A: Yes, counties will be able to print the documents in CWS/CMS when it is in read-only mode and all documents from CWS/CMS are planned to be converted over to CWS-CARES. Please note that once CWS/CMS goes into read-only mode at 5:00 PM PST on October 23, 2026, the data in CWS/CMS will become point-in-time data. These documents will also be available in CWS-CARES, the replacing system of record, and can be printed from there as well.

A: The latest anticipated read-only dates and times for CWS/CMS is currently planned for Friday, October 23, 2026, at 5:00 PM PST. The anticipated Go-Live time on October 26, 2026, is currently planned for 8:00 AM PST.

A: Moving from CWS/CMS to CWS-CARES, the email on the Primary Applicant/Resource Parent's Person record will be used for the Resource Family Approval (RFA) Portal. This should correspond with the email on the Primary Service Care Provider (SCP) in CWS/CMS.

A: Yes, all documents that have been scanned, imported and made available for cases in CWS/CMS will be available in CWS-CARES. Documents with valid file extensions that successfully pass the malware scan are migrated to CWS-CARES Version 1.

Any documents that are infected, corrupted, or have non‑supported/invalid file extensions will be excluded and not brought over to CWS-CARES. Legacy documents will continue to be available in the read‑only system and users will still be able to view, download, and print these documents. The limitation applies only to creating or editing documents in the legacy system. Additionally, all legacy generated documents up to April 17th, 2026, have been moved to Production Simulation otherwise known as CARES 100.
 

A: When conducting validation, the Project asks that you please compare what's in CWS-CARES to what's in CWS/CMS and look for discrepancies. Records should generally match one-for-one except where changes have occurred since the April 17th data snapshot. This includes cases, records, assignments, participants, demographic/person profile info, contacts, and documents.

A: Probation data will be converted to CWS-CARES. The primary and secondary responsible agency for a case in CWS-CARES will not use the terms "600" or "300" (it will show "Probation"); however, the dual statuses from CWS/CMS will be brought into a narrative field in CWS-CARES so users can see the original CWS/CMS term (for example, "Dep 300 Receiving Prob Srvcs" or "Ward 601/602 Receiving CWS"). As an example of the mapping: if a CWS/CMS case has a primary responsible agency of "County Welfare Department" and a client dual status of Probation, then in CWS-CARES the case's primary responsible agency would be "Child Welfare" and the secondary responsible agency would be "Probation."

A: For most counties, Probation workers in CWS/CMS have their own Office. Those workers will be converted from CWS/CMS to CWS-CARES into: 1) their office/unit/caseload, along with 2) the corresponding permissions.

A: Yes, documents converted from CWS/CMS to CWS-CARES will retain their original file formats. The conversion process preserves the document format as stored in CWS/CMS rather than converting documents into a standardized format.

A: The Legacy Data Layer is available in CWS-CARES environments. Documentation is included in the CWS-CARES Data Dictionary and SqlDBM. County Developers have access to this in CARES102 (CountyDev) and this feature will be included in the Production Simulation environment once this is made available to the counties.

A: There are no additional processes to follow. The county's CWS-CARES Administrator is responsible for adding new users to CWS-CARES. This includes current staff who never used CWS/CMS as well as new staff hired after CWS-CARES goes live. Current staff who are already active in CWS/CMS and have not been deactivated will automatically convert into CWS-CARES at Go-Live.