CARES SPOCs, Implementation Coordinators, OCM Coordinators, County Leadership, Tribe Leadership, Probation Leadership, and State Leadership:
In this Weekly Digest:
- New CWS-CARES Data Dictionary V0.07 and Office Hours Reminder
- Implementation Contacts Now Available on the CWDS Website
- Demonstrations Coming Soon to the CWDS Website
- Invitations Sent: Process Information Sessions – Court Processing
- The October 2025 Progress and Engagement Summary is Now Available
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New CWS-CARES Data Dictionary V0.07 and Office Hours Reminder
This update covers the new CWS-CARES Data Dictionary version and a reminder for CWS-CARES Office Hours (Data Dictionary and SQLDBM) Discussion.
CWS-CARES Data Dictionary V0.07:
CWS-CARES Data Dictionary V0.07 will be available on the Microsoft Teams Channel: CARES Data Dictionary under Files on Wednesday, November 12, 2025.
The Intro tab of the CWS-CARES Data Dictionary highlights all updates in the new version, making it easy to see what is new or changed.
Reminder that CWS-CARES Office Hours (Data Dictionary and SQLDBM) Discussion is being held on December 2, 2025 from 9:00 AM -11:00 AM. This session is a drop-in session designed to provide hands-on training, live demos, and answer your questions related to Data Dictionary and SqlDBM.
Please contact CWDSDataManagement@otsi.ca.gov if you have any questions.
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Implementation Contacts Now Available on the CWDS Website
The CWS-CARES Implementation Team is excited to announce that as of Monday, November 10, 2025 CWS-CARES implementation contacts for Child Welfare, Probation, and Tribes with California Title IV-E Agreements are available on the CWDS website County Contacts pages. CDSS implementation contacts will be included at a later date. When CWS-CARES implementation engagement initially began, each organization was asked to create an organization implementation team and identify individuals to fill five roles to lead implementation activities in their organization. The five roles consist of the following: Implementation Coordinator, OCM Coordinator, Training Coordinator, Technical Coordinator, and Data Quality Analyst.
Starting November 10, 2025 two new tabs will be available on each of the County Contact pages to capture CWS-CARES Implementation contacts and CWS-CARES Probation Implementation contacts. Each new tab will contain contact information for each of the five roles that make up the organization implementation team. The contact information will only be visible once logged on to the website. Implementation Coordinators have permissions to update the contact information for their organization as needed. Instructions on how to make updates will be shared with Implementation Coordinators. Distribution lists for a variety of Project communications will be created from these contacts. It is important the contacts be kept current, so correct individuals are getting the communications. If you see an error or have a question, please email the CWS-CARES Implementation Team at CWDSImplementation@otsi.ca.gov.
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Demonstrations Coming Soon to the CWDS Website
We have made changes based on your feedback to enhance the process for Core Constituent Demonstrations. These updates will make it easier to access demonstration recordings and ensure agendas are consistently clear and timely.
A new Product Demonstrations webpage will launch November 14, 2025 that will host all demonstration recordings. Recordings will be posted within one week of each session, and we will notify you when the page is live. Access will require logging in with your organization email address.
Core Constituent Demonstration meeting invitations will be scheduled at least two weeks in advance with a clear agenda, and agendas will be updated two days prior to the demonstration if there are changes to planned the functionality to be demonstrated.
We appreciate your continued participation. Your feedback directly shaped these improvements.
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Invitations Sent: Process Information Sessions – Court Processing
On November 3, 2025, the CWS-CARES Implementation Team distributed invitations to the next set of Process Information Sessions, which will focus on Courts Processing. Each organization has been invited to attend two sessions to learn about Courts Processing functionality in CWS-CARES: the first session will focus on Warrants and Jurisdiction and Disposition Hearings and the second will focus on Status Review and Other Hearings. The sessions have been organized on a regional basis, with separate sessions for Los Angeles. The sessions will take place between November 20 and December 4, 2025.
Invitations were sent to Implementation Coordinators, OCM Coordinators, and subject matter experts identified by their Organization's Implementation Team. If you have questions or wish to be included in these sessions, please reach out to your Organization's Implementation Coordinator.
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The October 2025 Progress and Engagement Summary is Now Available
The CWS-CARES Progress and Engagement Summary provides a concise overview of the
collaborative efforts and achievements of CWS-CARES. The October issue features engagement analytics for the September reporting period across the following subject areas:
- Project Communications
- Core Constituent Demonstrations
- Forms and Data
- External Systems, Interfaces, and Analytics
- Implementation, OCM, and Training Activities
View all CWS-CARES Progress and Engagement Summaries on the CWDS website: CWS-CARES Progress and Engagement Updates.
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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.