A: There are some state forms that counties cannot change but there are other state forms that allow counties to download and add certain pieces of information as needed and save it as a county form for their use.
Q: If additional forms are not on the in-scope state forms list, how can counties ensure they are included in CWS-CARES? Will counties be required to add them?
A: The final, in-scope list of state forms is posted in the CWS-CARES Forms Tracker within the CWS-CARES Forms Workgroup Teams Channel (For access to this channel, please email the CWS-CARES Forms Mailbox). Currently, the scope is closed, and the project is formulating a process to capture all requested or newly identified forms. The project will notify CWS-CARES points of contact when this process is in place.
Q: Once CDSS forms have been moved from CWS/CMS to CWS-CARES, who is responsible for updating them?
A: CDSS statewide forms will be maintained by the Project. Organization-specific forms will be maintained by the organization.
Q: How/where will Child and Family Team (CFT) Brochure distribution to CFT members, required by All County Letter (ACL) 25-54, be logged and tracked in CWS-CARES?
A: ACL 25-54 is a new requirement that was published in 2025. We are tracking this requirement in our backlog, and it will be implemented in a future version of CWS-CARES.
Q: If corrections are needed after an AD 4320 form has been set to final status, does the worker need to generate a new form in CWS-CARES?
A: If changes are needed after the form is in final status, a new document will need to be generated in CARES.
Q: Can the FC 8 form be generated by an Eligibility Worker?
A: Who can do what in CARES is dependent on county business process. If the EW needs to generate the FC 8, then we grant them access to CARES to do that. This is why we need to complete the process workgroups to determine who does what, and where the handoffs occur.
Q: Is there a plan for corrupted files that get converted with errors?
A: During the data conversion process, legacy documents from CWS/CMS are transferred to CWS-CARES in their native format and are not modified or transformed. Only documents with valid file extensions (e.g., JPG, DOC, PDF, XLS, TXT, DOCX, XLSX, JPEG) are eligible for transfer to the CWS-CARES staging area, which aligns with the types of documents supported in the legacy system. As part of this process, files that do not meet supported file type criteria are filtered out prior to migration. Based on current understanding, the conversion process does not introduce changes to document content, and no issues related to document corruption during migration have been identified to date.