CWDS Bulletins

All SPOCs, Technical Contacts, and CAD Contacts:

February 19, 2026 UPDATE: This is a reminder that the CWDS Infrastructure team and the California Department of Technology (CDT) have scheduled maintenance for the CAD/Business Objects (BO) servers. The production environment’s maintenance window is on Tuesday, February 24, 2026, beginning at 12:00 Noon and concluding at 4:00 PM.

CAD Business Objects (BO) / Business Intelligence (BI) will not be accessible during the scheduled maintenance window. Any BO reports scheduled to run during this timeframe will be affected. The CWDS Infrastructure team recommends to run all reports before 12:00 Noon on those dates.

________________________________________________________________________________

The CWDS Infrastructure team and the California Department of Technology (CDT) have scheduled maintenance for the CAD/Business Objects (BO) servers. The maintenance windows are scheduled for the following environments:

Training environment:

Tuesday, February 10, 2026, beginning at 12:00 Noon and concluding at 4:00 PM

Production environment:

Tuesday, February 24, 2026, beginning at 12:00 Noon and concluding at 4:00 PM

CAD Business Objects (BO) / Business Intelligence (BI) will not be accessible during the scheduled maintenance windows. Any BO reports scheduled to run during this timeframe will be affected. The CWDS Infrastructure team recommends to either run all reports before 12:00 Noon on those dates, or on the night prior of these scheduled maintenance days.

Action Required

Review scheduled BO reports and reschedule report jobs to avoid the scheduled maintenance window. Rerun the missed report jobs, if necessary.

Contact the IBM Help Desk (800-428-8268) to report any issues with your Business Objects content.

ALL SPOCs, Technical Contacts and CAD Contacts:

The California Department of Technology (CDT) has scheduled maintenance of the SAFE Cloud service. The maintenance begins on Saturday, February 21, 2026, at 8:00 PM and concludes on Sunday, February 22, 2026, at 2:00 AM. The activity will cause interruptions in the SAFE Cloud service. Some Business Objects (BO) reports will fail to send, or automated scripts may fail to retrieve from SAFE during this scheduled maintenance.

Action Required

All users should logoff of the SAFE Cloud service prior to the start of the stated maintenance timeframe. Please check on your scheduled BO SAFE reports and automated FTP scripts. If needed, re-run the reports and scripts.

Contact the IBM Help Desk (800-428-8268) to report any issues with your Business Objects content in SAFE.

All Pilot County RFA Implementation Coordinators and SPOCs:

The CWS-CARES team has scheduled maintenance activity for the CWS-CARES production environment for Tuesday, February 17, 2026, beginning at 5:00 PM and concluding at 8:00 PM. During the maintenance window, the CWS-CARES Resource Family Approval (RFA) Application Submission, Review, and Approval Process will be accessible for pilot counties Fresno, Placer, and Santa Clara.

During the maintenance window, document related functionality in the CARES application will not be accessible.

Action Required

No action required from end-users during this maintenance window.

If users experience any issues with the CWS-CARES, please follow your county process for reporting issues. CWS-CARES County Administrators may contact the CARES Service Desk through the CWDS ServiceNow Customer Support Management (CSM) Portal. Alternate methods are phoning 1-855-292-3444 or via email at Servicedesk@cwds.ca.gov during normal business hours. You may also email after hours, and a Service Desk representative will contact you the next business day.

All SPOCs, Technical Contacts, and SBC Administrators:

The California Department of Technology (CDT) has scheduled maintenance on Saturday, February 28, 2026, beginning at 6:00 AM and concluding at 10:00 AM. During the maintenance window, CDT will apply Standard Monthly OS Security Patches to SBCS Infrastructure Servers. There is no anticipated outage for this maintenance; however, CDT is asking that everyone log off from the Citrix SBC system, if not actively using it during the maintenance window.
 

Action Required

If users experience any issues with CWS/CMS, please follow your county process for reporting issues or you may contact the IBM Boulder Help Desk at 1-800-428-8268.

County leadership, CARES SPOCs, CARES Implementation Coordinators, and Forms Workgroup Members:

Hello County Partners, 

As we transition from CWS/CMS to CWS-CARES, we are providing an update on how court reports are being developed. Our goal is to maintain the flexibility you currently have while streamlining the court report template development process. 

While court reports in CWS-CARES will maintain a structure similar to CWS/CMS, the process is changing. CWS-CARES introduces greater flexibility for court reporting by shifting the power to the counties, enabling them to build their own layouts and make modifications—a significant upgrade from the static build process in CWS/CMS.  

