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.

A: CWS-CARES is working on a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which is expected to be shared with the counties and other organizations a few months prior to the CWS-CARES Go-Live scheduled for Quarter 4, 2026. The MOU will capture the basic principles of data security, the basic principles of data privacy, and expectations from users as applicable to CWS-CARES. 

A: The model and budget were approved by the Federal Administration for Children Youth and Families and the Child Welfare Digital Services Board of Directors which is composed of representatives from the County Welfare Directors Association, the California Department of Social Services, the State Department of Finance, Health and Human Services Agency, the California Department of Technology, and the State Office of Technology and Systems Integration.

During the initial planning phases of the CWS-CARES project (then referred to as CWS-NS), the Child Welfare functionality was divided into modules referred to as Digital Services: Intake, Case Management, Courts, Eligibility, Certification and Licensing, Financial Management, Resource Management, and Administration. The County Welfare Directors Association worked with the State and Federal partners to secure a project budget for Counties participation in the development and implementation of the new system.

Core Counties were solicited to participate in the development of each module. To balance the need for diverse county input with the size of the working team, the number of Counties for each digital service was targeted to be 6, depending on the module and the counties’ willingness to participate. Case Management, due to its size, was broken into 4 areas with 6 counties in each, designated CM 1-4. The CWDA Executive Liaison was in communication with each County Human Services Director and Child Welfare Director and obtained and confirmed each County’s participation; later the subsequent Executive Liaison re-confirmed each County’s participation prior to the “kickoff” of system development and then a third acting Executive Liaison reconfirmed participation, realigned a Resource Management County, and added 2 additional Financial Management counties based on resources and requirements at that time.

Core County Constituents are county employees who remain in their existing county roles and are authorized by their counties to provide subject matter expertise on a part-time basis to inform the design of CWS-CARES. The county submits claims to the project based on the Core Constituents hours worked on the project. Please see the Core Constituent Participation Model for a visual aid.