CWS-CARES Weekly Digest - December 15, 2025

CARES SPOCs, Implementation Coordinators, OCM Coordinators, County Leadership, Tribe Leadership, Probation Leadership, and State Leadership:

In this Weekly Digest (click the link for more information):

  • Register Now: CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #5 
  • Reminder: CWS-CARES Nine-Month County Readiness Checkpoint Meetings 
  • December Holiday Observance at CWS-CARES

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Register Now: CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #5

Registration for Stakeholder Briefing #5 on January 28, 2026 from 10 AM – 12 noon, is now available!  

This webinar series is an opportunity for all stakeholders (end users, county leadership, Tribal representatives, SPOCs, Implementation Coordinators, and more) to learn about CWS-CARES and engage directly with Project leadership. We encourage recipients to share this registration link to all staff who may be interested in attending.  

Registration takes less than a minute by entering your name, email, and county or organization. Once registration is complete, a meeting notice with the session information will be automatically sent to the email provided. We encourage everyone to register by January 26, 2026 using the following link: CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #5: January 2026 | Registration

The January Briefing includes Team Updates, Product Demonstrations, and Q&A. See the full agenda below:

 Topic 

Start Time 

Opening Remarks 

10:00 AM 

Leadership Welcome & Update 

10:05 AM 

Implementation, OCM, & Training Update 

10:20 AM 

Extended User Scenario Testing (EUST) 3 Update 

10:35 AM 

Break 

10:50 AM 

Forms and Reports Update 

11:00 AM  

CWS-CARES Person Profile Demonstration 

11:15 AM 

Resources on the CWDS Website Demonstration 

11:45 AM 

Closing Remarks 

11:55 AM 


If you require any accommodations to attend this meeting, such as an ASL interpreter, please notify CWDS Customer Relations at: CWS_CustRel@otsi.ca.gov at least one week in advance, or as soon as possible. 

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Reminder: CWS-CARES Nine-Month County Readiness Checkpoint Meetings 

On Wednesday, December 3, 2025, the CWS-CARES Implementation Team sent an email announcing the upcoming 9-Month County Readiness Checkpoint Meetings. In January 2026, the Project Implementation Team will meet with each organization’s leadership to review critical path tasks and assess readiness for CWS-CARES Go-Live in October 2026.  These Checkpoints will occur during each county’s regular readiness meeting, unless adjustments are needed to accommodate leadership attendance. Implementation Leads (ILs) will coordinate with the Implementation Coordinators (ICs) prior to the January meetings.

There is no action needed prior to the meeting. The Implementation Team will collaborate directly with each organization’s Implementation Coordinators to update Readiness Checklists in advance of the January meeting.  

For more information regarding specific implementation readiness activities, please review the email sent on December 3, 2025, at 5:51PM, from the Implementation Mailbox to Child Welfare Directors, Deputy Directors, CARES Implementation Coordinators, and CARES SPOCs. 

Thank you for your continued support of CWS-CARES.

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December Holiday Observance at CWS-CARES

Happy Holidays from CWS-CARES! 

The Project will observe the Winter holiday on December 24 and 25, 2025. Please anticipate a delay in communications during this period.   

Due to the holidays, there will be no Weekly Digest email on Monday, December 22, 2025. Weekly Digest emails will resume on Monday, December 29, 2025.

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Share Your Feedback and Subscribe 

Thank you for following our progress! Share your feedback on this CWS-CARES Weekly Digest here: CWS-CARES Weekly Digest Feedback Form. Subscribe to future issues here: CWS-CARES Weekly Digest Subscription Form.  

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Action Required

We request that all CARES Single Point of Contacts (SPOCs) and Implementation Coordinators coordinate and distribute the CARES Weekly Digest to all staff impacted by CWS-CARES, at their discretion. 

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