CWS- CARES will provide templates that can be leveraged as a starting point and counties will have full autonomy to design, build, and modify their county specific court reports at any time, with reduced reliance on the State team. The Project Team is developing three base template variations for each court report type, which differ only in their sections and how the content is organized. Base templates will be provided for the following: 

• Detention, Jurisdiction, Disposition, and Jurisdiction/Disposition Reports 
• Status Review Court and Interim Review Reports 
• 366.26 WIC and 241.1 WIC Reports 
• Order After Hearing, Declaration of Due Diligence, Ex Parte Application and Order Reports 
• 15- Day Review Report, Status Review NMD, Status Review Pre NMD 
• Addendum, Generic, and Acceptance of Transfer Reports 

We recognize that local court requirements vary. If the county approves one of the three provided base templates without modifications, no further action is required; the project team will handle all configuration setups.  Alternatively, counties may modify the templates’ language and formatting to suit their specific court needs, maintaining the same flexibility available in the current system. 

Next Steps & Support  

We will help counties prepare for using the CWS-CARES base court report templates to design and build their customized reports by providing detailed guides and "how-to" demonstration sessions on the template modification process and tools starting in February 2026 during the CWS-CARES Forms Workgroup meetings. County forms authors should plan to attend these important sessions, and the sessions will be recorded as well for those who are unable to attend. 

If you have questions regarding the development process, timelines, or technical specifications, please contact the CWS-CARES Forms Workgroup mailbox at otsicwdscaresforms@otsi.ca.gov 

For more general information on this area, refer to State and County Forms in CWS-CARES | Child Welfare Digital Services. 

All SPOCs and Technical Contacts:

CWS/CMS Code Table Refresh – February 11, 2026

Updated code table files will be delivered to county servers on Wednesday, February 11, 2026, between 1:00 PM and 4:00 PM. Files will be placed in the BaseCTB folder on county servers. For most counties, standard delivery methods will then automatically distribute these files from the server to end-user workstations.

This refresh primarily ensures that newly imaged machines or machines that have not logged in recently receive the latest code table files.

Impact and Delivery

• Dedicated counties: No action required. Updates will be automatically delivered to end users.
• Coex counties:
  • If using the Windows logon script to deliver code table files (most counties): No action required.
  • If not using the logon script (e.g., virtual environments): Please pick up the files from the BaseCTB folder and include them in your virtual images. These files should only be delivered to workstations if they are newer than the existing code tables. If manually delivering them, they go in the c:\cacw\codetbls folder and should overlay existing files of the same name.

Important for Coex Counties

• Your county server must sync with the CWS/CMS Distributed File System Replication (DFSR) to receive the updated files. This typically occurs hourly.
• If needed, verify that your county’s file server is properly mirroring the CWS Distributed File Server.

Applying these updates helps ensure that users have a freshly updated version of the code table files.

Please Note
This refresh will not be enforced. There is no deadline or system lockout associated with this update. While applying the updates is recommended, it is optional.

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 

_______

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! 

_______

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. 

_______

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. 

_______

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.  

_______

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.  

_______

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.

End-date of Inactive CWS/CMS User Logins for CWS-CARES Readiness - UPDATE

All SPOCs and Technical Contacts:

February 6, 2026 UPDATE: Based on received feedback, the reports are being updated for the following criteria:

Report criteria:

Identifies CWS/CMS user logins that have not been used in the past 180 days 

However, users are omitted from the report if they fall into one of these two categories:

1. Have NOT logged into CWS/CMS within the previous 180 days, but HAVE logged into CARES-Live within the previous 180 days.
2. The User ID has been created within the previous 90 days, and has NOT logged into CWS/CMS.

Updated reports, using the new criteria listed above, will be made available in SAFE in the FromOSI folder no later than 5:00 PM, on Friday, February 6, 2026, titled: 
SCR9039_END-DATE_USERID_2026-02-06.xlsx. 

Please use this updated report when reviewing the list of user logins identified for deactivation.

_____________________________________________________________________

To prepare for CWS-CARES Mock Cycles and Production Simulation, the CWS-CARES Project will begin an automated process to end-date inactive CWS/CMS user logins. This effort helps ensure that only active users are set up with access in CWS-CARES. 

This process identifies CWS/CMS user logins that have not been used in the past 180 days and schedules those logins to be end-dated. This is standard account cleanup intended to reduce inactive or outdated system access as counties prepare for CWS-CARES. 

What This Means for Counties 

• This activity affects system access only. There are no impacts to caseloads, staff roles, office assignments, or authority. 

• User logins associated with an active County License Case (CLC) are excluded from the report. 

• All user accounts (active and inactive) will still be carried forward to CWS-CARES. 

County Review and Option to Exclude User Logins  

Counties will have an opportunity to review the list of user logins identified for deactivation. To accommodate staff on extended leave (such as administrative or maternity leave), counties may exclude up to 10 user logins from deactivation, if needed. 

A report will be available in SAFE in the FromOSI folder on February 2, 2026, titled: 
SCR9039_END-DATE_USERID_2026-02-02.xlsx. 

If your county wishes to exclude user logins: 

1. Use the Excel file provided. 

2. Keep only the rows (up to 10) for user logins you want excluded. 

3. Do not modify the file layout or formatting. 

4. Upload the file to SAFE in the ToOSI folder. 

If more than 10 exclusions are needed, please contact CWDS Customer Relations and include a brief explanation. 

