CWDS Bulletins

CARES SPOCs, Implementation Coordinators, OCM Coordinators, County Leadership, Tribe Leadership, Probation Leadership, and State Leadership:

In this Weekly Digest:

• Final Reminder: Two (2) Days Left to Register for CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #8
• Understanding Organizational Change Management (OCM) and Business Process Re-engineering (BPR)
• CWS-CARES Scheduled Maintenance – June 22, 2026 | 5 PM – 8 PM
• CWS-CARES Production Simulation: County Data Validation Begins June 22
• CWS-CARES Functionality Spotlight: June 22, 2026

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Final Reminder: Two (2) Days Left to Register for CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #8

Thank you to the 310+ stakeholders who have already registered for the next Stakeholder Briefing on Wednesday, June 24, 2026! If you’ve not yet registered, we encourage you to attend the live webinar on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, from 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM. All stakeholders impacted by the changes to CWS-CARES are welcome to attend, ask questions, and hear updates from Project leadership.

Register now at: CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #8 | 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 full agenda for the June 2026 Stakeholder Briefing is available to view on the CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #8 Registration page. Updates will include:

• Project Status Update
• Preparing for Production Simulation
• Production Simulation Demo
• Training
• Organizational Change Management (OCM)

Having Trouble Registering?

Some registrants have reported difficulties completing registration due to a technical issue with Microsoft Teams. If you experience this, please clear your cache and open the registration link in the Microsoft Edge browser or register on a mobile phone. If you continue to experience issues, please contact Customer Relations at CWS_CustRel@otsi.ca.gov for further assistance.

Thank you for participating in our Stakeholder Briefing webinar series! We hope to see you on June 24, 2026 to continue the conversation on the upcoming transition to CWS-CARES.

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Understanding Organizational Change Management (OCM) and Business Process Re-engineering (BPR)

As CWS-CARES V1 approaches Go-Live, the program operates a dedicated Organizational Change Management (OCM) team to support organizational readiness focusing on preparing people and Organizations to adopt the changes. A key activity of the OCM work on this project is to identify where the new technology results in changes to the operational practices of an Organization. This aspect of the work is carried out by the Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) team, who is dedicated to identifying those operational changes in collaboration with the Organizations. Together, the BPR and OCM teams use insights gathered to develop change management and communication plans and materials to help the 129 Organizations understand and implement the changes.

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CWS-CARES Scheduled Maintenance – June 22, 2026 | 5 PM – 8 PM

The CWS-CARES team has scheduled maintenance activity for the CWS-CARES production environment for today, Monday, June 22, 2026, beginning at 5:00 PM to 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.

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. 

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CWS-CARES Production Simulation: County Data Validation Begins June 22

On June 22, 2026, counties will begin hands-on validation of converted legacy data in the Production Simulation (Prod Sim) environment. Subject matter experts and end users will verify data accuracy, business functionality, and readiness for expanded statewide testing.

Note that ‘Sealed and Sensitive’ cases and referrals will be temporarily removed from Prod Sim during this phase. All CWS-CARES Version 1 (CARES V1) interfaces will be available.

For full details, refer to the email sent by Customer Relations on Friday, June 12, 2026, with the subject: CWS-CARES Production Simulation Revised Dates & Key Details.

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CWS-CARES Functionality Spotlight: June 22, 2026

This week, the CWS-CARES Functionality Spotlight features the CWS-CARES Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) of the Week.

June 22, 2026 FAQ of the Week: 

Q: What functionality will be available in CWS-CARES Production Simulation?

A: All CARES V1 functionality will be available in Production Simulation. This includes Admin Console, Courts, Financial Management, Resource Family Approval, Adoption, After Care, and Re-Entry, Ongoing Case, Placement, Resource Management, Eligibility, Referral, and Screening/Intake.

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 at CWS_CustRel@otsi.ca.gov 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.

Co-Existent County SPOCs and Technical Contacts:

June 19, 2026 UPDATE: Microsoft has not yet provided a permanent fix for the issue with KB5094126 (for Windows 11 v24H2 and v25H2) that is causing a 29956 error message when generating Word documents in CWS/CMS. IBM continues to strongly recommend that Co-Existent Counties do not install this patch on their CWS/CMS workstations, and if the patch is already installed to uninstall it until the permanent fix is produced. There is no estimated timeline for this fix, but we will send out an update once it is received and tested.

While testing the patches, IBM recently discovered an issue with another patch included in the June Microsoft patches. Patch #KB5093998 (for Windows 11 v23H2) is also causing the same 29956 error message when generating Word documents in CWS/CMS. IBM, again, strongly recommends that Co-Existent Counties do not install this patch on their CWS/CMS workstations, and if the patch is already installed to uninstall it until the permanent fix is produced. There is no estimated timeline for this additional fix, but we will send out an update once it is received and tested.

