A: The scope for CWS-CARES beyond V1 has not been finalized. External systems currently identified as out of scope for CWS-CARES V1 will be reevaluated for duplicative functionality following the release of future CWS-CARES scope.

A: Yes, decommissioning activities can begin prior to February 2027. Organizations (California Department of Social Services, Counties, Tribes with California Title IV-E Agreement(s)) are encouraged to begin validating fully In-Scope functionality in the Production Simulation environment. Early validation can provide opportunity to minimize duplicate data entry, revise and finalize business processes in preparation for Go-Live, and/or move forward with plans to set fully In-Scope system(s) to read-only or decommission.

A: If the external ID is missing and the relationship cannot be established, the system may not be able to reliably match records. In these cases, county assistance may be required to resolve gaps.

A: The CWS-CARES V1 Scope Assessments are preliminary and based on functionality descriptions provided by organizations. Production Simulation provides the opportunity for organizations to validate functionality in CWS-CARES V1 prior to go-live, in order to identify any gaps or issues that were not previously identified or documented by the gap analysis process. Use of the Production Simulation environment also allows organizations an early opportunity to validate and finalize business process changes ahead of go-live. This will minimize the effort for Fully-In-Scope decommissioning planning as validated systems can be made inactive or read-only prior to December 31, 2027.

A: Yes, the vendor will convert up to 2,400 county developed forms directly from CWS/CMS into the AEM format. Once built, counties will continue to validate forms. Counties will be responsible for building forms maintained outside of CWS/CMS, such as forms in external or local systems.

A: Yes, in All County Letter 18-47 CDSS encourages counties to work with their contract and procurement offices to incorporate language into any vendor contracts for external systems that may allow for flexibility to modify and/or terminate contracts as appropriate as the statewide functionality is developed and fully implemented in CWS-CARES.

A: Organizations should use Production Simulation and recorded demonstrations to test real workflows in CWS-CARES V1 using converted data as it becomes available.

For fully in-scope systems, we recommend organizations validate their required workflows can be completed from start to finish in CWS-CARES V1 without relying on the external system.

For partially in scope systems, organizations are encouraged to use a mix of common daily tasks, workflows, and county-specific processes to identify the boundary between CWSCARES V1 and the external system. The organization will then know which steps occur in CWS-CARES, and which steps remain outside CWS-CARES. Thus, validating functionality that is partially in-scope.

The ESCU recommendations for validation tools and activities in Production Simulation are available in the February 2026 External Systems Monthly Meeting Materials within the External Systems Portal.
 

A: The State expects to take over county costs associated with SafeMeasures starting on July 1, 2028. Counties must continue to submit an Advance Planning Document (APD) to the California Department of Social Services prior to executing, renewing, or amending the agreement or paying for associated services. Please see External Systems Monthly Meeting May 2026 Questions and Answers County Fiscal Letter 23/24-12 for APD submission requirements and details as counties will be responsible for the existing contract and access until June 30, 2028. Please refer to The Future of SafeMeasures and Structured Decision Making (SDM) Assessments with CWS-CARES for more information.

A: Populated with converted data from CWS/CMS. Converted data from CARES-Live, RFA Greenfield, and select external systems will be integrated as they become available.

A: All CARES V1 functionality will be available in Production Simulation, including: