Frequently Asked Questions
Interfaces
Q: For dedicated counties, will the CWS/CMS servers be removed from the premises after CWS-CARES V1 goes live?
A: For dedicated counties, servers located there will remain post-launch of CWS-CARES. These are the counties’ DHCP/File/Print/Utility servers used to access CWDS state resources and are separate from CWS/CMS application. At this time, there is no plan to remove these servers.
Q: For context, the Project has stated that CWS-CARES will no longer utilize CWS User IDs. CWS-CARES V1 provides access to Structured Decision Making (SDM) and Safe Measures applications within the application; however, V1 does not completely decommission those applications, so County Admins will still be required to Add/Modify/Terminate SDM and Safe Measures user accounts within those specific applications. Currently, SDM and Safe Measures require a CWS User ID to set up a user account in both applications. The question is: Will both of those applications (SDM/Safe Measures) be modified prior to the 10/2026 go-live so that the CWS User ID is no longer required for user accounts? Also, will County Admins still access SDM and Safe Measures externally for account management functions, or will we utilize the links within the CWS-CARES app? Regarding accounts being end-dated after 90 days of inactivity, will their account just need a password reset that the employee can initiate? And lastly, will their account be end-dated or frozen? If their account is end-dated, will a new account need to be established for that employee?
A: SDM/SafeMeasures will use user’s email address for access to these systems. We haven’t tested how admin or users will need to interact with SDM or SafeMeasures outside of CWS-CARES. The Project will provide an update to the counties after the functionality has been tested.
Regarding accounts being end-dated after 90 days of inactivity, users will need to contact County Admin to reenable account.
Accounts will not be enabled in Okta. Users will need to contact County Admin to reenable account. Data in CWS-CARES associated to the user will remain the same. The user’s supervisor is responsible for units of work associated to the user if account is disabled. Note: The account is only inactive not end dated. We only end date accounts when we are truly terminating access (fired, quit, retired, etc.).
Q: Will dedicated counties be allowed to access CWS-CARES on county computers as well as state computers?
A: Dedicated County Users will be expected to access CWS-CARES using their dedicated county machines (supported by CWDS), similar to how they currently access CWS/CMS. Non-CWDS-supported county machines will not be allowed to access CWS-CARES. Users with specialized access needs (as seen in CWS/CMS) may be assigned SCBS-Citrix access based on specific business requirements.
Q: Will text boxes in CWS-CARES have the capability for AutoText?
A: From our understanding, AutoText is a feature that allows you to store and quickly reuse blocks of text. This feature is not included in CWS-CARES Version 1. Counties could still use Microsoft Word and then copy and paste the narratives into CWS-CARES if they wanted to.A: From our understanding, AutoText is a feature that allows you to store and quickly reuse blocks of text. This feature is not included in CWS-CARES Version 1.
Counties could still use Microsoft Word and then copy and paste the narratives into CWS-CARES if they wanted to.
Q: When will the Project begin to accept requests for APIs? Pre-or post-go-live, or is that not known yet?
A: At this time, the Project is not accepting requests for APIs, and there is no plan to provide or accept new API requests before the CWS-CARES V1 go-live.
The Project is still defining the long-term API strategy and continuing to work with counties to understand use cases and business needs. As this strategy becomes clearer, the Project will share updates and outline the process for how and when counties may submit API-related requests in the future.
We will keep counties informed as soon as more information and timelines are available.
Q: Will Outlook be included with CWS-CARES environment? Will it be integrated into CWS-CARES or will counties need to use Outlook Web version for email?
A: There are no plans or requirements to integrate Outlook with CWS-CARES. Therefore, it will not be included. Counties will continue their current processes for using Outlook.
Q: Will CWS-CARES allow for third-party integration with some type of Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities?
A: No, there are currently no plans or requirements for CWS-CARES to integrate with AI capabilities.
Q: Regarding the announcement of Structured Decision Making (SDM) & Safe Measures integration, why are counties asked to continue to pay to maintain their Evident Change contract until June 2028, if SDM & Safe Measures will be integrated in CARES V1 by Oct 2026.
A: SafeMeasures will not be integrated in CWS-CARES Version 1.
While not originally planned, due to county feedback on the importance of these tools, we adjusted the scope and reallocated resources so that SafeMeasures and SDM® will be integrated into CWS-CARES over time. SDM assessments will be seamlessly integrated into the CWS-CARES platform via single sign-on with CWS-CARES Version 1 in October 2026. The CWS-CARES Project is currently planning the SafeMeasures integration. SafeMeasures will continue to be accessible using the existing login credentials and will be updated to use the CWS-CARES data model. Counties will use the current SafeMeasures web-based application until integration with CWS-CARES via single sign-on is complete. Ultimately, SafeMeasures and SDM tools will be embedded into CWS-CARES.
Counties will cover their Evident Change contract costs until CWS-CARES is fully operational in June 2028. The state will assume the costs of SafeMeasures starting July 1, 2028.
Q: Will SafeMeasures and SDM be considered an External System?
A: SafeMeasure and SDM should not be treated as an External System. They will not require the same level of effort or planning as external systems, particularly for tasks like data conversion, ongoing operations, or decommissioning.
Q: Will counties be able to directly access CWS-CARES data to run daily extracts?
A: Counties will have a couple of ways to pull data from CWS-CARES. They will be able to create queries and reports using the CWS-CARES reporting tool, Tableau. A county can also ask the CWS-CARES Project Team to be part of the “Data Extracts” workgroup. However, counties should note that the current project efforts in this area are focused on the counties that currently get extracts from CWS/CMS. Therefore, we may not be able to include a county that’s not already a part of this group in time for V1.