The following are the Microsoft patches that IBM is installing on the Dedicated County workstations for June 2026:

• .NET Desktop Runtime (x64) 8.0.28 Available
• .NET Desktop Runtime (x64) 9.0.17 Available
• .NET SDK (x64) 8.0.422 Available
• .NET Desktop Runtime 8.0.28 Available
• Adobe Acrobat 2026.001.21662 Available - Adobe Acrobat - Continuous Track (x64)
• Adobe Acrobat Reader 2026.001.21662 Available - Adobe Acrobat Reader - Continuous Track
• Adobe Acrobat Reader 2026.001.21662 Available - Adobe Acrobat Reader - Continuous Track (x64)
• Microsoft Edge Stable Build 149.0.4022.62 Available
• Microsoft Edge Stable Build 149.0.4022.62 Available (x64)
• MS26-JUN: Servicing Stack Update for Windows 10 Version 1607 - Windows 10 Version 1607 - KB5094141
• MS26-JUN: Servicing Stack Update for Windows 10 Version 1607 - Windows 10 Version 1607 - KB5094141 (x64)
• 5092427: Cumulative Update Preview for .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.8.1 for Windows 11, version 25H2 - Windows
• 5092427: Cumulative Update Preview for .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.8.1 for Windows 11, version 25H2 – Windows (x64)
• MS26-JUN: Security Update for Microsoft Excel 2016 - Excel 2016 - KB5002877
• MS26-JUN: Security Update for Microsoft Office 2016 - Office 2016 - KB5002578
• MS26-JUN: Security Update for Microsoft Office 2016 - Office 2016 - KB5002852
• MS26-JUN: Security Update for Microsoft Office 2016 - Office 2016 - KB5002878
• MS26-JUN: Security Update for Microsoft Word 2016 - Word 2016 - KB5002879
• Office 2024 Version 16.0.17932.20842 Available - Perpetual Channel - Office 2024 Volume Licensed
• Office 365 Version 16.0.20026.20166 Available - Monthly Enterprise Channel - Office 365 (English (United States
• Office 365 Version 16.0.20026.20168 Available - Current Channel - Office 365 (English (United States))
• Google Chrome 149.0.7827.103 Available
• 4052623: Update for Microsoft Defender antimalware platform - Microsoft Defender Antivirus - KB4052623
• Mozilla Firefox (x64) 140.11.0 ESR Available
• MS26-MAY: Cumulative Update for .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.7.2 for Windows 10 Version 1809 - Windows 10 KB5087061 (x64)
• MS26-MAY: Cumulative Update for .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.8 for Windows 10 Version 1809 - Windows 10 Version (x64)

Additional updates will be shared out once the permanent fixes for the problem Microsoft June patches have been distributed by Microsoft and tested by IBM.

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Issue: The CWS/CMS application generates a 29956 error in certain situations when attempting to make a call to Word documents. This error prevents the user from data input as part of normal workflow processes.

Cause: Microsoft has confirmed that the issue has been caused by Microsoft’s June 2026 update (released on June 9, 2026), specifically the KB5094126 installation on Windows 11 desktops. Microsoft has confirmed this issue is present for multiple customers.

Workaround Solution: A temporary workaround from Microsoft is to uninstall KB5094126 on impacted systems. A permanent fix is expected to be released by Microsoft within the next few days.

Note: This issue and workaround does not apply to the Dedicated County workstations. The June 2026 Microsoft patch KB5094126 was not yet installed on the Dedicated County workstations.

Action Required

Co-Existent Counties that installed the June 2026 updates from Microsoft should, as a temporary workaround, uninstall patch KB5094126 from their workstations, until Microsoft provides a permanent fix.

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, June 27, 2026, at 8:00 PM and concludes on Sunday, June 28, 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.

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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 Friday, June 19, 2026, 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. However, document related functionality 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 Pilot County RFA Implementation Coordinators and SPOCs:

The CWS-CARES team has scheduled maintenance activity for the CWS-CARES production environment for Monday, June 22, 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.  

CARES SPOCs, Implementation Coordinators, OCM Coordinators, County Leadership, Tribe Leadership, Probation Leadership, and State Leadership:

In this Weekly Digest:

• CWS-CARES Production Simulation Revised Dates & Key Details - 6/12/2026
• Action Required: CWS-CARES Technical Readiness Resource Document Update
• Reminder: Nine (9) Days Left to Register for CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #8
• CWS-CARES Data and Technical Contacts
• CWS-CARES Functionality Spotlight: June 15, 2026

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CWS-CARES Production Simulation Revised Dates & Key Details - 6/12/2026

Following the June 5, 2026 communication regarding the postponement of the Production Simulation (Prod Sim) launch, the CWS-CARES Project distributed an update on Friday, June 12, 2026 providing revised dates and key details for Prod Sim and related environments through CWS-CARES Version 1 (CARES V1) Go-Live on October 26, 2026.  

