Frequently Asked Questions
Process Information Session (PIS)
Q: Do Administrators still need to have a particular Permission Set assigned to themselves before we can assign it to someone else?
A: No, Administrators do not need a particular permission set assigned to them before assigning it to others; however, there are currently several permissions and overrides that can only be assigned by a State Administrator.
Q: Is there the ability to copy the access of an existing user?
A: No, there is no ability to copy the access of an existing user to another. Additionally, only Administrators can see what privileges a user has, and only for users who aren’t at or above their same Administrator level.
Q: If I am added to the staff authority area of a Unit in CWS/CMS, then I have access to all of the caseloads included in that unit. Will that be the case in CWS-CARES?
A: Yes, you can give users a unit staff authority type of permission in CWS-CARES as well, but they would need to be added to the unit as a backup supervisor. We typically view permissions by case, not caseload.
Q: Who from the CBO will submit data in the portal? Is it a data system manager, or a case manager entering information? Will only one CBO role be doing the management and submission of records?
A: The system will have different roles such as CBO admin, CBO supervisor and CBO worker. This is based on provider feedback we received that some folks in their organization are handling only administration, and others are managing services and entering info about delivery, etc. It will be up to the county/provider to determine who is assigned what permission in the portal. Portal Administrators have additional capabilities including updating provider profile information, submitting portal access requests, etc.
Q: Is the Title IV-E section intended to be used by county workers for entry into the CEC to replace invoices? Or to recap more specifically the costs that were already captured in the CEC? Is it expected that Community Based Organizations (CBOs) will invoice separately for services provided?
A: This data being entered in CWS-CARES for FFPSA service cost tracking is not intended to capture costs for CEC reporting. This is specifically to meet federal guidelines for the FFPSA program. CWS-CARES will not replace invoicing processes in V1. CDSS will provide additional guidance on what that will look like.
Q: Is the cost tracking template client-specific?
A: Yes, cost tracking templates will be client specific. Multiple children can be included in the same template, if they are under the same plan/home.
Q: Who enters costs for services provided by counties?
A: Counties are expected to input costs for services that they provide themselves (e.g. Motivational Interviewing). Probation will also enter cost information if Probation staff are responsible for providing the service.
Q: Is FFPSA cost reporting in CWS-CARES for federal reporting purposes only, and not directly tied to reimbursement or funding?
A: Yes, that is correct. The cost that will be reported into CWS-CARES is to support programmatic federal reporting requirements.
Q: Will the CWS-CARES Permissions allow counties to limit who can review/edit the Administrative Claim sections?
A: Only users given the county-specific fiscal permissions will have the ability to review their county's admin claim data. All data from CECRIS will be read-only in CWS-CARES so there will not be any user in CWS-CARES that can enter/change data from CECRIS, regardless of permissions.
Q: If we have a case specific expense, do we manually enter that?
A: No, counties will not be expected to do that. Case specific costs will be transmitted to CWS-CARES via an interface with CalSAWS.