Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Is there a data validation process for CARES-Live Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths Assessment (CANS)?
A: Converted CARES-Live data will be available for validation in Production Simulation environment after Phase 2 begins in July 2026.
Q: Regarding the Decommissioning Activities Timeline, can decommissioning activities for external systems begin before February 2027?
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.
Q: Train the Trainer (TTT) begins June 16, and staff will start their 40-hour online training. We plan for our TTT participants to attend the 80-hour Instructor-Led Training (ILT), but it is very likely that, due to coverage issues, some participants will be absent for certain days or hours. Will this be an issue?
A: Train-the-Trianer has now been shifted to take place from July 20 - August 28. We ask that you reach out to your CWS-CARES Training Lead or Representative and work with them on any scheduling difficulties or missed sessions.
Q: In CWS-CARES, if contacts still aren’t appearing, and it’s been indicated as already having “a fix”, how is that being resolved?
A: If a solution was identified and you're still finding an issue with that functionality, please inform the Project of that issue by submitting a ServiceNow ticket so that you can be helped and the issue can be addressed.
Q: May we please get an update on the requirement that the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths Assessment (CANS) must be completed before Case Plan Service Objectives can be entered?
A: The intention is for case plans to be completed in alignment with the Child and Family Team, with the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths Assessment (CANS) serving as the community metric assessment. The outcome of the CANS score and the identified areas requiring the most focus become the drivers for the case plan. Although we understand there are times when the shell of a case plan, or the beginning of a case plan, needs to be developed before the CANS is completed, there are circumstances where this occurs. As a result, the Project is working on other options and workarounds. This is a very important issue, and the teams are actively working on a solution.
Q: When is the search function in CWS-CARES going to be enhanced? Currently users aren’t able to search by anything but name and that brings back too many results. Users can’t search by state ID, Social Security Number (SSN), or by CalSAWS case number.
A: Focused Search & Person search has been enhanced, and users can now search by IDs such as those mentioned above. You can also include addresses in your search parameters as well.
Q: In addition to a completed Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths Assessment (CANS), does the Child and Family Team (CFT) need to be held and uploaded into CWS-CARES for the case plan to be eligible for supervisor approval?
A: CFT and Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths Assessment (CANS) are not dependent on one another being completed. There isn’t any requirement to upload a CFT form as a part of Case Plan completion.
Q: May we please have a reminder outlining the expected items to continue testing in Mock cycles in Production Simulation?
A: Users are free to validate data at their own discretion, as there are no formal test cases to execute. For example, users may compare a record in CWS-CMS with the corresponding record in CWS-CARES Production Simulation to validate that the data matches. Based on county requests, resources will be available on the Production Simulation Hub, including EUST scenarios, navigation guides, walkthrough meeting recordings, and source-to-target mappings that detail source and target fields, as well as data transformations. In addition, Enablement Programs will become available to help guide users through the system.
Q: When will the Train-the-Trainer (TTT) training dates be solidified and provided to the counties?
A: Train-the-Trainer (TTT) will now be conducted from July 20 to August 28, 2026, shifted from the original July 6th to August 14 timeline.
Q: Can you briefly define "enablement" within CWS-CARES?
A: Enablement Programs in CWS-CARES are built-in, onscreen training guides that walk users through tasks with step-by-step instructions displayed on the right side of the screen. They help employees learn by doing, allowing them to follow the prompts directly inside the system as they complete real workflows.