Prod Sim Environment – Revised Dates 

• June 22, 2026: Counties begin hands-on validation of converted legacy data 

• July 6, 2026: Additional county users join testing; Self-Paced Training curriculum and the ability to run forms, reports, and extracts will be available 

• August 3, 2026: Prod Sim access opens for all 25,000 CWS/CMS users through Go-Live on October 26, 2026. 

• September 26, 2026: ‘Sealed & Sensitive’ cases and referrals will be added to Prod Sim 

Other Environments – Revised Dates 

• June 15, 2026: The V1 Readiness (EUST 3) Environment will be decommissioned to migrate interface connections for upcoming training 

• June 15 – August 7, 2026: New IBM-converted CWS/CMS forms will be available in County Forms Development Environment 102 on a rolling basis for county testing and validation 

• June 16, 2026: Training Environment (CARES 104) opens for Train-the-Trainer (TTT) staff to begin perquisite training 

For full details, refer to the email sent by Customer Relations on Friday, June 12, 2026 at 4:08 PM with the subject: CWS-CARES Production Simulation Revised Dates & Key Details – 6/12/2026. 

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Action Required: CWS-CARES Technical Readiness Resource Document Update

The CWS-CARES Implementation team distributed an updated Technical Readiness Resource document on June 5, 2026, to CARES Implementation Coordinators and Implementation Technical Coordinators. Updates in this version include changes to processor hardware requirements, software requirements, and secondary workstation and remote VPN URLs.  

Action Required: Please complete the updated Technical Readiness Resource CARES V1 – June 2026 Update document and return it to your assigned Implementation Lead no later than June 26, 2026. 

For full details and instructions, refer to the email sent by the OTSI CWDS Implementation team on Friday, June 5, 2026, at 4:53 PM with the subject: Action Required: CARES Technical Readiness Resource Document Update (due no later than June 26, 2026). 

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Reminder: Nine (9) Days Left to Register for CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #8

Thank you to the 230+ stakeholders who have already registered for the next Stakeholder Briefing on Wednesday, June 24, 2026! If you’ve not yet registered, we encourage you to attend the live webinar on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, from 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM. All stakeholders impacted by the changes to CWS-CARES are welcome to attend, ask questions, and hear updates from Project leadership. 

Register now at: CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #8 | 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 full agenda for the June 2026 Stakeholder Briefing is available to view on the CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #8 Registration page. Updates will include: 

• Project Status Update 

• Preparing for Production Simulation 

• Production Simulation Demo 

• Training 

• Organizational Change Management (OCM) 

Thank you for participating in our Stakeholder Briefing webinar series! We hope to see you on June 24, 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 | Child Welfare Digital Services page on the CWDS website: 

• Stakeholder Briefing #7 Presentation Slides 

• Stakeholder Briefing # 7 Q&A 

• Stakeholder Briefing #6 Q&A – Update 

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. 

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CWS-CARES Data and Technical Contacts

As CWS-CARES approaches Go-Live, counties and organizations may have questions across a range of data and technical topics. The following contacts can assist with specific CWS-CARES topics and questions: 

• Data Conversion or Converted Data: Data Conversions Workgroup – OSICWDSDataConversion@otsi.ca.gov  

• Data Dictionary, Field Definitions, Data Types, Field Lengths, Data Mapping, or SqlDBM Access: Data Management Team – CWDSDataManagement@otsi.ca.gov 

• Data Extracts: Data Extracts Workgroup – OTSICWDSCARESDataExtracts@otsi.ca.gov  

• Forms: Forms Workgroup – OTSICWDSCARESForms@otsi.ca.gov  

• Functional or Business Process Questions: Product Delivery Lead (PDL) Team – CARESPDL@otsi.ca.gov  

• Reports, Dashboards, or Tableau: CWDS Analytics Transition (CAT) Workgroup – OSICWDSAnalyticsTransition@otsi.ca.gov  

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CWS-CARES Functionality Spotlight: June 15, 2026

This week, the CWS-CARES Functionality Spotlight features the CWS-CARES Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) of the Week. 

June 15, 2026 FAQ of the Week:  

Q: Is DocuEdge single sign-on? 

A: Yes. DocuEdge supports Single Sign-On (SSO) within CWS-CARES. DocuEdge functionality is accessed directly through the CWS-CARES interface, and users do not need to sign in separately to DocuEdge. 

