Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How can I access the Process Information Sessions recordings and meeting materials?
A: You can find Process Information Session recordings and meetings here: CWS-CARES Process Information Session Materials.
Note: You must log in to the Implementation Portal using your county/organization email address to access these files.
Q: Will CWS-CARES training be instructor-led and in-person or video-based, and will CDSS provide proctors with knowledge of CWS-CARES?
A: CWS-CARES training is offered through both instructor-led sessions (in-person and virtual) and self-paced online (Salesforce Enablement) courses. All Project-provided training resources will be virtual.
Knowledgeable proctors will be available. Project-provided Proctors will participate in Train-the-Trainer to prepare for supporting statewide CWS-CARES Version 1 (CARES V1) training and will be backed by a Training Support Hub staffed with Senior Trainers to address more complex questions. For more information, contact OTSI CWDS Training.
Q: Why aren't all Juvenile (JV) Forms going to be created by the Project in CWS-CARES?
A: Approximately 145 JV Forms are currently projected to be developed by the Project at this time, based on prioritization decisions made by the Project team. Please note that this list is subject to change as development activities continue.
The full list of forms is maintained in the CARES Forms Tracker, available through the CARES Forms Workgroup Teams Channel. To access the tracker, please email the CWS-CARES Forms Mailbox to request permission. Once granted, users can export the list to Excel and apply filters (e.g., Form Title, Disposition) to view specific form types, including JV forms.
Q: Does the Project have a Disaster Recovery Plan for CWS-CARES?
A: Our Disaster Recovery Plan is called a Technical Recovery Plan (TRP). The Project team recognizes the criticality of a comprehensive TRP to ensure continuity and resilience across CWS-CARES. While a finalized plan is not yet available for distribution, significant work has been underway to align our recovery strategy with best practices and stakeholder needs. We anticipate further development and refinement of the TRP over the coming months, with a potential target for completion around mid-2026. We appreciate the interest and will continue to provide updates as the plan evolves and is ready to share with the counties.
Q: Can you please provide more information about the tiered rate structure rollout in CWS-CARES?
A: CWS-CARES has finalized development of stories to capture Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths Assessment (CANS) assessment results, translate them into the appropriate tiered rates, and allow counties to select and apply those rates for children.
Testing with CalSAWS will occur later, as CalSAWS is still building its Tiered Rate System (TRS) functionality. CWS-CARES will automatically translate CANS results into an applicable tier based on the CDSS Decision Support Model, and counties will be able to send those tiered rates to CalSAWS for payment processing.
The timeline for when TRS-related functionality will be available for user testing is currently being finalized, and the Project will notify counties once that information is confirmed.
Q: Will text boxes in CWS-CARES have the capability for AutoText?
A: From our understanding, AutoText is a feature that allows you to store and quickly reuse blocks of text. This feature is not included in CWS-CARES Version 1. Counties could still use Microsoft Word and then copy and paste the narratives into CWS-CARES if they wanted to.A: From our understanding, AutoText is a feature that allows you to store and quickly reuse blocks of text. This feature is not included in CWS-CARES Version 1.
Counties could still use Microsoft Word and then copy and paste the narratives into CWS-CARES if they wanted to.
Q: When will the Project begin to accept requests for APIs? Pre-or post-go-live, or is that not known yet?
A: At this time, the Project is not accepting requests for APIs, and there is no plan to provide or accept new API requests before the CWS-CARES V1 go-live.
The Project is still defining the long-term API strategy and continuing to work with counties to understand use cases and business needs. As this strategy becomes clearer, the Project will share updates and outline the process for how and when counties may submit API-related requests in the future.
We will keep counties informed as soon as more information and timelines are available.
Q: Within documents, is it possible to redact content?
A: Yes, CWS-CARES allows users with the appropriate permissions to redact information in documents such as PDFs, Word files, and Excel files. All redacted documents are saved as PDFs, even if the original file was created in another format.
Redaction can be done in two ways:
- Manual redaction: selecting specific portions of the document to block out.
- Automatic redaction: searching for a word or phrase and redacting all occurrences at once.
Only users with the correct role-based permissions (such as case workers or supervisors) will see the redaction option, and access depends on their role and their access to the case or record.
Q: What is the time frame that CWS-CARES will retain a record of information that has been deleted or modified? For example, if a document such as a Court report is deleted, how far back will CWS-CARES be able to track when it was deleted? Will it be able to identify who performed the action? Will CWS-CARES be able to retrieve the original Court report?
A: Deleted data (including Court Reports) can be retrieved from the Salesforce platform by users for up to 15 days, and you can view details on who deleted it. After 15 days, system administrators can recover deleted data at any time.
Q: Is there a plan for dedicated counties once CWS-CARES V1 goes live with Tableau? Will there be a similar set up- or will the process be different?
A: Yes, CWDS will establish network connectivity (including CARES SFTP Service) for dedicated counties. Please reference the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) page on the CWDS website for the August 12, 2025 TAC Meeting resources. This meeting shared information on the CWS-CARES SFTP service and set-up.