CWDS Bulletins

In this Weekly Digest:

• General

  • Introducing a New Weekly Digest Format

  • Clarification on CWS-CARES Version 1 Go-Live Date

  • Final Reminder: Two (2) Days Left to Register for CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #9

• Implementation

  • Working Session Kickoff: Archetype Sessions

• Production Simulation

  • CWS-CARES Changes to Enablement Training Enrollment

  • System Updates & Release Notes Now Available on the Production Simulation Hub

• Technical Update

  • CWS-CARES Weekly Maintenance and System Update Window

• CWS-CARES Functionality

  • CWS-CARES Functionality Spotlight: July 20, 2026

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General

Introducing a New Weekly Digest Format

The CWS-CARES Weekly Digest is introducing a new format beginning this week. Articles will now be organized by category to make it easier for readers to find the information most relevant to their role and organization. Categories will vary every week based on the content available, but may include External Systems, Implementation, Production Simulation, and more. A Technical Updates section will also be included when applicable. This section will feature system maintenance notices, interface and integration updates, data dictionary updates, software compatibility guidelines, and more.

Thank you for reading the CWS-CARES Weekly Digest. Please contact Customer Relations with any feedback or questions about the Weekly Digest.

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Clarification on CWS-CARES Version 1 Go-Live Date

We have recently received questions regarding potential changes to the CWS-CARES Version 1 Go-Live date, including rumors of a shift to June 2027.

We want to clarify that the official Go-Live date remains October 26, 2026.

While we are aware of the concerns that have been raised and are actively working to address them, our teams continue to plan and prepare for the October 2026 release.

Please note that any change to the project timeline would require a formal decision through our established official governance process. Unless an official decision is made and communicated through those channels, the October 26, 2026 date remains our active target.

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Final Reminder: Two (2) Days Left to Register for CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #9

Thank you to the 345+ stakeholders who have already registered for the next Stakeholder Briefing on Wednesday, July 22, 2026! If you’ve not yet registered, we encourage you to attend the live webinar on Wednesday, July 22, 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 #9 | 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 July 2026 Stakeholder Briefing is available to view on the CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #9 Registration page. Updates will include:

• Production Simulation

  • Updated Onboarding Timeline

  • Status of Fixes

  • Prod Sim Support

  • Redacting Sensitive and Confidential Data in Support Tickets

• Implementation & Training

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 for further assistance.

Thank you for participating in our Stakeholder Briefing webinar series! We hope to see you on July 22, 2026 to continue the conversation on the upcoming transition to CWS-CARES.

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Implementation

Working Session Kickoff: Archetype Sessions

Archetype Sessions are underway! A small group of representative organizations from Child Welfare, Juvenile Probation, Tribes, and CDSS are meeting July 13 through July 24 to establish a statewide baseline of ways of working. This baseline will guide the upcoming Delta Sessions (July 27 through August 28), which are designed to help each organization pinpoint where local practices or policies need to align with CWS-CARES Version 1 (CARES V1) workflow.

During each Archetype session, participants review the operational changes expected to significantly affect day-to-day practices as organizations transition to CWS-CARES. Archetype Sessions focus on identifying statewide commonalities and differences in current workflows.

Thank you to all participating organizations for your partnership and preparation. Your engagement is essential in shaping baseline workflows for CWS‑CARES and informing the support you will receive throughout the transition.

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Production Simulation

CWS-CARES Changes to Enablement Training Enrollment

On July 13, 2026, the CWS-CARES Project announced that all published Enablement Programs would be automatically assigned to all users within the CWS-CARES Production Simulation (Prod Sim) environment (CARES 100). This change is designed to give users full visibility into available training materials, though it means that user dashboards may look slightly different.

Here is what users can expect:

1. Users will now see all available programs in the CARES 100 environment.

2. Users may see programs assigned to them that don't align with their specific learning path.

3. Users who previously disenrolled from a program may be automatically re-enrolled. Users still have full control to manually adjust their enrollments and disenroll again as needed.

We highly encourage users to work directly with their supervisor or training coordinator to confirm which programs are right for their specific role. Published learning paths remain the best reference to guide their selection and enrollment.

For full details, visit the CWS-CARES Upcoming Changes to Enablement Training Enrollment page on the CWDS website.

If you have questions or need assistance, please contact your training coordinator or CWDS Training.

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System Updates & Release Notes Now Available on the Production Simulation Hub

The CWS-CARES Production Simulation Hub now includes a new System Updates & Release Notes section. This section provides users with a centralized location to find the latest system updates and release notes related to Production Simulation.

To access this resource, visit the link on the CWS-CARES Production Simulation Hub on the CWDS website and select System Updates & Release Notes from the left bar menu.

Available Now: CWS-CARES Release Notes - July 13, 2026

On July 13, 2026, the CWS-CARES Project released a set of updates to the Production Simulation (Prod Sim) environment (CARES 100) and additional updates to the CARES105 (DCVal) environment. The release includes 80 defect fixes aimed at improving reliability, accuracy, and overall usability across Case Management, DocGen (Document Generation), Adoption workflows, Resource Family Approval (RFA), Financial Management.

Most improvements focus on correcting data mappings, fixing permissions, ensuring required fields populate properly, and supporting essential tasks like generating forms, viewing financial information, and receiving system notifications.

For more details, please visit System Updates & Release Notes tab within the Production Simulation Hub in the CWDS website.

