CWS-CARES Public Library

In May 2025, the CWS-CARES Implementation Team held Process Information Sessions for Intake (Screening and Investigations). These sessions walked organizations through the new Intake processes and terminology they can expect to see in CWS-CARES; they also highlighted the ways CWS-CARES is different from CWS/CMS. Session participants are sharing what they've learned with their organizations to help prepare for CWS-CARES Go-Live. 

New Terminology in CWS-CARES

Here are a few new terms CWS-CARES users will see across different areas of the new system: 

Client → Person​
Individuals who play a role in a Screening, Referral, or Case are captured as 'Persons' in CWS-CARES. Persons categorized as Core Participants can include the focus child, parent, CFT Member, and more.​

Client Abstract/Notebook → Person Profile/Record​
The ‘Person Record’ in CWS-CARES holds details about the Person depending on their role. The Person Record for a focus child includes comprehensive details and demographics including date of birth, address, education, health information, and more.

New Features and Updates in CWS-CARES

Two-Step Referral Process ​

Hotline Workers will document information from the reporter into a Screening record in CWS-CARES. If an investigation is required, the Hotline Supervisor will promote this Screening to an Investigation and a new Referral record will be created. The assigned Emergency Response Worker will then document the details from the Investigation in the Referral record. ​

Streamlined Non-Abuse and Neglect Calls​

Hotline Workers will be able to indicate the reason for calls not related to abuse and neglect, including prevention services requests, community resources, social worker information requests, and prospective young adult re-entry requests. CWS-CARES will prompt the worker to collect only the information needed and generate reports on the different types of calls.​

Data Integration ​

Workers conducting assessments can easily access SDM by clicking a link within CWS-CARES. After they've completed an assessment in SDM, that data will populate back into CWS-CARES to eliminate duplicate data entry.​

Dashboards​

Dashboards in CWS-CARES will organize Screenings, Referrals, assessments, and other work items to give workers and supervisors visibility to pending work. ​Supervisors can see a list of Screenings and Referrals that have been submitted for approval and how much work is assigned to each of their workers. Workers can see a list of Screenings and Referrals assigned to them and track unsubmitted items. ​

Address Validation​

CWS-CARES will have address validation software that checks entered addresses against the United States Postal Service records to help prevent incorrect or incomplete addresses. Workers will have the option to override a suggested address. ​

Autogenerated Email Responses​

A Mandated Reporter may now choose to receive the Emergency Response Notice of Disposition by email. CWS-CARES will automatically send this document to the email address provided to the Hotline Worker and evaluate at the disposition of a screening or an investigation.  ​

Originally Published in the CWS-CARES Explorer.