August 01, 2025
Customer Relations
The mandatory VB6 version of Release 9.6 will be implemented on Saturday, Saturday, August 16, 2025.
Coexistent county CWSCMS.MSI file availability:
The CWSCMS.MSI file will be available by Friday, August 8, 2025, for technical staff to begin testing the installation of the release. The code will be located on the CWSDFSr share in the following location:
Perform any necessary testing, but do not install countywide before August 16, 2025. The new release will not work with the database until then.
Dedicated County CWSCMS.MSI file delivery:
By Friday, August 8, 2025, dedicated county users should start seeing the CWSCMS.MSI file copied to their workstations during Windows logon. Technical staff can verify that they have received the file by checking for its presence in the C:\CACW\R96 folder. This file must exist on the workstation for the installation of Release R9.6 to take place on or after August 16, 2025.
Release 9.6 documents are located on the CWDS website. The xTools file and related README file are located on the CWDS Training Portal. More documents will be added as the release go-live date approaches.
July 31, 2025
Communications
CARES SPOCs, Implementation Coordinators, OCM Coordinators, County Leadership, Tribe Leadership, Probation Leadership, and State Leadership:
We are pleased to share a new resource that will help you understand the various CWS-CARES application environments that are currently available to users.
In order to build, test, and safely launch changes to CWS-CARES, we use different environments. These environments are essentially different versions of the application that allow us to develop, test, train, and eventually deploy new features with confidence. Each one serves a different purpose in the development lifecycle, or a different audience. Some of these environments will help users gain early, hands-on exposure to and familiarity with CWS-CARES, provide a safe space to practice, and will directly support your CWS-CARES go-live readiness activities without impacting real data.
We have made several of these environments available to county users, including V1Readiness (Sandbox), V1DCVAL (for Data Conversion Validation activities), and CARES102 County Development (for Forms, Reports, and Data Extract activities). The PDF document, titled ‘CWS-CARES Environments’ includes more details about each one, including:
- Activity Name
- Environment name
- Intended Purpose/Usage
- Intended Users/Audience
- Access and Duration
- Associated Teams Channel or Contact.
Please review this guide to identify the environments most relevant to your role. If you have any initial questions about this resource, please reach out to the designated contact listed, or Customer Relations.
We appreciate your continued commitment to staying informed.
Action Required
No action required. If you have any questions, need clarification, or have any accessibility issues, please do not hesitate to contact Customer Relations.
July 29, 2025
Communications
All SPOCs and Technical Contacts:
Effective July 31, 2025, CARES-Live 2.8.34 Release is Scheduled to Move into Production
The CARES-Live team has scheduled release activity that will interrupt connectivity to the CARES-Live application. The release activity will begin at 6:00 PM on Thursday, July 31, 2025, and conclude at 9:00 PM. During this release, the CARES-Live team will focus on application changes.
Users will not be able to access the CARES-Live application during this scheduled outage.
CARES-Live 2.8.34:
- This release addresses security findings, Java upgrades, and other infrastructure updates and security patches not visible to CARES-Live users.
Action Required
If users experience any issues with CARES-Live, please follow your county process for reporting issues. CARES-Live 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.
July 28, 2025
Communications
All Pilot County RFA Implementation Coordinators and SPOCs:
The CWS-CARES team has scheduled maintenance activity for the CWS-CARES production environment for Friday, August 1, 2025, beginning at 6:00 AM and concluding at 8:00 AM. 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.
July 23, 2025
Communications
All SPOCs and Technical Contacts:
This communication is a notification that a bulletin has been posted to the CWDS website. As a reminder, ‘Bulletins’ are located beneath the ‘Follow Our Progress’ header on the CWDS website’s home page. The bulletin provides a reminder and direction prior to Release 9.6 on Saturday, August 16, 2025.
Action Required
Please review the bulletin and share the information with county personnel.
July 23, 2025
Customer Relations
The mandatory Release 9.6 will be implemented on Saturday, August 16, 2025.
Coexistent county CWSCMS.MSI file availability:
The CWSCMS.MSI file will be available by Friday, August 8, 2025, for technical staff to begin testing the installation of the release. The code will be located on the CWSDFSr share in the following location:
Perform any necessary testing, but do not install countywide before August 16, 2025. The new release will not work with the database until then.
Dedicated County CWSCMS.MSI file delivery:
By Friday, August 8, 2025, dedicated county users should start seeing the CWSCMS.MSI file copied to their workstations during Windows logon. Technical staff can verify that they have received the file by checking for its presence in the C:\CACW\R96 folder. This file must exist on the workstation for the installation of Release R9.6 to take place on or after August 16, 2025.
Release 9.6 documents are located on the CWDS website. More documents will be added as the release go-live date approaches.
July 23, 2025
Communications
All SPOCs and Technical Contacts:
The CWDS Office will be making some backend updates to the cwds.ca.gov website, causing a short outage for the website. The maintenance window is scheduled for Monday, August 4, 2025, beginning at 8:00 PM and concluding at 9:00 PM. The CWDS website will be unavailable for approximately 15 minutes within the maintenance window.
Action Required
No action needed.
July 18, 2025
Communications
Child Welfare and Probation CARES SPOCs, Child Welfare Implementation Coordinators, County, Tribe, Probation, and State Leadership, and OCM Coordinators:
Thank you for taking the time to attend the CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #3 held on Wednesday, June 25, 2025. We were thrilled to have over 482 participants join live, representing an impressive 50 of the 58 California counties, in addition to one tribal community, and five partner organizations. We captured 57 questions during the session that are now published on the CWDS website. Thank you for your active participation and interest in CWS-CARES!
For your convenience, the presentation slides, session recording, and Q&A document are now available on our website at CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefings | Child Welfare Digital Services. Please note that a log-in is required to view the session materials using the link at the bottom of the page.
We value your feedback. Please share your thoughts on the CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #3 using this three-minute survey: Complete this Survey
Save the date! We look forward to seeing you at the CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #4 on October 22, 2025. Invitations to register will be shared in the coming months.
Action Required
If you have further questions or require additional information, please do not hesitate to contact CWDS Customer Relations.
July 17, 2025
Communications
All SPOCs:
July 17, 2025 Update: The CWDS Office is having technical difficulties with adding the AD 512 NMD form to the CWS/CMS application. Currently, the existing version of the form has been deactivated and is inaccessible for all counties. Another notice will be sent out as soon as the issue has been resolved and the form is accessible in CWS/CMS.
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The following CWS/CMS Statewide Template will be updated to its latest version on Thursday, July 17, 2025. This form can be found under the CDSS radio button when generating a form.
CDSS Forms
- AD5112 NMD (version 12/24): Psychosocial and Medical History of Non-Minor Dependent
Action Required
No action is required. If you have any questions regarding this form, please contact OSI CWDS Application Support.
July 14, 2025
Communications
All SPOCs, Technical Contacts, and SBC Administrators:
The California Department of Technology (CDT) has scheduled maintenance on Saturday, July 26, 2025, 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.