Deadline: February 19 at 5:00 PM 
Files received after this deadline will not be accepted, and all user logins listed in the original report will be end-dated. 

Timing and Ongoing Process 

• This first run will process and end-date User IDs on February 21, 2026. 

• The 180-day inactivity threshold will remain in place through April 2026, giving counties additional time to review the list and adjust to new processes. 

• Beginning May, the inactivity threshold will change to 90 days, consistent with CWS-CARES access policy and the Production Simulation environment. 

• After February, this process will occur monthly until the transition to CWS-CARES: 

• Reports will be posted after the first weekend of each month 

• User logins will be deactivated during the fourth weekend of the month 

• Counties will receive advance notice of specific dates 

Restoring a User Login 

If a user login is end-dated and later needs to be restored, counties may submit a Help Desk ticket to reinstate the existing login and associated staff access. 

Action Required 

• Review the report of inactive CWS/CMS user logins when it becomes available in SAFE. 

• Submit an exclusion file (if needed) by February 19 at 5:00 PM to prevent up to 10 user logins from being end-dated. 

• No action is required if your county agrees with the list as provided. 

For questions or concerns, please contact the CWDS Customer Relations

All SPOCs, Technical Contacts, and CAD Contacts:

The CWDS Infrastructure team and the California Department of Technology (CDT) have scheduled maintenance for the CAD/Business Objects (BO) servers. The maintenance windows are scheduled for the following environments:

Training environment:

Tuesday, February 10, 2026, beginning at 12:00 Noon and concluding at 4:00 PM

Production environment:

Tuesday, February 24, 2026, beginning at 12:00 Noon and concluding at 4:00 PM

CAD Business Objects (BO) / Business Intelligence (BI) will not be accessible during the scheduled maintenance windows. Any BO reports scheduled to run during this timeframe will be affected. The CWDS Infrastructure team recommends to either run all reports before 12:00 Noon on those dates, or on the night prior of these scheduled maintenance days.

Action Required

Review scheduled BO reports and reschedule report jobs to avoid the scheduled maintenance window. Rerun the missed report jobs, if necessary. Contact the IBM Help Desk (800-428-8268) to report any issues with your Business Objects content.

All SPOCs and Technical Contacts:

To prepare for CWS-CARES Mock Cycles and Production Simulation, the CWS-CARES Project will begin an automated process to end-date inactive CWS/CMS user logins. This effort helps ensure that only active users are set up with access in CWS-CARES. 

This process identifies CWS/CMS user logins that have not been used in the past 180 days and schedules those logins to be end-dated. This is standard account cleanup intended to reduce inactive or outdated system access as counties prepare for CWS-CARES. 

What This Means for Counties 

• This activity affects system access only. There are no impacts to caseloads, staff roles, office assignments, or authority. 

• User logins associated with an active County License Case (CLC) are excluded from the report. 

• All user accounts (active and inactive) will still be carried forward to CWS-CARES. 

County Review and Option to Exclude User Logins  

Counties will have an opportunity to review the list of user logins identified for deactivation. To accommodate staff on extended leave (such as administrative or maternity leave), counties may exclude up to 10 user logins from deactivation, if needed. 

A report will be available in SAFE in the FromOSI folder on February 2, 2026, titled: SCR9039_END-DATE_USERID_2026-02-02.xlsx. 

If your county wishes to exclude user logins: 

1. Use the Excel file provided. 

2. Keep only the rows (up to 10) for user logins you want excluded. 

3. Do not modify the file layout or formatting. 

4. Upload the file to SAFE in the ToOSI folder. 

If more than 10 exclusions are needed, please contact CWDS Customer Relations and include a brief explanation. 

Deadline: February 19 at 5:00 PM 
Files received after this deadline will not be accepted, and all user logins listed in the original report will be end-dated. 

Timing and Ongoing Process 

• This first run will process and end-date User IDs on February 21, 2026. 

• The 180-day inactivity threshold will remain in place through April 2026, giving counties additional time to review the list and adjust to new processes. 

• Beginning May, the inactivity threshold will change to 90 days, consistent with CWS-CARES access policy and the Production Simulation environment. 

• After February, this process will occur monthly until the transition to CWS-CARES: 

• Reports will be posted after the first weekend of each month 

• User logins will be deactivated during the fourth weekend of the month 

• Counties will receive advance notice of specific dates 

Restoring a User Login 

If a user login is end-dated and later needs to be restored, counties may submit a Help Desk ticket to reinstate the existing login and associated staff access. 

Action Required 

• Review the report of inactive CWS/CMS user logins when it becomes available in SAFE. 

• Submit an exclusion file (if needed) by February 19 at 5:00 PM to prevent up to 10 user logins from being end-dated. 

• No action is required if your county agrees with the list as provided. 

For questions or concerns, please contact the CWDS Customer Relations mailbox.