CWDS Bulletins

CWS-CARES Data Dictionary, Training Video, and Upcoming Webinar

April 01, 2025 Communications
External Systems Points of Contact, CARES SPOCs, County Leadership, CARES Implementation Coordinators, and OCM Coordinators:
 
April 1, 2025 UPDATE: As stated in the original communication sent out on March 4, 2025, the CWS-CARES Data Dictionary will be published on a quarterly basis. This update is to notify everyone that v0.03 of the CWS-CARES Data Dictionary is now available to view in the MS Teams channel under ‘Files.’

This updated version includes:
1) Newly added tab:
a) "Column Definitions" tab
2) Changes to the current tabs:
a) "Tables" tab - newly added/removed object names based on application development activities.
b) "Columns" tab - newly added/removed columns names based on application development activities.
c) "Relationships" tab - modified relationships based on application development activities.
d) "Columns" tab - added “Unique” column.
e) "Columns" tab - removed “DISPLAYED_ON_SCREEN” column. This column will be added back in future versions.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
This email provides an update on the CWS-CARES Data Dictionary information previously communicated to External Systems Points of Contact and CARES SPOCs on February 11, 2025. 
We are excited to share that the initial version of the CWS-CARES Data Dictionary and legacy mapping of CWS/CMS is now available. We have also created a training video that provides a walkthrough of the materials, and a Webinar will be held on March 20, 2025 where staff can get further details and ask questions. See below for more details. 
Updates since our last communication: 
  1. CWS-CARES Data Dictionary Preview Session Complete: On February 13, 2025, a small group of counties previewed the Data Dictionary and provided feedback, which was incorporated into the Data Dictionary. 
  1. New Microsoft Teams Channel: A dedicated Microsoft Teams channel has been created for all CWS-CARES Data Dictionary-related materials. Your county’s Implementation Coordinator and CWS-CARES Single Point of Contact (SPOC) will be invited to the MS Teams channel. The Teams Channel is located under the CWDS Org Share, and the Channel name is CARES Data Dictionary. See the below section For Reference: Accessing Materials in MS Teams for more instructions on how to access materials. 
  1. CWS-CARES Data Dictionary and Legacy Mapping – Ready for Review: The initial version of the CWS-CARES Data Dictionary, which incorporates legacy mapping of CWS/CMS fields is now available in the Teams channel under Files. The folder name is CWS-CARES Data Dictionary v0.02. 
  1. Training Video Available: A training video has been uploaded to the Teams channel under Files, in the folder called Walkthrough Recording. Please watch the video before reviewing the materials to ensure a clear understanding of the content.  
  1. FAQ Document Available: A FAQ is located on the Teams channel under CARES Data Dictionary FAQs Tab.
  1. Terms of Use: The CWS-CARES Data Dictionary documentation is considered sensitive and confidential. Please read the CWDS Terms of Use located on the Teams channel under Files. 
  1. Upcoming Webinar: A webinar will be conducted on Thursday, March 20, 2025 from 9 AM – 10 AM. Your county’s Implementation Coordinator and CWS-CARES SPOC will be invited, and the meeting invitation may be forwarded to others. The webinar will cover navigation of the CWS-CARES Data Dictionary, utilization of the support documentation, and use of legacy mapping documentation with the CWS-CARES Data Dictionary. 
  1. Adding Staff to the Teams Channel: We kindly ask that you email CWDSDataManagement@osi.ca.gov with any additional County staff names and associated email addresses and their roles that should have access to the Microsoft Teams Channel:  CARES Data Dictionary. 
Publication and Ongoing Updates 
  • Updates to the CWS-CARES Data Dictionary will be published quarterly in the Teams channel. The next version will be available March 31, 2025.
  • Future versions will include significant changes, including potential additional and updated legacy mapping. 
Communication and Support 
  • Please refer to the FAQs in the Teams channel. 
For Reference: Accessing Materials in MS Teams
Under CWDS Org Share, select the CARES Data Dictionary channel.

