A: The purpose of the Data Conversion Workgroup is to validate the data mapping and not the CARES application. It is best to have people that understand the underlying data and fields, who can best validate that the intended data is properly related to the appropriate object model in CARES. This is best suited for people who have some type of experience with data models, xTools, databases, or Entity-Relationship-Diagrams.

A: CWS-CARES will be accessible via supported devices connected to the county network*. *Connectivity to the county network may be via a hardwired or a wireless network connection or over the Internet via a Virtual Private Network (VPN) connection as implemented by counties. Users must be authenticated by the county’s identity and access management system.

A: At this time, dedicated mobile functionality within an app is not planned until at least Version 2. The app will be fully web accessible on mobile devices but will still rely on a data connection.  

A: Yes, data extracts will be available. The project is currently working on designing and implementing secure mechanisms to provide data extracts to organizations. Details will be provided via CWS-CARES Analytics Transition Workgroup in the coming weeks.

A: CWS-CARES is being designed through guidance from the Comprehensive Child Welfare Information System (CCWIS) requirements as set by the Administration on Children Youth and Families (ACYF). These regulatory requirements will ensure that data collected will be:

• Complete, Timely, and Accurate
• Consistently & Uniformly Collected
• Exchanged & Maintained Confidentially
• Implemented & Maintained through Automated Functions
• Supportive of Child Welfare Policies, Goals & Practices

• Data will be validated at collection (I.e., data entry)
• Data in CWS-CARES will be continually measured through data profiling and data quality assessments. CWS-CARES data stewards will work closely with the data governance and data quality teams in determining the criticality of any data violations and the effectiveness of the remediations.
• Using automated data exchanges in a standardized format with various external sources to provide supporting data, in turn, reducing manual entry with the goal of preventing data inconsistencies and inaccuracy.
• Improved data analysis tools that can assist in trends, projections, and identifying gaps in providing child welfare services.
• Providing master data management (MDM) to provide a single source of truth throughout CWS-CARES thereby avoiding duplicates, redundancy, and inaccuracy.

A:  It is recommended the participating Organization’s Subject Matter Experts (SME’s):

• Understand data in the legacy system Child Welfare Services/Case Management System (CWS/CMS)
• Understand how the data is inter-related in CWS/CMS
• Understand data transformation rules.
• Understand data quality concepts.
• Are familiar with database and related concepts, i.e., entities, attributes, data types, relationships, mandatory fields, and list of values (LOVs)
• Are familiar with the current CWS/CMS business model (i.e., Referrals, Allegations, Delivered Services, Cases)
• Have knowledge of County policies and/or County desk procedures that direct specific data entry for a program or interim solution that may have used data fields for data other than their original intent. Sometimes counties have very specific data they want to capture.
• Have knowledge of County business practices (possibly by program) that will help identify the intentional or unintentional use of a field. For example:
  • Storing the Corporate Identification Number (CIN) number in a different data field (before the CIN number was added to CWS/CMS)
  • Storing a CalWORKs number in a data field intended for something else.
  • Storing American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and/or Kinship Guardianship Assistance (Kin-GAP) program information in CWS/CMS data fields designated for other programs/placements
  • Are familiar with any County unique dropdowns/screens/fields.
  • Understand use or misuse of a field to record data that was not the original intent of the data element.

A: Data Stewards include staff from the County Welfare Directors Association of California (CWDA), County Child Welfare Departments, County Juvenile Probation Departments, Title IV-E Tribes, and California Department of Social Services (CDSS). CARES Data Stewards will be responsible for reviewing artifacts provided by the Conversion team and working with the CWDS Data Team on Data Quality management and cleanup. Data Stewards will participate in and be responsible for:

• Data Quality
• Data Clean-up
• Data Practice Validation activities
• Ongoing Data Stewardship during Conversion and post CWS-CARES Go-Live.

A: Core Constituents are County, State, or Indian Tribal representatives who collaborate with Child Welfare Digital Services (CWDS) in research, design, testing, and support of activities for the implementation or improvement of a Digital Service. This, and other definitions, can be found in the Child Welfare Digital Services Project Glossary.

A: Child Welfare Services-California Automated Response and Reporting System (CWS-CARES) V1 Hybrid Training Approach: The hybrid training approach for CARES V1 is a partnership across organizations/teams, including the Regional Training Academies (RTAs), Organizations (Orgs.), and the CARES Implementation and Training vendor. This hybrid approach leverages the benefits of each training organization/team and can be adjusted to meet the needs of each Org, providing an optimal training delivery approach.

A: The State will be responsible for entering and maintaining the Rate Tables in CWS-CARES. Counties will be able to view those rates to guide them when completing eligibility requests.

The Rate Tables in CWS-CARES are not directly connected to the Assistance Payments received by CalSAWS. That is, we aren't using the CWS-CARES Rate Tables to send Rate info to CalSAWS.