Frequently Asked Questions
Stakeholder Briefing
Q: Is there a group at the State level providing feedback on the health section of CWS-CARES?
A: The Case Management team worked with case management constituent counties to gather input on pain points for documenting health and education information in CWS/CMS, and also received documentation from prior public health workgroups. The team is reviewing End User Scenario Testing (EUST) 3 feedback related to the Health and Education Passport (HEP), and all feedback provided during Production Simulation will also be reviewed for inclusion in development.
Q: Will the CWS-CARES project provide guidance on which permissions users will need for Production Simulation?
A: Guidance will be provided as to what various CWS-CARES users will need for permissions in Production Simulation.
Q: If feedback is submitted during Production Simulation, can system modifications still be evaluated for resolution before CWS-CARES V1 Go-Live?
A: Feedback will be evaluated and considered based on criticality.
Q: Can County Administrators adjust staff roles themselves to validate that ability in Production Simulation?
A: Yes. This is part of Production Simulation scenarios and business process activities, and County Administrators are encouraged to test different permissions. Note that changes to existing permissions may not carry over to Go-Live, though the Project will carry over as much as possible to minimize duplicate work.
Q: Who will have access to Production Simulation in early May, and how will counties communicate which users they want to have access?
A: More information on this topic was released in All County Letter No. 26-21.
Q: For CWS/CMS functionality not integrated until CWS-CARES V2 (such as the S-Wraparound Program Special Project Code), where will counties enter that data when CWS/CMS is read-only?
A: The Project believes the special project code has already been implemented but will confirm whether anything remains outstanding. The goal is to ensure both the functionality in CWS/CMS and the associated data are in place. Counties with a specific scenario are encouraged to share it with the Project.
Q: Is there a timeline for phase 1 and phase 2 of onboarding, or does each county determine the length of each phase?
A: Phase 1 is starting in early May. Phase 2 will open after the end of May, once the converted data becomes available, as long as County Administrators are ready. The Project will share more as these dates are finalized.
Q: During Production Simulation, will there be an opportunity to make system adjustments or modifications if functionality issues are identified?
A: Yes. Production Simulation is designed to help identify critical issues early so they can be evaluated and addressed before Go-Live. Reviewing and resolving high-impact items will be prioritized, but not all adjustments or feedback can be incorporated due to time and resource constraints. The Project will prioritize items that pose the greatest operational risk.
Q: What is the difference between End User Scenario Testing (EUST), CARES 102, and the Production Simulation environment?
A: EUST 3 is part of structured, large-scope testing windows used to test end-to-end functionality with mock data. Production Simulation is an end-to-end, production-like copy of the system with interfaces, converted data, role-based access, and the ability to practice and validate business processes. CARES 102 (County Development) is a separate environment specifically for forms and reports developers.
Q: Why is Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Gender Expression (SOGIE) data being changed to read-only in CWS-CARES?
A: In accordance with federal reporting requirements that changed under federal executive orders, the child welfare information system cannot collect certain SOGIE-related data. Because this functionality was already developed for CWS-CARES, it has been moved to read-only, and the system will not allow this data collection until reporting requirements change.