CARES SPOCs, Implementation Coordinators, OCM Coordinators, County Leadership, Tribe Leadership, Probation Leadership, and State Leadership:
Production Simulation
UPDATE: Production Simulation Support Clinic – Adoptions
The Production Simulation (Prod Sim) Tier 2 Support Team will host one Support Clinic on the topic of Adoptions on Thursday, November 12, 2026 (11/12).
Update: The start time for this Support Clinic has been adjusted to 10:30 am. The Support Clinic will now run from 10:30 am – 12:00 pm.
Intended Audience: Active Prod Sim participants who interact with Adoptions.
Purpose: To provide a “click by click” walk through of adoption case creation through closure.
How to Attend and Review Past Sessions: For dial in information and to review previous recordings, please refer to the Production Simulation Hub. Users may have to create a log-in to access materials.
Notes: This session will focus on Adoptions and will not include a walkthrough of case management functionality conducted outside of the adoption case such as opening the child welfare case, documenting court information, plans, contact logs, and placement.
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In this Weekly Digest:
- General
- CWDS Website: New County Resources Hub, Cutover Planning Guides, Welcome Page Updates
- CWDS is Observing Veterans Day on November 11, 2026
- System Updates & Release Notes on the Production Simulation Hub
- Reminder: Nine (9) Days Left to Register for Final Stakeholder Briefing Before CWS-CARES Go-Live
- New Fact Sheet: Case Documentation and Court-Related Functionality
- CWS-CARES Cutover
- Action Required: CWS-CARES Cutover Notice #1 – Legacy System Read-Only Window & Downtime Procedures – 11/3/2026
- CWS-CARES Weekly Production Login Statistics – 11/4/2026
- Production Simulation
- CWS-CARES Production Simulation Challenge #2
- Production Simulation Support Clinic – Adoptions
- Action Needed: Create Your User Account for the New SafeMeasures®
- Complete Your SDM® Assessments Before CWS-CARES Go-Live
- Implementation
- OCM Resources Update
- Training
- New Training Videos Now Available!
- Reminder: Register for Topic-Specific Training Demonstrations
- CWS-CARES Functionality
- CWS-CARES FAQ Spotlight: November 9, 2026
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General
CWDS Website: County Resources Hub, Cutover Planning Guides, Welcome Page Updates
COMING SOON: CWS-CARES Hub
The CWS-CARES Hub is an online repository of county resources for continued operations (COOP) to support users during cutover to CARES Version 1.
The Hub will be accessible by the end of 11/9 through the CWDS Portals page and on the CWDS Welcome Page.
Coming Soon on the CWS-CARES Hub
We will soon release a suite of CWS-CARES cutover readiness materials and documentation shared by counties on the newly launched CWS-CARES Hub. Key resources include the County COOP Planning Guide, the CWS-CARES Go-Live Readiness Executive Overview, and a new peer-sharing section featuring sample planning documents contributed by Fresno, Sacramento, and Los Angeles counties.
Please note that these materials represent point-in-time planning snapshots and will be updated regularly as cutover preparations advance. Counties are encouraged to review these optional references, tailor them to local operational and legal considerations, and submit any additional files to Customer Relations for sharing.
The CWS-CARES Hub can be accessed through the CWDS Portals page and on the CWDS Welcome Page.
UPDATED: CWDS Welcome Page
The CWDS Team is happy to share that the CWDS Welcome Page has been refreshed!
The new Welcome Page spotlights the upcoming CWS-CARES Go-Live on December 7, 2026 – including a timer counting down to Go-Live – and several useful links for quick access to some of the most popular user resources.
To see the new page, please visit the CWDS Welcome Page.
CWDS is Observing Veterans Day on November 11, 2026
CWDS will observe the Veterans Day holiday on Wednesday, November 11, 2026. Please anticipate a delay in communications and plan accordingly.
We thank all veterans for their service and sacrifice.