In the CARES Data Dictionary Channel, select the Files Tab. The initial version of the Data Dictionary is available in the folder called CWS-CARES Data Dictionary v0.02. 
 
In the CARES Data Dictionary Channel, select the Files Tab. The recorded Training video walkthrough is available in the folder called Walkthrough Recording. 

We appreciate your support and understanding as we work diligently to ensure the successful implementation and ongoing maintenance of the CWS-CARES Data Dictionary. 
Data, Update, CARES, CWS/CMS, CWS-CARES

CWS/CMS: Major Incident Status - VPN Service Unavailable - RESOLVED

April 01, 2025 Communications
All SPOCs and Technical Contacts:

April 1, 2025 UPDATE: The California Department of Technology (CDT) is reporting that the issue with the Virtual Private Network (VPN) has been resolved. Users should now be able to access VPN.
______________________________________________________________________________________
The California Department of Technology (CDT) has reported a major incident. Users are unable to connect to the Virtual Private Network (VPN). The CWDS Infrastructure team and CDT are investigating the issue. There is currently no estimate of when VPN access will be restored.

We will send out updates as new information is received.

Action Required
If users experience any issues with CWS/CMS or with using VPN, please follow your county process for reporting issues or you may contact the IBM Boulder Help Desk at 1-800-428-8268.
Update, CWS/CMS

The CARES Explorer Newsletter – March 2025 Issue

March 28, 2025 Communications
CARES SPOCs, Implementation Coordinators, County Leadership, Tribal Leadership, Probation Leadership, State Leadership, and OCM Coordinators:

We are pleased to share the CARES Explorer – March 2025 issue, the newsletter for staying up to date on the CWS-CARES project.

This is sent directly to our key stakeholders for project communications: County, Tribe, Probation, and State leadership, CARES Single Point of Contacts (SPOCs), and Organization Implementation Coordinators.

This issue contains information on:

Stakeholders: Discover how Yolo County uses creative ways to engage their staff in the changes coming with CWS-CARES. Read about how The Office of Tribal Affairs guides the California Department of Social Services efforts to help create and facilitate policies, procedures, and programs that serve Tribes, and tribal children and families.

CWS-CARES: This issue highlights Extended User Scenario Testing (EUST) 2, the second round of testing to improve system usability. We share details about the kickoff, scope, supporting tools, and the changes made from what we learned in the first round of testing. Understand who is participating and what training they will receive to prepare for EUST 2. We share an overview on external systems, and describe the ways that counties are analyzing their external systems in preparation for CWS-CARES. Understand more about the CARES V1 Scope Summary, the initial CWS-CARES Data Dictionary, and Interfaces in CARES V1.
  
Hidden Gems: Learn more about the CWS-CARES Public Library, the real-time CWDS Events & Meetings Calendar, and the Core Constituent survey and new guide. We also share a recap of the Stakeholder Briefing Session conducted in late January 2025. 
We recommend that you share this newsletter at your discretion with staff that are impacted by the changes coming with CWS-CARES.

The CARES Explorer – March 2025 issue is now available here: CARES Explorer Vol 2 Issue 1.

You may also obtain all CARES Explorer issues on the CWDS website: CARES Compass/Explorer | Child Welfare Digital Services

If you have any questions, need clarification, or have any accessibility issues, please do not hesitate to contact Customer Relations.

Action Required:
We request that all CARES Single Point of Contacts (SPOCs) and Implementation Coordinators coordinate and distribute the CARES Explorer Newsletter to all staff impacted by CWS-CARES at their discretion.
News, CARES, CWS-CARES

New CWDS Meeting and Event Calendar

March 27, 2025 Communications
We are pleased to announce that the new CWDS Meeting & Event Calendar will go live on Friday, March 28, 2025. This will be a near real-time calendar that includes the meeting/event name, date and time. The new calendar will not require users to log in.  



New CWDS Public Calendar: Streamlined Access to All Meetings and Events

CWS-CARES, CARES RFA, CARES-Live and CWS/CMS recurring meetings and ad-hoc meetings are streamlined into one view. This includes Core Constituent meetings, Implementation meetings, workgroups, and committees that engage external participants such as counties, Probation, Tribes with Title IV-E agreements with CDSS, and State and Federal partners.

