Frequently Asked Questions
Legacy Systems
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: When will the legacy data layer be available?
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.
Q: Are the Offices in CWS/CMS automatically getting transferred over to CWS-CARES?
A: Yes, current office and staff information will be migrated from CWS/CMS to CWS-CARES.
Q: Will probation data be converted from CWS/CMS as-is, so that case counts are preserved (for example, 600 cases remain 600 rather than becoming 300)?
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."
Q: How will CWS-CARES populate user profiles — from CWS/CMS or from the probation directory?
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.
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: For users who are new to CWS-CARES and never used CWS/CMS, are there additional processes they need to follow to get access?
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.
Q: How will approved Resource Family Approval (RFA) homes be assigned and managed in CWS-CARES, particularly for counties with a large number of approved homes?
A: Each county in CWS-CARES will be assigned a RFA queue where these homes could reside. The county will have flexibility to assign someone to this queue as notifications on needed actions will need to be sent to someone.
Q: For how many months after CWS-CARES goes live will counties have access to the CWS/CMS mainframe to pull data?
A: A six-month read-only period for CWS/CMS is planned after CWS-CARES goes live. Note that CWS/CMS mainframe data will no longer be updated once CWS-CARES is live, meaning the data will become stale. Although read-only access remains available for six months, the last data update will occur at the October 2026 Go-Live. Counties intending to perform a one-time data pull after Go-Live are strongly encouraged to do so as close to the Go-Live date as possible.
Q: If CWS/CMS has an incomplete address and Binti data fills in the blank fields, is there a verification process to ensure the addresses are correct and should be merged?
A: The hierarchical conversion logic preserves CWS/CMS addresses, and Binti addresses are only utilized if the CWS/CMS field is blank. The Smarty Streets tool is used in CWS-CARES to automatically correct and complete address information.
As a reminder, CWS/CMS is the statewide system of record and the primary source of CWS-CARES data. For more information, please refer to the Binti to CWS-CARES V1 Data Conversion Fact Sheet.