System Updates & Release Notes on the Production Simulation Hub
Every Monday, the CWS-CARES Project publishes new System Updates and Release Notes on the CWS-CARES Production Simulation Hub on the CWDS website. All published updates are located on the System Updates & Release Notes tab in the left navigation bar. Below is a summary of the most recent release.
CWS CARES Weekly Release Summary: November 2, 2026
The November 2 release delivered a range of corrections and improvements across the CWS‑CARES system:
- 95 defect fixes improving reliability, accuracy, and user experience across case management, resource management, intake and investigation, and courts.
- Multiple ServiceNow incidents resolved across 17 counties and CDSS.
- High‑level updates improving Structured Decision Making (SDM) integration, CalSAWS integration, person search capabilities, approval notifications, and other core system workflows.
- 40 data conversion fixes addressing case records, person records, contact logs, eligibility data, provider information, search functionality, and other converted data elements.
- 5 county‑reported data issues resolved from Fresno, San Luis Obispo, and El Dorado.
Full details for this release are available on the CWS‑CARES Production Simulation Hub.
Upcoming Release Information
System Updates & Release Notes will continue to be published every Monday. The November 9 System Updates & Release Notes will appear on the CWS-CARES Production Simulation Hub once it is officially posted.
Reminder: Nine (9) Days Left to Register for Final Stakeholder Briefing Before CWS-CARES Go-Live
Thank you to the 240+ stakeholders who have already registered for the next Stakeholder Briefing on Wednesday, November 18, 2026! If you’ve not yet registered, we encourage you to attend the live webinar on November 18, 2026, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM. All stakeholders are welcome to attend, ask questions, and hear updates from Project leadership.
Register now at: CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #13: November 2026 registration. Note: A separate calendar invitation will not be sent by the CWS-CARES Project. Please manually add the .ics attachment in the registration confirmation email to your calendar. Updates will include:
- Preparing for Go-Live
- Guidance for Cutover
- What to Expect on Day 1
- Implementation & Support
- CWS-CARES Help Desk and Go-Live Command Center
- Over the Shoulder Support
Thank you for participating in our Stakeholder Briefing webinar series! We hope to see you on November 18, 2026 to continue the conversation on the upcoming transition to CWS-CARES.
New Resources Now Available on the CWDS Website
The following resource is now available on the Stakeholder Webinar Materials page on the CWDS website:
- Stakeholder_Briefing__12_October_2026_-_Q_A_-_ACC.pdf (Log-In Required)
View all past content and dates for all upcoming CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefings in 2026 on the Stakeholder Briefings and Webinars page on the CWDS website.
New Fact Sheet: Case Documentation and Court-Related Functionality
The CWS-CARES Project Team has released a new fact sheet on Case Documentation and Court-Related Functionality.
This fact sheet covers how contact notes are structured, how information is brought together in one place, how documentation fields are sized to fit the content they need to hold, and how court work (from petitions through report generation) is organized and supported.
For more information, please see the Case Documentation and Court-Related Functionality Fact Sheet on the CWDS website.
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CWS-CARES Cutover
Action Required: CWS-CARES Cutover Notice #1 – Legacy System Read-Only Window & Downtime Procedures – 11/3/2026
As CWS-CARES approaches Go-Live on Monday, December 7, 2026, at 7:00 AM, the Project has distributed the first of two cutover notices for your county or organization. This notice covers legacy system read-only windows, downtime procedures, and key readiness steps for counties and organizations.
Key dates for your awareness:
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December 3, 2026, 5:00 PM: CWS/CMS and CARES-Live enter read-only mode. All staff must complete a final “Save to Database” and stop entering new information into CWS/CMS before this time.
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December 4, 2026, 5:00 PM: RFA Greenfield enters read-only mode.
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December 7, 2026, 7:00 AM: CWS-CARES Version 1 Go-Live
Ensure your county or organization completes the following key readiness steps:
- Complete verification of migrated county reports by Friday, November 13, 2026.