Starting Friday, March 28, 2025, the CWDS public website will feature a new page where anyone can access the calendar of CWDS events at any time. The current Events Calendar at will be removed and a message will be displayed redirecting to the new calendar. 

Additionally, the existing CWS-CARES Meeting Calendar will display a message and link to the new calendar.  

NOTE:  If you have bookmarked or saved the current Events Calendar URL, please refresh it with the new CWDS Meeting & Event Calendar URL. Feel free to share this communication with others in your organization. If you have suggestions to improve this calendar, please send them to the Customer Relations Team.

Action Required
Once this new calendar goes live, please update your saved bookmarks by replacing them with the new URL for the CWDS Meeting & Event Calendar in your web browsers.
 
Update, Announcement, CARES, CWS-CARES

CWS-CARES Users Website Update | Effective April 8, 2025

March 25, 2025 Communications
All SPOCs, Implementation Coordinators, and OCM Coordinators:

We are pleased to announce that the existing CWS-CARES Stakeholder Resources page has been updated to reflect publicly available resources regarding CWS-CARES.

The intent of these changes to the CWDS website is to build awareness on CWS-CARES project updates and promote user engagement. These changes will be implemented on April 8, 2025.
 
  1. The CWS-CARES Users page is currently located under the ‘Stakeholder Resources’ dropdown (note: URL for this page has not changed):

 
  1. The updated page will be organized by the type of role played by the site visitor and will include descriptions to help users more quickly navigate to what they need:
 
  1. Previously, this page was sorted by the type of system discussed. The page will now solely reflect CWS-CARES resources. All other resources will be moved to one of the following locations:
  2. “Follow our Progress” (part of the horizontal navigation bar at the top of the page)
  3. “RFA and CARES-Live Users” (part of the “Stakeholder Resources” drop down menu)
  4. “Technical Support” (part of the “Stakeholder Resources” drop down menu)
 
  1. In addition to these changes, the resources found on the former page titled “Project Reporting” will be moved to the following locations:
    1. Legislative Updates – Monthly: now visible under “Follow Our Progress”
    2. CWDS Planning Roadmap & Timeline: now visible under “Follow Our Progress”
    3. CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefings: now on CARES User Resources | Child Welfare Digital Services
 
  1. And finally, any links that were previously found on this page will still be found at the bottom of the resources page. These links will also be available on either the Technical Support page or the CARES-Live and RFA Users pages once live, but they will be removed by May 31, 2025.

Action Required
Please reach out to Customer Relations if you have any questions.
 
Update, Announcement, CWS-CARES

CWS/CMS: Remote County Testing - Release 9.6 Improved CWS/CMS Data Quality in Preparation for Import to CARES, Phase 3 – FINAL REMINDER

March 24, 2025 Communications
All SPOCs and Training Contacts:

March 24, 2024 UPDATE:  This is a reminder that the deadline to register for the R9.6 County Test Workshop (CTW) is tomorrow, Tuesday, March 25, 2025.
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The Child Welfare Digital Services (CWDS) Office is requesting county staff to participate in the Release 9.6 County Test Workshop (CTW). Registered testers will participate in the testing of Release 9.6 Data Quality SCRs, which is been scheduled for delivery to the Counties on Saturday, August 16, 2025.

The CTW for Release 9.6 will be conducted in a remote setting via Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) workstations.

The deadline to register is Tuesday, March 25, 2025

System Change Requests (SCRs) included in this release are:
  • SCR 8982 - Add Missing Name for Placement Homes for CARES
  • SCR 8983 - Add Missing Name for Non-Foster Care Facilities for CARES
  • SCR 8999 - Update Client Dates out-of-range for CARES
  • SCR 8985 - Make Name Mandatory for Non-Foster Care Facility
  • SCR 8989 - Cleanup Outdated Home Studies
  • SCR 8843 - Transfer Enrollment between DOE Schools
  • SCR 8967 - Duplicate Hearing Notebook Warning
  • SCR 8972 - ACL 22-95 ICWA Eligibility Data Entry Mandatory Fields (Part B)
  • SCR 8943 - Expand Merge History Log
  • SCR 9020 - R9.6 Training Tools Package
Counties are encouraged to register individuals with knowledge and experience working in the areas mentioned above. A mix of end users with casework or supervisory experience will also be beneficial. Participants will validate the changes in the release and will perform tests of problem fixes and enhancements. Participants will work with other County and State testers and vendor support staff.

