Frequently Asked Questions
Implementation Readiness Meetings
Q: Is there a plan for counties who are smaller / short staff who may not have time to commit to these areas?
A: We understand not all counties have the same resource capacity. The project has anticipated and is not indifferent to smaller county workloads. The project anticipates that some counties will require people to wear multiple hats. If you are finding that the workload exceeds the estimated hours, please have a discussion with your IL to determine where adjustments can be made.
Q: Can more than one user be on the same case to check case status?
A: CWS-CARES has capability for multiple people to work on a case at the same, as long as they are not working on the same record simultaneously. But concurrent changes to the same case on different record fields will be saved.
Q: Is the search functionality in CWS-CARES only for the current page or for the entire application?
A: Yes, the global search bar and functionality at the top of the CWS-CARES screen is for the entire application.
Q: Can meeting schedules be arranged to avoid conflicts for participants, and can communication about cancellations be sent earlier so members have adequate time to adjust their calendars?
A: As Implementation engagement ramps up your Implementation Lead (IL) will work with you to determine the best time for recurring monthly readiness meetings, avoiding conflicts with any other responsibilities you and your team may have. We will pass along the feedback of last minute cancellations to the appropriate teams.
Q: When and where should the county IT Technical team become involved/step in?
A: Tech team involvement will be determined based on activity through the IC. As a note, Tech & Data roll up to IC. IC is set to support the Tech team in communicating activities that pertain to their discipline as outlined in the Go-Live Readiness Checklist.
Q: Will CWS-CARES need networking hardware or will it be internet based?
A: CWS-CARES is internet based and we will provide a Technical Resource document that details all of the hardware and software requirements.
Q: Can training cohorts that finish before the forms environment is released begin building their forms in the Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) Design tool, and how will those forms migrate into an environment?
A: The Project recognizes the need for the training environment to be available and is working to provide the tools and platform to users as soon as possible. This item is actively in progress, and the Project will provide an update once the environment is available.
Q: Are there any children and family advocate groups that are involved in the CWS-CARES development process who can help to inform how decisions might potentially impact clients of the child welfare system program?
A: The project engaged California Youth Connection (CYC) in developing the CWS-CARES Child Journey Map, which identifies pain points and opportunities, from a child and youth perspective, across the lifecycle of child welfare involvement. The project is currently exploring options to fund further lived experience research directly involving additional child and family advocate groups. The project has also provided updates to the quarterly meeting with advocates and California Department of Social Servies (CDSS) and intends to leverage that meeting as an opportunity to solicit feedback in system development.
Q: We were informed that a Financial Management Coordinator position is being introduced and that the position is to be filled from an outside entity. Will that individual need to have access to CWS-CARES?
A: Per ACIN I-33-11, the authority to determine who should have access to CWS-CARES is delegated to the county. We recommend that counties work with their county counsel to decide whether or not this position will have a business need to access CWS-CARES in accordance with Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC) 827 and WIC 10850.
Q: What systems currently supported by CWDS will have functionality incorporated into CWS-CARES?
A: CWS-CARES is being developed as a end to end child welfare system that is intended to replace CWS/CMS. The functionality in CWS-CARES-Live will be redeveloped in CWS-CARES (as CWS-CARES-Live was created in a different platform/software). CWS-CARES RFA functionality will be merged into CWS-CARES as it was also developed in the same platform, but for now it is its own\separate system. All of these systems are in production, with scheduled updates/releases.