CARES SPOCs, Implementation Coordinators, OCM Coordinators, County Leadership, Tribe Leadership, Probation Leadership, and State Leadership:
In this Weekly Digest:
- General
- System Updates & Release Notes on the Production Simulation Hub
- Reminder: Nine (9) Days Left to Register for CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #11
- New CWS-CARES Fact Sheet Now Available
- One Week Left to Purchase from the CWS-CARES Pop-Up Shop!
- Reminder: Go-Live Support Plans Due
- Production Simulation
- Resource Spotlight: Production Simulation Support Clinics
- Implementation
- Explore What’s Been Added to Organizational Change Management (OCM) Resources
- CWS-CARES Functionality
- CWS-CARES Functionality Spotlight: September 14, 2026
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General
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.
Due to the Labor Day holiday, there was no CWS‑CARES release on Monday, September 7, 2026, and the updates planned for that date will instead be included in the September 14 deployment.
Upcoming Release Information
The September 14 System Updates & Release Notes will appear on the CWS-CARES Production Simulation Hub on once it is officially posted.
Reminder: Nine (9) Days Left to Register for CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #11
Thank you to the 210+ stakeholders who have already registered for the next Stakeholder Briefing on Wednesday, September 23, 2026! If you’ve not yet registered, we encourage you to attend the live webinar on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, from 10:30 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 #11 | 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.
The agenda for the September 2026 Stakeholder Briefing has been modified slightly to ensure the information we share is timely and relevant to Stakeholders. Session topics will now include:
- Preparing for December Go-Live
- Training
- Support Available During & After Go-Live
- Recent Fixes, Including Search Functionality
- New Resources & Q&A
The full agenda is available on the CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #11 Registration page.
Thank you for participating in our Stakeholder Briefing webinar series! We hope to see you on September 23, 2026 to continue the conversation on the upcoming transition to CWS-CARES.
New Resources Now Available on the CWDS Website
The following resources are now available on the Stakeholder Webinar Materials page on the CWDS website:
- Stakeholder Briefing 10 August 2026 - Q&A - ACC.pdf
- Stakeholder Briefing 10 Slides - ACC.pdf
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 CWS-CARES Fact Sheet Now Available
The CWS-CARES Project Team is releasing a series of fact sheets addressing county question about CWS-CARES Version 1 (CARES V1) features. These materials will cover topics counties have identified as priorities and will be shared over the coming weeks.
New Fact Sheet: Case Plans and CANS Assessments in CARES V1
The first fact sheet in the series focuses on Case Plans and Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) assessments. It covers how CARES V1 supports social workers with case planning, including duplicate data entry reduction through integration with the Person-Centered Intelligence Solution (P-CIS), flexibility with CANS assessment creation, access to data tracking tools, and availability of historical CANS information.
The fact sheet also outlines key functionality available for testing in Prod Sim, including Access and Permissions, Child and Family Team (CFT) Assessments, Creating a Case Plan, and Updating a Case Plan.
For more information, please see the Case Plans and CANS Assessments Fact Sheet - ACC.pdf on the Infographics, Flyers, and Slogans webpage.
One Week Left to Purchase from the CWS-CARES Pop-Up Shop!
There’s still time to order from the CWS-CARES Pop-Up Shop #3! The shop will remain open until end of day on Friday, September 18, 2026. Place your orders at: CWS-CARES Pop-Up Shop #3 | Order Now.
The shop is open to all 58 California counties, Tribes, and partner organizations. CWS-CARES branded items are available for purchase using your own funds. For ordering and shipping details, please reference the Pop Up Shop 3 FAQs and Item Selection flyer.
Please contact CWDS Customer Relations with any questions. Happy shopping!
Reminder: Go-Live Support Plans Due
Go-Live Support Plans – which outline the teams, resources, and escalation pathways organizations will use at Go-Live and reflect each organization’s tailored approach alongside the Project’s centralized plan – remain due on Wednesday, September 30, 2026. This due date is unchanged despite the updated Go-Live timeline. Organizations should continue working with their Implementation Leads to refine and finalize their plans. In the coming days, Implementation Leads will also be reaching out to share a brief survey to help confirm on-site support needs and ensure appropriate coverage during the deployment period.
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Production Simulation
Resource Spotlight: Production Simulation Support Clinics
The Production Simulation (Prod Sim) Support Clinics will continue to occur throughout the duration of the Prod Sim testing period. The Support Clinics cover several topics, including Courts Functionality, Health Education Passport, and Financial Management. See below for Support Clinic schedules:
- Support Clinic 2 - Courts Functionality
- 9/16/2026 at 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM
- 9/17/2026 at 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM
- Support Clinic 3 - Health Education Passport (HEP)
- 9/23/2026 at 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM
- 9/24/2026 at 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM
For information on upcoming meetings or to review previous recordings please reference the Production Simulation Hub. The recordings can be found by navigating to the Prod Sim Portal and selecting Production Simulation Meeting Materials.
Note: Users may have to create a log-in to access materials.
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Implementation
Explore What’s Been Added to Organizational Change Management (OCM) Resources
New and updated OCM resources have been added to the CWS-CARES Implementation Portal to support your readiness activities. The following materials are now available:
- Super User Resource Sheet (new): A one‑page summary of Super User responsibilities along with essential information and helpful links.
- Change Impacts Tracker (updated): A log of documented changes introduced by CWS-CARES. This file also includes an Excel tab labeled “September 1, 2026 Update” with a concise description of changes since the last version for easy review.
- Terminology Crosswalk (updated): A reference showing how legacy system terms compare to CWS-CARES terminology. This tool can be used in complement to the Change Impacts to support consistent understanding and communication.
The Change Impacts and Terminology Crosswalk are reviewed monthly, and the current versions are as of 9/1. Please take a moment to review these resources and share them with your teams as needed.
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CWS-CARES Functionality
CWS-CARES Functionality Spotlight: September 14, 2026
This week, the CWS-CARES Functionality Spotlight features the CWS-CARES Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) of the Week.
September 14, 2026 FAQ of the Week:
Q: In CWS-CARES, if contacts still aren’t appearing, and it’s been indicated as already having “a fix”, how is that being resolved?
A: If a solution was identified and you're still finding an issue with that functionality, please inform the Project of that issue by submitting a ServiceNow ticket so that you can be helped and the issue can be addressed.
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 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.