CARES SPOCs, Implementation Coordinators, OCM Coordinators, County Leadership, Tribe Leadership, Probation Leadership, and State Leadership:
In this Weekly Digest:
- Extended User Scenario Testing (EUST) 3 General Began February 2, 2026!
- CWS-CARES is Observing President’s Day on February 16, 2026
- CWS-CARES Core Constituent Demonstrations
- CWS-CARES Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) of the Week
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Extended User Scenario Testing (EUST) 3 General Began February 2, 2026!
The first week of EUST 3 General is now complete; thank you to all 610 testers who logged in between Monday, February 2 and Friday, February 6, 2026! As of Friday, February 6, the CWS-CARES project has collected 292 feedback items which are currently being processed and prioritized. We will continue to collect feedback until the conclusion of EUST 3 on April 3, 2026. Feedback results will be shared with EUST 3 participants in April 2026. We truly appreciate your participation in the CWS-CARES testing process. Thank you for your continued collaboration!
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CWS-CARES is Observing President’s Day on February 16, 2026
The CWS-CARES Project will observe the President’s Day holiday on February 16, 2026. Please anticipate a delay in communications on this day. Due to the holiday, no Weekly Digest email will be distributed on Monday, February 16, 2026. Weekly Digest emails will resume on Monday, February 23, 2026.
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CWS-CARES Core Constituent Demonstrations
Here’s a quick look at the CWS-CARES Core Constituent Demonstrations from the previous and upcoming two weeks. These demonstrations give counties and partners a chance to see key features in action, learn what’s new or coming soon, and share feedback that helps shape ongoing improvements to CWS-CARES.
View all the previous Product Demonstrations on the CWDS website: CWS-CARES Product Demonstrations. Please note, a log in is required to view all recordings.
CWS-CARES Core Constituent Demonstrations Held February 2 - 6, 2026:
- February 2, 2026, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM: Resource Management (RM): RM Directory Search, Service Arrays and Service Providers
- February 2, 2026, 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM: Financial Management: Homepages/Reports, Federal Report Cost-Tracking, etc.
Upcoming CWS-CARES Core Constituent Demonstrations: *
- No CWS-CARES Core Constituent Demonstrations are currently planned between February 9 – 20, 2026.
*Please note that dates for CWS-CARES Demonstrations shared here are subject to change. Please check the CWDS Meeting and Event Calendar for the most up-to-date schedule.
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CWS-CARES Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) of the Week
We’re introducing a new feature in the CWS-CARES Weekly Digest: FAQ of the Week. Each week, we’ll highlight a common question from counties and partners, along with a clear, practical answer to help you better understand CWS-CARES functionality.
February 9, 2026, FAQ of the Week
Q: Within documents, is it possible to redact content?
A: Yes, CWS-CARES allows users with the appropriate permissions to redact information in documents such as PDFs, Word files, and Excel files. All redacted documents are saved as PDFs, even if the original file was created in another format.
Redaction can be done in two ways:
- Manual redaction: selecting specific portions of the document to block out.
- Automatic redaction: searching for a word or phrase and redacting all occurrences at once.
Users must enter a reason for the redaction, and the system records who completed it and when. The original document is never changed – users can save the redacted version as either a new document or a new version of the original.
Only users with the correct role-based permissions (such as case workers or supervisors) will see the redaction option, and access depends on their role and their access to the case or record.
Have a question? Send it to Customer Relations at CWS_CustRel@otsi.ca.gov and we’ll be happy to help. To view all of the CWS-CARES FAQs, please visit the CWDS Website: CWS-CARES FAQs | CWDS Website.
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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 CWS-CARES Single Point of Contacts (SPOCs) and Implementation Coordinators coordinate and distribute the CWS-CARES Weekly Digest to all staff impacted by CWS-CARES, at their discretion.