Remote CTW sessions will take place in the morning from 9:00AM - 12:00PM and again in the afternoon from 1:00PM – 4:00PM on the following dates: 

R9.6 Data Quality SCRs in the VB6 Environment
CWDS is seeking a total of fifteen (15) County staff members for each of the following twelve (12) sessions (2 sessions per day):
Tuesday, April 29, 2025 (AM or PM session)
Wednesday, April 30, 2025 (AM or PM session)
Thursday, May 1, 2025 (AM or PM session)
Tuesday, May 6, 2025 (AM or PM session)
Wednesday, May 7, 2025 (AM or PM session)
Thursday, May 8, 2025 (AM or PM session)

R9.6 Data Quality SCRs in C# Environment
CWDS is seeking fifteen (15) County staff members for each of the C# fourteen (10) sessions (2 sessions per day).
Monday, June 23, 2025 (AM or PM session)
Tuesday, June 24, 2025 (AM or PM session)
Wednesday, June 25, 2025 (AM or PM session)
Thursday, June 26, 2025 (AM or PM session)
Friday, June 27, 2025 (AM or PM session)

Participants are welcome to register for any of the sessions listed above in half or whole-day increments.

We encourage you to submit your request for a specific session as soon as possible, but no later than 5:00 PM on Tuesday, March 25, 2025. If a session’s count exceeds the maximum count, Customer Relations will work with that tester to be rescheduled for another session. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

A Release 9.6 CTW Online Registration Form (see link below) for each potential tester must be received as soon as possible but no later than 5:00 PM on Tuesday, March 25, 2025, so the CWDS office can finalize the needed arrangements.

 Link: Release 9.6 Data Quality SCRs (VB6 and C#) County Test Workshop (CTW) Registration Form 
The CWDS Office will work with the registered testers on all the details of their CTW participation.
 
Special Note:
The County data will be pulled from the Production environment and copied to the CTW environment at the close of business on Wednesday, April 9, 2025. Therefore, changes to your Production environment after this date will not be in the CTW environment.

If you cannot access the Online Registration Form or have any questions regarding this recruitment, please contact CWDS Customer Relations.

Your continued support of CWDS is greatly appreciated. 

Action Required
Submit a Release 9.6 County Test Workshop Online Registration Form no later than 5:00 PM on Tuesday, March 25, 2025.
 
Data, CWS/CMS, Data Management, Release

CARES-Live 2.8.33 Production Release - March 27, 2025 | 6 PM - 9 PM

March 21, 2025 Communications
All SPOCs and Technical Contacts:

Effective March 27, 2025, CARES-Live 2.8.33 Release is Scheduled to Move into Production
The CARES-Live team has scheduled release activity that will interrupt connectivity to the CARES-Live application. The release activity will begin at 6:00 PM on Thursday, March 27, 2025, and conclude at 9:00 PM. During this release, the CARES-Live team will focus on application changes, and users will not be able to access the CARES-Live application during this scheduled outage.
Users will not be able to access the CARES-Live application during this scheduled outage.

CARES-Live 2.8.33:
  • This release addresses security findings and Java upgrades and other infrastructure updates and security patches not visible to CARES-Live users. 
Action Required
If users experience any issues with CARES-Live, please follow your county process for reporting issues. CARES-Live County Administrators may contact the CARES Service Desk through the CWDS ServiceNow Customer Support Management (CSM) Portal. Alternate methods are phoning 1-855-292-3444 or via email at Servicedesk@cwds.ca.gov during normal business hours. You may also email after hours and a Service Desk representative will contact you the next business day.
Product Release, Maintenance, Outage, CARES-Live

CWS-CARES: New Core Constituent Orientation Guide

March 21, 2025 Communications
Core Constituent Points of Contact:

Core Constituents,

You shared in quarterly Core Constituent surveys that new meeting and demonstration participants would benefit from onboarding resources to better understand CWS-CARES and how to engage effectively. In response, we are introducing the Core Constituent Orientation Guide, a one-page resource designed to support your onboarding and participation.