- Ensure all users have logged into Production by Monday, November 23, 2026.
- Refer to this previous communication for more information: CWS-CARES Production Login Verification & Statistics – 10/27/2026 | Child Welfare Digital Services
- Validate local county downtime processes and procedures by Monday, November 30, 2026.
Cutover Notice #2 will be distributed on Thursday, November 26, 2026, and will include a final freeze reminder, go-live details, and step-by-step system access/login instructions.
For full details, see the Action Required: CWS-CARES Cutover Notice #1 – Legacy System Read-Only Window & Downtime Procedures – 11/3/2026 article on the CWDS website.
CWS-CARES Weekly Production Login Statistics – 11/4/2026
In preparation for CWS-CARES Go-Live on December 7, 2026, all CWS-CARES users must confirm their access to the Production environment by November 23, 2026. Each user must log in to the CWS-CARES Production environment to verify that their account and permissions are properly set up and active.
The CWS-CARES Project is sharing weekly Production login statistics to track progress by county with the Production User Login Progress Graph. The goal is for every county user to reach 100% completion on the login verification graph.
For full details, refer to the CWS-CARES Weekly Production Login Statistics – 11/4/2026 bulletin on the CWDS website.
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Production Simulation
CWS-CARES Production Simulation Challenge #2
The CWS-CARES Production Simulation Challenges continue! These challenges are designed to give participants hands-on practice with various topics, building real confidence in the system before go-live. Thank you to all who participated in Challenge #1! We are excited to introduce the next challenge.
Challenge #2: Explore Social Worker Safety Concerns
Navigate to a new screening, referral, or case in Production Simulation and create a new Social Worker Safety Concern. Include the text "Prod Sim Challenge 2" in the Safety Alert Explanation in CARES100.
As you are documenting information:
- Follow the concern from the screening to the referral and case and note where it appears at each stage and in child welfare history.
- Consider how alerts and explanations are documented for better visibility to workers.
Seeing a concern early helps workers prepare before they go out. This reflects the realistic situations where information arrives in pieces, and it shows how the system keeps important safety information in view.
When to Complete
Counties and users that complete this challenge by Monday, November 9, 2026, will be recognized with a shout-out at the next County Advisory Committee call.
SEE UPDATED STORY ABOVE. Production Simulation Support Clinic – Adoptions
The Production Simulation (Prod Sim) Tier 2 Support Team will host one Support Clinic on the topic of Adoptions on November 12, 2026 (11/12).
Date and Time: Thursday, November 12, 2026 (11/12) from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm.
Intended Audience: Active Prod Sim participants who interact with Adoptions.
Purpose: To provide a “click by click” walk through of adoption case creation through closure.
How to Attend and Review Past Sessions: For dial in information and to review previous recordings, please refer to the Production Simulation Hub. Users may have to create a log-in to access materials.
Notes: This session will focus on Adoptions and will not include a walkthrough of case management functionality conducted outside of the adoption case such as opening the child welfare case, documenting court information, plans, contact logs, and placement.
Action Needed: Create Your User Account for the New SafeMeasures®
Starting November 16, California county staff can view CWS-CARES reports based on Production Simulation (Prod Sim) data in both classic SafeMeasures and the new SafeMeasures, which has a refreshed design, upgraded features, and advanced security. Here’s how to access each one:
Classic SafeMeasures
If you’ve logged in within the last six months, you can view CWS-CARES reports with your current credentials.
New SafeMeasures
Everyone needs a new user account to access the new SafeMeasures. Your county SafeMeasures administrator will send Evident Change a list of staff who need new SafeMeasures accounts. Then:
- Watch for an email from accounts@safemeasures.org stating that an account has been created for you. Your username will be your email address.
- Use the link in the email to create a password.
Once you’ve created your password, your account is ready for use.
If you do not receive an email saying an account has been created for you, please contact your county SafeMeasures administrator. If you are not aware who your administrator is, or if you have any questions, contact SafeMeasures Support. We’re here to help!
