Frequently Asked Questions
Resources
Q: What portals will be included with CWS-CARES at Go-Live?
A: There are two portals for CARES V1: the Resource Family Approval (RFA) Portal and the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) Portal (Service Provider/Community-Based Organization Portal).
Q: What is the purpose of the CWS-CARES Forms Tracker, and when will counties be given access to the state's forms list?
A: The CWS-CARES Forms Tracker, located in the CWS-CARES Forms Teams Channel, is the repository for the list of state forms that have been identified as potential candidates for CARES V1 development. The Project plans to share the Tracker with counties at an upcoming Forms Workgroup meeting.
Q: Can Implementation Leads (ILs) be added to a county's Microsoft Teams channel and SharePoint?
A: Implementation Leads can be added to a county's Microsoft Teams channel and SharePoint if the county prefers. However, ILs cannot share access to the State SharePoint, share documents from the State SharePoint, and will need to reconcile documentation as needed.
Q: Will CARES V1 include a training application similar to the CWS/CMS Scenario Manager?
A: There are no plans for CARES V1 to develop a training app like Scenario Manager. The scenarios for CWS-CARES training are in CWS-CARES along with the material and there will be walk through prompts to guide the learner. The material for Adoptions will be based on the functionality developed by the development team and released in to the CARES V1 Training Environment. This material once developed will be reviewed by the State Review team and the Training Advisory Workgroup.
Q: Will Production Simulation replace Extended User Scenario Testing (EUST) 4 or will it be in addition to?
A: Yes. Production Simulation will take place in lieu of EUST 4. Instead of a six-week testing period during EUST 4, organizations will have five months to test in the Production Simulation environment.
Q: Will there be a system where the most updated training materials are available for users?
A: Training materials will be accessible to all Production Simulation users. We're currently finalizing the approach to ensure everyone has the most up-to-date resources, and additional details will be shared as soon as they're ready.
Q: Will the Production Simulation environment remain available to counties following Go-Live?
A: No, Production Simulation is a practice environment to help users prepare for CWS-CARES. Once Go-Live occurs, this environment will no longer be available. There will be a training environment to support training on an ongoing basis and that training environment will have interface connectivity, using mock data.
Q: When will feedback submitted by counties be reflected?
A: Feedback is tracked and prioritized by the Product Team. There may be some system limitations, and enhancements may be added after V1 Go-Live.
Q: Is the process for adding a New Agency in CWS-CARES the same as adding a New Office?
A: Yes, while the video demonstration shows the user selecting “Law Enforcement Agency” for the Organization Type, this is essentially demonstrating how a user would add a new office.
Q: What is an estimated number of hours or resources that a mid-size county should allocate for data cleanup?
A: Refer to County Fiscal Letter (CFL) 23/24-07 for guidance on resources and allocations related to data cleanup.