A: Visit records in CWS-CARES include a section in the left navigation dedicated to notes and to capturing visit quality, per the definitions listed in the Resource Information and External Links sections. Visitation notes include an overall narrative as well as narratives on progress toward case plan goals, any concerns observed, and new or existing skills observed.

A: To access the live (steady-state) CWS-CARES system, dedicated county users are expected to use their dedicated county machines (supported by CWDS), similar to how they access CWS/CMS. County machines that are on the county network and not CWDS-supported are, by design, not allowed access to the steady-state CWS-CARES production system. Users with special requirements, similar to those in CWS/CMS, may be assigned as Citrix users based on specific business needs.

A: There are no additional processes to follow. The county's CWS-CARES Administrator is responsible for adding new users to CWS-CARES. This includes current staff who never used CWS/CMS as well as new staff hired after CWS-CARES goes live. Current staff who are already active in CWS/CMS and have not been deactivated will automatically convert into CWS-CARES at Go-Live.

A: Counties have the flexibility to determine how offices, units, and user access are structured in CWS-CARES based on their local operational needs. This includes configuring Adoptions, Probation, and Child Welfare staff under a single office structure, similar to current CWS/CMS configurations. CDSS recommends maintaining separate offices for certain functions (such as Probation and Child Welfare) to support data security and access considerations, but this is not a system-enforced requirement; counties are responsible for assessing and managing access, security, and associated risks in alignment with applicable regulations and local governance. Note that CWS-CARES does not include unit-level record security in the same way CWS/CMS does, so users across units within the same office may have visibility into each other's records based on assigned permission sets. Existing office and unit structures from CWS/CMS will be mapped into CWS-CARES with no expected impact, business workflows will continue to function regardless of office structure, and reporting will continue to support unit-level analysis. The Project recommends that counties review the differences between the CWS/CMS and CWS-CARES security models and consult internal leadership, including County Counsel, when determining their structure.

A: In CWS-CARES, the User ID will change from RACF ID to email address, and a field has been added to capture employee number. Office, unit, and caseload names will follow each county's current format in production; those names will not be changed.

A: An inactive account is not end-dated; accounts are only end-dated when access is truly being terminated (for example, when an employee is separated, resigns, or retires). An inactive account will be disabled in Okta, and the user will need to contact their County Administrator to re-enable it. Data in CWS-CARES associated with the user will remain unchanged, and the user's supervisor is responsible for any units of work associated with the user while the account is disabled.

A: Each county in CWS-CARES will be assigned a RFA queue where these homes could reside. The county will have flexibility to assign someone to this queue as notifications on needed actions will need to be sent to someone.

A: A Candidacy Determination Request is the process that will determine if the child meets the IV-E eligibility requirements to receive services under Title IV-E funding. This is required to be completed for each child that is referred to prevention services. If approved, a worker would continue the process of coordinating prevention services. If the child has an open case and/or is receiving services from the county themselves, the county will be required to create a Family Well Being Plan in CWS-CARES. This plan will only be used in the FFPSA process and can be added as part of a case plan. In short, the Candidacy Determination Request and/or Family Well-Being Plan are to be used for FFPSA only.

A: Confidential attorney contacts are never discoverable. Anything other than that, ordered by the court, would have to be provided. There may be some redaction required on some of the documents. Some counties may have policy around not providing Police Reports to any party, even with a court order. Those must be obtained directly by the requestor.

A: Counties have the flexibility to determine how offices, units, and user access are structured in CWS-CARES based on their local operational needs. This includes configuring Adoptions, Probation, and Child Welfare staff under a single office structure, similar to current CWS/CMS configurations. CDSS recommends maintaining separate offices for certain functions (such as Probation and Child Welfare) to support data security and access considerations, but this is not a system-enforced requirement; counties are responsible for assessing and managing access, security, and associated risks. Note that CWS-CARES does not include unit-level record security in the same way CWS/CMS does, so users across units within the same office may have visibility into each other's records based on assigned permission sets. Existing office and unit structures from CWS/CMS will be mapped into CWS-CARES with no expected impact, business workflows will continue to function regardless of office structure, and reporting will continue to support unit-level analysis. The Project recommends that counties review the differences between the CWS/CMS and CWS-CARES security models and consult internal leadership, including County Counsel, when determining their structure.