A: Please note that the below response also applies to counties using Efforts to Outcomes (ETO) recruitment and licensing functionality. 

An APD is required for the initiation, amendment, or renewal of a software licensing agreement. Written approval must be obtained from the State prior to executing any contracts, agreements or renewals. County Fiscal Letter 23/24-12 discusses APD requirements, including when an APD is necessary, in detail. 

All County Letter 25-44 explains that the existing COTS waiver for Binti or ETO Resource Family Approval recruitment and licensing functionality will remain active until CWS-CARES Version 1 is implemented in October 2026. State approval of federal funds for these contracts extending beyond CWS-CARES Version 1 go-live will be prorated, since the software will be ineligible for federal funding once the COTS waiver becomes inactive. 
 
Beginning with ACL 18-47, CDSS has been encouraging counties to include early termination language in their contracts for external systems to enable them to decommission duplicative functionality when required. Decommissioning of Binti/ETO or moving it to a read-only status is required at the time of Version 1 go-live, scheduled for October 26, 2026. If the county is opting to fully decommission Binti/ETO at go-live, counties should review their contracts now and identify when to exercise their early termination language. If the county has chosen to move the software to a read-only status, counties should consider how long their internal contract amendment processes take and determine when to initiate that process to accomplish a read-only status by October 26, 2026. Continued use of Binti in a read-only capacity beyond the CWS-CARES Version 1 go-live date will be at the county’s own expense until it is decommissioned or for the duration of its availability in read-only status.  Costs associated with activities related to converting RFA data into CWS-CARES are eligible for Core Constituent Participation (CCP) funding, as they are aligned with the activities discussed in All County Letter 23-62 and County Fiscal Letter 23/24-03. 
 

A: The Production Simulation environment is scheduled to be available from May 2026 through the October 2026 Go-Live. Access will be extended to all active CWS/CMS users rather than requiring a manual registration or selection process. We are currently collaborating with the County Advisory Committees to finalize the specific timing of access and any necessary usage prerequisites.
 

A: Production Simulation is intended to supersede the Sandbox environment, which will be retired once Production Simulation is activated. It is important to note that Business Process Validation (previously called Process Simulation) is not a standalone environment. Instead, it is an activity conducted within the Production Simulation environment to validate workflows. 
 
Unlike temporary testing sites, the Training environment is a permanent resource that will remain available after CWS-CARES V1 go-live to support onboarding and continued learning using generic (non-production) data and artificial cases. 
 
Environment Summary: 

1. Sandbox: Temporary testing environment; will be replaced by Production Simulation. 

2. Production Simulation (Pending Federal Approval): Real-data practice environment that will be retired once CWS-CARES is live. 

3. Training: Ongoing staff development environment using non-production data. 

4. EUST: Extended User Scenario Testing environment, scheduled to retire after EUST 3. 

A: Following go-live, counties and organizations will maintain access to multiple environments in addition to Production. This multi-environment structure enables them to develop and test county-specific forms and reports, conduct ongoing practice sessions and staff training, and support continuous learning without disrupting live operations.

Available non-production environments include:

• Training Environment – For staff training and onboarding
• County/Organization Dev Environment – Specifically for forms and report authors to continue development work. This environment will have non-production (test/simulated) data
• Readiness Environment – For ongoing practice and readiness activities. This environment will have production data (refreshed from the Production environment at a yet TBD interval). Can also be used for testing county-developed forms and reports against production data

A: If counties are in need of CWDS Website log-in support, please contact Customer Relations.

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".

A: Data mapping sessions determine what does or does not have a place in CWS-CARES.

Most Binti data aligns with CWS-CARES and converts successfully. County-specific or Binti-specific fields are reviewed during mapping, including:

• Administrative fields
• County-specific process fields
• Binti administrative/technical fields
• Data with no CWS-CARES equivalent

A: Like CWS/CMS, Public Health Nurses (PHNs), Case Management Workers, and Emergency Response (ER) Workers will be able to document foster children and youth's medical needs in CWS-CARES. This includes documenting medical referrals, screenings, medical exams and tests, diagnosed health conditions, disabilities, medications, hospitalizations, immunizations, summary of current health conditions, and more.

CWS-CARES workers will then be able to generate the HEP document. The existing HEP template from CWS/CMS has been developed for use in CWS-CARES. This functionality will be available in CWS-CARES when we go live in October 2026.

A: You can find Process Information Session recordings and meetings here: CWS-CARES Process Information Session Materials.

Note: You must log in to the Implementation Portal using your county/organization email address to access these files.
 

A: CWS-CARES training is offered through both instructor-led sessions (in-person and virtual) and self-paced online (Salesforce Enablement) courses. All Project-provided training resources will be virtual.

Knowledgeable proctors will be available. Project-provided Proctors will participate in Train-the-Trainer to prepare for supporting statewide CWS-CARES Version 1 (CARES V1) training and will be backed by a Training Support Hub staffed with Senior Trainers to address more complex questions. For more information, contact OTSI CWDS Training.