Complete Your SDM® Assessments Before CWS-CARES Go-Live
CWS-CARES goes live on Monday, December 7. Before then, please make sure all required fields in your SDM assessments are filled in.
Only assessments with all required fields filled will be available as PDFs for reference in CWS-CARES. This includes assessments in any of these statuses:
- Not submitted: All required fields are complete, but the assessment has not been submitted.
- Submitted: Submitted but not yet approved.
- Approved
- Complete: No approval required.
Assessments in incomplete status, meaning one or more required fields are missing, will not be available in CWS-CARES.
To find out which of your assessments still need work, Evident Change has created a resource with links to SafeMeasures® reports. Staff and supervisors can use these reports to see which SDM assessments still need required fields completed.
If you need extra time, WebSDM will remain available during the cutover weekend before CWS-CARES Go Live so you can finish any remaining. After Go Live, WebSDM will be read-only.
Questions? Contact Evident Change’s general support helpdesk or California helpdesk.
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Implementation
OCM Resources Update
New and updated Organizational Change Management (OCM) resources have been added to the CWS-CARES Implementation Portal to support your readiness activities. The following materials are now available:
- Change Impacts Tracker: A log of documented changes introduced by CWS-CARES. This file also includes an Excel tab labeled “November 1, 2026 Update” with a concise description of changes since the last version for easy review.
- Key Legacy Terminology Crosswalk: A reference showing how legacy system terms compare to CWS-CARES terminology. This document is current as of November 1 and includes two new terms.
- OCM Tip #2 Blog: Before you assume resistance to change is a roadblock, what if it’s actually a roadmap? OCM Tip #2, Do I Really Have to Change? (What Your Resistance Is Actually Telling You), unpacks the hidden messages behind that overwhelmed or frustrated feeling.
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Training
New Training Videos Now Available!
Micro-Learning Videos
Looking for quick, targeted guidance as you build confidence in CWS‑CARES? The On-Demand Training Library Supplemental Training page now features a new collection of Micro‑Learning videos designed to help you get answers fast. These short, focused videos walk through common tasks, frequent questions, and real-world workflows in easy, bite‑sized segments. As part of Supplemental Training, a total of 41 Micro-Learning videos will be delivered and remaining videos will be uploaded on November 16.
ILT Course – Training Videos
Missed Instructor-Led Training (ILT) sessions or want a refresher? Recordings from ILT are included on the Training Videos page for:
- Courts
- Eligibility
- Placement
- Screening & Referrals
Stay tuned for additional recordings to become available prior to Go-Live.
Reminder: Register for Topic-Specific Training Demonstrations
Organizations can enroll in Topic-Specific Training (TST) Demonstrations each week by accessing the registration links on the Supplemental Training page. These trainings are hosted by region via Microsoft Teams Webinar (with a max of 150 participants per session) and provide focused walkthroughs with opportunities for live Q&A. There are a total of 15 demonstration topics including areas such as Health & Education Passport & Public Health Nurse and Workaround Desk Guides.
Please continue to visit the updated Supplemental Training page to view topics, register for sessions, and download the corresponding practice guide for each TST demonstration. Due to the Veteran’s Day holiday, the next set of registration links will be posted on November 12.
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CWS-CARES Functionality
CWS-CARES FAQ Spotlight: November 9, 2026
This week, the CWS-CARES FAQ Spotlight features the CWS-CARES Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) of the Week.
November 9, 2026, FAQ of the Week:
Q: Once a user is deactivated in CWS-CARES, do they need a new Object ID when they are reactivated?
A: When the user is deactivated, the user profile (username, email address, first name, last name, Object ID) does not change, the profile attributes remain intact. When the user is reactivated, the same user profile attributes are used.
To view all of the CWS-CARES FAQs, please visit the CWDS website: CWS-CARES FAQs | CWDS Website.
Have a question? Send it to Customer Relations and we will be happy to help.
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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.
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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 September 20, 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.