CARES SPOCs, Technical Contacts, Implementation Coordinators, OCM Coordinators, County Leadership, Tribe Leadership, Probation Leadership, and State Leadership:
As part of ongoing readiness efforts for the December 7, 2026, CWS-CARES V1 Go-Live, the Project will refresh the CWS-CARES Production Simulation (CARES100) environment to provide users with more current converted data and additional system fixes for continued validation.
Prod Sim (CARES100) Data Refresh
Prod Sim (CARES100) will be temporarily unavailable from October 7–18 while the Project completes the data refresh and related environment activities. During this period, Training (CARES104) and County Dev (CARES102) will remain available to users with existing access.
When Prod Sim (CARES100) reopens on October 19, users will have access to converted data as of September 20, 2026, including Sealed and Sensitive data, along with additional code and data fixes. The refreshed environment will provide users with more current data and functionality to support continued validation closer to CARES V1 Go-Live.
As part of the refresh, prior Prod Sim (CARES100) data will be overwritten, including user-created and interface-driven data, and replaced with updated converted data from legacy systems and interfaces. Users can begin new validation activities with converted and new test data when Prod Sim (CARES100) reopens. Separate guidance will be provided to administrators regarding user permissions associated with the refresh.
The Snowflake database will also be refreshed with the converted data as of September 20, 2026, including Sealed and Sensitive data and conversion data fixes that were previously not applied. County Developers and Data Extract partners will have access to continue extract development, Tableau Report development, and validation using the refreshed data.
CalSAWS Refresh
The CalSAWS data refresh beginning September 24 at 5:00 PM will clear existing CARES-to-CalSAWS links. CalSAWS will be available again beginning September 28, allowing users to test new cases and new transactions through October 6. Prod Sim (CARES100) will be unavailable beginning October 7 its data refresh, so end-to-end CARES-to-CalSAWS validation will pause until Prod Sim (CARES100) reopens on October 19.
From September 28 through October 6, counties should not manually link cases converted from the CWS/CMS in Prod Sim (CARES100). Manually linked cases could disrupt the final automated case-linking process and the creation of baseline eligibility transmission (EAT) records. These baseline records will prevent a large legacy data transmission after CARES V1 Go-Live.
After the Prod Sim (CARES100) refresh, cases between CARES and CalSAWS will be relinked, allowing counties to validate transactions using refreshed records, including AAP, Kin-GAP, and foster care transactions.
Prod Sim (CARES100) Deployment Plan after Data Refresh
Weekly code and data fix deployments and Prod Sim (CARES100) support will continue through November 20. As the Project moves into final Go-Live stabilization, only critical and high-priority defects will continue to be addressed; other identified defects may be planned for post-Go-Live resolution. User access to Prod Sim (CARES100) will continue.
Key Dates
- September 24: CalSAWS data refresh; existing CARES-to-CalSAWS links will be eliminated
- September 28 – October 6: CalSAWS will be available, allowing users to test new cases and new transactions; counties should not manually link cases converted from CWS/CMS during this period
- September 28: Final planned Prod Sim (CARES100) weekly deployment before the refresh
- October 7–18: Prod Sim (CARES100) temporarily unavailable; Training (CARES104) and County Dev (CARES102) environments remain available
- October 19: Prod Sim (CARES100) reopens with refreshed data and approximately 2–3 weeks of accumulated code and data fixes
- November 20: Prod Sim (CARES100) support ends; user access to the environment will continue, but no additional code or data fixes will be deployed to this environment
- December 3 at 5:00 PM CWS/CMS becomes Read Only
- December 7: CWS-CARES V1 Go-Live
Additional information will be shared as details are finalized.
Thank you for your continued partnership and participation in CWS-CARES readiness activities.
Please contact the Customer Relations mailbox for questions.
Action Required
Please continue validating in Prod Sim (CARES100) and reporting identified issues throughout the remaining Production Simulation period. During the Prod Sim (CARES100) refresh, users may continue applicable validation and training activities in Training (CARES104) and County Dev (CARES102) environments.
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Security Protocols for Prod Sim Case Data
The Prod Sim environment contains converted CWS/CMS cases reflecting actual system data as of April 17, 2026. Because this includes real, sensitive Personally Identifiable Information (PII), all case information must be strictly protected or redacted.
To protect CWS-CARES case data, please follow these important security guidelines when working with our support teams:
- Redact Ticket Info: Do not send Protected Health Information (PHI), PII, or confidential case details to the Service Desk via email or ticket. Sensitive and confidential data cannot be stored in the ticketing system.
- Secure Screen Shares: During support-requested screen shares, limit attendees to essential personnel only. Recording of sensitive information is strictly prohibited.
- Consult for Tier 3 Transfers: If Tier 3 support needs sensitive data, use secure transmission methods. Contact your county Privacy Officer or the CWDS ISO if you need assistance with secure routing.
We appreciate your dedication to protecting the safety and privacy of vulnerable children and families while we work together to support your needs.