Frequently Asked Questions
Q: If a placement change is entered, does CWS-CARES prompt the worker to update school information (or vice versa)?
A: No. After a placement is made or changed, there is no notification, task, or prompt reminding the worker to document the latest school details on the person profile. The Project has noted this input for further discussion.
Q: Will CWS-CARES include Medi-Cal eligibility information?
A: Yes. A health insurance section is part of the Person Profile for the focus child. Users can document the type of insurance — Medi-Cal, Medicaid, Mental Health, Health Insurance Coverage, Prescription Drug Coverage, or no coverage — along with details such as provider name, policy holder name, policy number, and date of issuance.
Q: How will duplicate persons be identified and merged in CWS-CARES?
A: Users with the Merge permission can search for persons using Person Search and select duplicate persons from the search results to merge them.
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: In CWS/CMS, users often have to exit Word documents and restart to generate a Health and Education Passport (HEP) or form. Is this resolved in CWS-CARES?
A: The Health and Education Passport (HEP) in CWS-CARES is generated as a PDF.
Q: Will the California Immunization Registry (CAIRS) be linked to CWS-CARES so immunizations can be downloaded into the Health and Education Passport (HEP)?
A: The California Immunization Registry (CAIRS) is under consideration for future inclusion in CWS-CARES functionality.
Q: Is a .gov email address required to subscribe to the Weekly Digest?
A: No. A .gov email address is not required to receive the Weekly Digest. It is freely available to anyone and can be subscribed to using the CWS-CARES Weekly Digest Subscription Form.
Q: Will a Virtual Private Network (VPN) be necessary to access CWS-CARES?
A: CWS-CARES will be accessible via supported devices connected to the county network. Connectivity may be through a hard-wired or wireless network connection, or over the internet via a VPN connection as implemented by the county. Users must be authenticated by the county's identity and access management system.
Q: Is there spell check in CWS-CARES?
A: Yes. CWS-CARES includes spell check: a red underline appears beneath words that may be misspelled, and users can right-click to see suggested corrections.
Q: Were any feedback items recategorized to the proper CWS-CARES area?
A: Yes. During the review process, the CWS‑CARES Product Team recategorizes feedback items on the back end as needed. If an item was submitted under an incorrect area, it was reassigned to the appropriate CWS‑CARES functional area during triage and prioritization, so the results are not skewed by the category originally selected by the user.