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 at CWS_CustRel@otsi.ca.gov 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.

CARES SPOCs, CARES Technical Contacts, Implementation Coordinators, OCM Coordinators, County Leadership, Tribe Leadership, Probation Leadership, and State Leadership:

Following up on our communication from June 5, 2026 regarding the postponement of the CWS-CARES Production Simulation (Prod Sim) environment, we are providing an update on what to expect over the next five months, specifically for Prod Sim user access, key features, data, and related environments leading up to our October 2026 Go-Live.

The Prod Sim Environment – Revised Dates & Key Details

1. June 22, 2026: Counties begin hands-on validation of converted legacy data using subject matter experts and end users to verify data accuracy, business functionality, and readiness for expanded statewide testing.

• 'Sealed & Sensitive' cases and referrals are temporarily removed from Prod Sim.
• All CWS-CARES Version 1 (V1) interfaces will be available.

2. July 6, 2026: Additional county users join testing while teams begin validating backend functions, including reports, forms, and data extracts, to ensure the system is performing as expected before go-live.

• The planned Self-Paced Training curriculum will be available.
• The ability to run forms, reports, and extracts will be available.
• In a forthcoming communication, there will be additional details on the number of users and role prioritization to assist counties with determining who will participate.

3. August 3, 2026: Prod Sim access opens for all 25,000 CWS/CMS users.

• Users continue their use of Prod Sim until CWS-CARES V1 Go-Live on October 26, 2026.

4. September 26, 2026: ‘Sealed & Sensitive’ cases and referrals will be added to Prod Sim.

Other Environments – Dates & Key Details

1. June 15, 2026: The V1 Readiness (EUST 3) Environment will be decommissioned at 8AM to migrate interface connections for upcoming training. 

• This will impact interfaces such as Case Management Assessment (CMA), Structured Decision Making (SDM), CalSAWS Foster Care Eligibility Determination (FCED), Juvenile Network (JNET), and potentially others.
• V1 Readiness Environment users who are neither trainers nor granted access to the County Forms Development Environment will be onboarded to the Prod Sim environment according to the timeline above.

2. June 15 – August 7, 2026: The new IBM-converted CWS/CMS forms will be available in County Forms Development Environment 102 on a rolling basis as they are developed for testing and validation by counties.

• During planned outages, these forms will be available in the Prod Sim environment and migration of those documents will begin on July 6, 2026.

3. June 16, 2026: Training Environment 104 opens for Train-the-Trainer (TTT) staff to start their prerequisite training.

• County-identified users will begin to receive onboarding emails on June 12, 2026.

We acknowledge how critical these changes are for organizations, and that they have a direct impact on your readiness activities. We are dedicated to delivering on our commitments and working with you in partnership towards CWS-CARES V1 Go-Live on October 26, 2026. We will be providing forthcoming communication in the coming weeks that will outline in much greater detail the remaining critical dates, delivery of system or functionality fixes, and any outstanding items that will require workarounds until functionality can be fixed post Go-Live.

Please contact Customer Relations for questions: CWS_CustRel@otsi.ca.gov

Co-Existent County SPOCs and Technical Contacts:

Issue: The CWS/CMS application generates a 29956 error in certain situations when attempting to make a call to Word documents. This error prevents the user from data input as part of normal workflow processes.

Cause: Microsoft has confirmed that the issue has been caused by Microsoft’s June 2026 update (released on June 9, 2026), specifically the KB5094126 installation on Windows 11 desktops. Microsoft has confirmed this issue is present for multiple customers.

Workaround Solution: A temporary workaround from Microsoft is to uninstall KB5094126 on impacted systems. A permanent fix is expected to be released by Microsoft within the next few days.

Note: This issue and workaround does not apply to the Dedicated County workstations. The June 2026 Microsoft patch KB5094126 was not yet installed on the Dedicated County workstations.

Action Required

Co-Existent Counties that installed the June 2026 updates from Microsoft should, as a temporary workaround, are strongly advised to uninstall patch KB5094126 from their workstations, until Microsoft provides a permanent fix.

All SPOCs, Technical Contacts, and SBC Administrators:

The California Department of Technology (CDT) has scheduled maintenance on Saturday, June 27, 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.
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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.

ALL SPOCs, Technical Contacts and CAD Contacts:

The California Department of Technology (CDT) has scheduled monthly Microsoft security patching. The patching begins on Friday, July 17, 2026, at 6:00 PM and concludes on Saturday, July 18, 2026, at 1:00 AM. The activity may cause interruptions to the Business Objects (BO) servers within the patching window. The expected impact to users is low; however, there is a potential to cause some BO reports to fail to send, or automated scripts may fail to retrieve.
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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.