Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Will the Production Simulation environment have Foster Care Eligibility and Determination (FCED)/CalSAWS interface capability for testing/viewing?
A: Yes, the Foster Care Eligibility Determination (FCED) interface between CWS-CARES and CalSAWS will be available in the Production Simulation environment for all necessary testing and validation.
Q: Will instructions be provided on how to open tickets in the new Help Desk service?
A: Yes, we are setting up a Service Desk County Advisory Committee (CAC) to work through the ticketing process and service level expectations. This CAC will include county/project representatives and the focus is operational county and state coordination, incidents and escalations, defect prioritization, business continuity, and knowledge base.
Q: Will there be dedicated support to assist County Admins with configuration?
A: Support will be provided for all Product Simulation users via a Service Desk. The specific support model is still being finalized, and more information will be shared as those details are confirmed.
Q: Will the help desk be available to support families once CWS-CARES V1 goes live or are the counties required to support families on their own?
A: The CWS-CARES V1 Service Desk is not intended for families to call in to. This service desk is exclusively for Counties, California Tribes with a Title IV-E Agreement, and CDSS users. Currently, there are tiers of service that provide support within the counties. When an issue extends beyond a county question, the county then would reach out to the service desk. This model also applies to the Production Simulation environment.
Q: What are virtual offices in CWS-CARES?
A: A virtual office refers to an office that does not have a physical location.
Q: How do we identify the County Geographic Region in CWS-CARES?
A: This field is not used by all counties, and it is not required. Those that do use the field would know if they were North, South, East, West, etc.
Q: What is the process for administrators transferring a worker from one office and unit to another where the worker will retain their existing caseload?
A: A user must be added to the new unit in the new office and then end dated from the previous office. The bulk transfer process can then be used to move the entire caseload.
Q: Can additional addresses be added to an Office in CWS-CARES?
A: Yes, additional addresses can be added to an office.
Q: Will functionality for creating Offices in CWS-CARES mirror CWS/CMS functionality? Specifically, will an Office require a user account to be attached to it in order for it to be created?
A: Creating an office in CWS-CARES is similar to the process in CWS/CMS. User accounts are then required to be added to a unit within an office. Users aren’t added at the office level unless it’s an assignment desk.
Q: If there is a need to decommission or close an office, does CWS-CARES provide the functionality to terminate all user accounts under that office and close/inactivate the office?
A: CWS-CARES will not allow an office to be closed until all users within the office’s units have been transferred to the units of an open office or a user has been end-dated. CWS-CARES will notify an administrator if the office they are trying to close is an office housing units with existing active users. As a note, there isn't workload history at the office level, there are caseloads under units. If you are just updating an office address, it does not affect the history at all.