A: CWS-CARES is designed to improve compliance with state and federal policy (CCWIS) and support the improvement of child welfare programs. For example, a worker will now have information currently stored in contact notes or case plans auto-populate in court reports, and CWS-CARES will help child welfare workers stay on pace with their work and make sense of how their children and families are doing. CWS-CARES will have capabilities for identifying missing information and discrepancies for federal reporting and the system is designed to help end-users and clients by automating processes and tasks, streamlining workflows, and providing a more robust and effective engagement platform with clients and stakeholders. For example, CWS-CARES will populate information into forms and reports to save valuable time.

A: Child Welfare Services-California Automated Response and Engagement System (CWS-CARES) is the new system under development for the State of California to comply with Comprehensive Child Welfare Information System (CCWIS) requirements. CWS-CARES will be a modern, web-based computing infrastructure that is flexible, scalable, and based on industry enterprise architecture framework concepts. CWS-CARES will consolidate functionalities that are in various systems into a single system and include multiple interfaces with other applications, thus providing users with critical case information more efficiently.

A: The Child Welfare Services-California Automated Response and Engagement System (CWS-CARES) Project has a governance structure that includes a Decision-Making Framework (DMF). That process includes various levels of approval, and County leadership participates in the Decision-Making processes and in the project’s Governance.   
 
All Counties going live on CWS-CARES at the same time (Entire State at Once) was approved by the CWDS Board of Directors, with conditions.  That said, the processes leading to that decision were lengthy and thorough.  See below:

• There were numerous meetings with County Child Welfare Directors and/or their deputies.
• The project’s Independent Advisor made the same recommendation using a risk-based analysis regarding impact to child safety by using multiple systems over a period of time.
• Tribal consultation was sought out and included in the decision.

A: The county agency is responsible for translating the court report and case plan using their current tools or processes. The court report and case plan will not be translated via Child Welfare Services-California Automated Response and Engagement System (CWS-CARES).

A: The Child Welfare Services-California Automated Response and Engagement System (CWS-CARES) project has been planning for more regular communications starting in Spring 2024. In addition to this, the CWS-CARES Project will be issuing a quarterly newsletter starting in March 2024, and more activities including a Stakeholder Briefing with system demonstrations are planned to begin later this year.

A: During initial product requirements gathering and design, we rely primarily on the constituent model. The core counties for each service area were carefully selected in conversation with all counties a) to best represent the wide range of county needs across California, and b) to offer most counties a core seat for at least one service area, which will also give them some exposure to CARES as a whole. There are several additional things we do to give all our county partners as much of a voice as possible in CARES:   

 As we work through the many aspects of child welfare work, the Product team identifies areas that do need input from a wider set of constituents. We plan research especially suited to those complex processes and the wide variation in counties’ needs. Often, this research is planned in collaboration with the representatives from the core counties, so that they can help coordinate with additional counties.  

We encourage non-core counties with a particular need or question to reach out to the appropriate Service Area. They may be able to answer your question, share your input on your behalf during one of our regular meetings, or help coordinate a special direct engagement as appropriate. 

Please click the following link to view CWS-CARES Service Areas and corresponding contact info. You may also scroll to the bottom of the page and click on “Service Area Core Constituent List” for further detail. CWS-CARES Service Areas  

A: Counties should continue to enter CWS/CMS Case Number in CalSAWS. This is required for data conversion to establish a link between CWS/CMS and CalSAWS Cases.

A: CWS-CARES V1 will support prevention work, including both the Community Pathway and the IV-E Pathway, and enable drawing down funds under the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA). The project is currently working closely with county and program constituents to design Prevention workflows, plans and forms.

A: Yes. A CWS-CARES Project Glossary can be found on the Child Welfare Digital Services Glossary webpage located in the CWDS Glossary.

A: Current Child Welfare Services/Case Management System (CWS/CMS) Spanish forms and templates will be available in Child Welfare Services-California Automated Response and Engagement System (CWS-CARES) V1. Please note that while there are pre-built Case Plan and Case Plan Family Assessment forms in Spanish in CWS/CMS, there is no translation capability for items entered by workers.