What’s in the Guide?
  • Essential resources to get started
  • Key activities for Core Constituents
  • How to provide feedback
  • Contact information for questions
You can access the guide in the attached document. It will also be included in all Core Constituent meeting invites moving forward.

We would like to hear from you! If you have suggestions to improve the guide, please send them to the Customer Relations Team.

Thank you for your continued participation and valuable contributions to CWS-CARES.

Action Requested
Send your suggestions to improve the Core Constituent Orientation Guide to the Customer Relations team.
 
Customer Relations, Announcement, Notice, CWS-CARES, General

CWS-CARES Meeting Calendar - March 2025 to May 2025

March 20, 2025 Communications
Child Welfare Directors, Child Welfare Director-Alternates, Tribal Leadership, Probation Leadership, Core Constituents, CARES SPOCs, and Implementation Coordinators:

Child Welfare Leadership and CWS-CARES Meeting Participants,

As part of our ongoing effort to provide you greater insight into upcoming meetings for the CWS-CARES project, please see the updated CWS-CARES Meeting Calendar for March – May 2025. This calendar includes all meetings hosted by the CWS-CARES project, including Core Constituent demonstrations, implementation meetings, and key workgroups. 

This calendar includes the following sessions:
  • Prototype Demonstrations: Core Constituents review prototypes, or pre-build designs of CWS-CARES, to represent system functionality, to provide early feedback on user experience, navigation, and screen actions before the designs go into development. 
  • Build Review Demonstrations: Core Constituents see some of the feedback they provided in the Prototype Demonstrations reflected in CWS-CARES and provide further feedback on the developed product. 
  • Extended User Scenario Testing (EUST) 2: Participants will test end-to-end real-world scenarios in CWS-CARES.
  • NEW Process Information Sessions: Designed for OCM Coordinators, these sessions outline new processes in CWS-CARES and their impact on staff workflows, helping counties, probation departments, CDSS, and Tribes with Title IV-E Agreements update policies and procedures.
Action Required
Please share this information with those at your organization you feel should be informed. Note: This calendar is point-in-time and subject to change. The CWS-CARES project plans to deliver a sustainable, more real-time calendar solution that will be accessible to all meeting participants and leadership in late March 2025.

If you have any questions, please contact CWS_CustRel@otsi.ca.gov. 
Announcement, Meeting, CARES, CWS-CARES

CWS-CARES Scheduled Maintenance - March 27, 2025 | 5 PM - 6 PM

March 19, 2025 Communications
All Pilot County RFA Implementation Coordinators and SPOCs:
The CWS-CARES team has scheduled maintenance activity for the CWS-CARES production environment for Thursday, March 27, 2025, beginning at 5:00 PM and concluding at 6:00 PM. During the maintenance window, the CWS-CARES Resource Family Approval (RFA) Application Submission, Review, and Approval Process will be accessible for pilot counties Fresno, Placer, and Santa Clara.

There is no anticipated impact for CWS-CARES users. We are sharing this information in the unlikely circumstance that there is an actual impact during the scheduled maintenance window and the CWS-CARES application becomes inaccessible.

Action Required
No action required for end-users is needed during this maintenance window.
If users experience any issues with the CWS-CARES, please follow your county process for reporting issues. CWS-CARES County Administrators may contact the CARES Service Desk through the CWDS ServiceNow Customer Support Management (CSM) Portal. Alternate methods are phoning 1-855-292-3444 or via email at Servicedesk@cwds.ca.gov during normal business hours. You may also email after hours, and a Service Desk representative will contact you the next business day. 
Maintenance, CARES, CWS-CARES