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Technical Update

CWS-CARES Weekly Maintenance and System Update Window

Weekly maintenance for the CARES100 and CARES105 environments is now scheduled every Friday after 5:00 PM with major updates expected to finish by Saturday at 8:00 AM. While the systems remain accessible, users may experience minor, temporary performance issues—such as slowness or search disruptions—during this time. Any necessary updates to other CWS-CARES environments will be scheduled and communicated separately as they are determined.

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CWS-CARES Functionality

CWS-CARES Functionality Spotlight: July 20, 2026

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

July 20, 2026 FAQ of the Week:

Q: Can County Train-the-Trainer (TTT) conduct training independently, or do they need support from CWS-CARES Trainers?

A: Counties have flexibility. Train-the-Trainers can:

• Conduct all Instructor-Led Training (ILT) sessions independently and will receive support from CWS-CARES Trainers who can answer questions during training.

• Co-lead with state trainers.

• Shadow state trainers while learning the process.

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.

All CWS and Probation SPOCs and Technical Contacts:

An issue has been reported where users are unable to complete a Process Placement Home Move (PPHM) within Resource Management in the CWS/CMS application following R9.8 go-live.

The issue has been confirmed and IBM is preparing a fix.

The issue is being tracked under Master Ticket IN10025722. 

An additional update will be provided once the details and expected delivery timeline have been identified. 

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 and indicate this issue is related to Master Ticket IN10025722.

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.

All SPOCs, Technical Contacts, and SBC Administrators:

Multiple counties have reported receiving “high level error” messages when trying to connect to the CWS/CMS application. It is not a universal issue; some Server Based Computing (SBC) users have been successful with logging in to CWS/CMS.

The CWDS Infrastructure team and IBM are working with the California Department of Technology (CDT) and Citrix to determine the cause and to develop a fix for this issue. So far, the issue does not appear to be directly related to the CWS/CMS Release 9.8 code; however, all parties continue to investigate all possible causes, including those related to this past Saturday’s CWS/CMS release.

Additional updates will be provided as new information is available.

Action Required

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

In this Weekly Digest:

• CWS-CARES Production Simulation and Additional Updates – 7/6/2026
• Upcoming CWS-CARES Prod Sim Onboarding Notification
• Recap: Operational Alignment Session
• Reminder: Nine (9) Days Left to Register for CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #9
• CWS-CARES Environment for User Access: July 2026 Update
• Additional Clarification: Microsoft Word 32/64-bit in CWS-CARES
• CWS-CARES Functionality Spotlight: July 13, 2026

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CWS-CARES Production Simulation and Additional Updates – 7/6/2026

The CWS-CARES Project has distributed the July 6, 2026 Production Simulation (Prod Sim) update as the project tracks toward CWS-CARES Version 1 (CARES V1) Go-Live on October 26, 2026. The update includes two key resources.

The How to Access & Self-Enroll in Enablement Guide explains how to sign up for CWS-CARES training. Non Train-the-Trainer (TTT) users should follow their role-based learning path and consult their county training coordinator if needed. TTT users will receive separate communication soon regarding their specific Enablement programs.

The CWS-CARES Prod Sim and Environment Status is a document outlining the current capabilities, limitations, and system status as of July 6 for CWS-CARES Prod Sim and other environments. This resource is designed to provide clarity on what to expect, what has changed, and how to understand the current system behavior.

The CWS-CARES Prod Sim and Environment Status document covers:

Prod Sim

1. Prod Sim Revised Onboarding Approach: The onboarding approach is revised with all users being added to the CWS-CARES Prod Sim environment in phases between July 6th and July 16th.
2. CWS-CARES Support and Data Security Protocols: Users must strictly redact PII/PHI from support tickets, prohibit screenshots or recordings during screen shares, and utilize secure transmission methods for all data transfers.
3. CWS-CARES Prod Sim Support Options: Support is available through daily Microsoft Teams office hours, regional clinics, and dedicated weekday email channels across six regions.
4. Known & Expected Issues, Current System Behavior: Highlights of known and expected issues, and current system behaviors users might encounter, focusing primarily on data-related issues.
5. Resolved Issues: A summary of resolved bugs and defects. Users should report these if any unexpected behavior persists within these specific areas.
6. Open/Reported Issues, Capabilities Not Available on July 6: An overview of current Prod Sim issues classified by subject area; please note this does not represent the entirety of all reported active issues.
7. Forms Status: A dedicated status update on the readiness and functionality of project forms.

Environment Specifications 

• We are sharing information on the current operational status and specifications of the CWS-CARES environments including configuration, data sets, access rights, and feature availability.

Please note that the CWS-CARES Prod Sim and Environment Status document is a living document, with the next update scheduled for August 4.

For full details, please visit the CWS-CARES Prod Sim and Additional Updates – 7/6/2026 page on the CWDS website.

Please contact Customer Relations for questions.

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Upcoming CWS-CARES Prod Sim Onboarding Notification

Following the CWS-CARES Prod Sim and Additional Updates – 7/6/2026, all users will be added to the CWS-CARES Prod Sim environment (CARES100) this month to ensure staff have enough time to complete their Enablement modules before starting Instructor-Led Training (ILT).

Users will be onboarded on one of two dates depending on their county:

• Monday, July 13, 2026: Approximately 10,000 users in Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Bernardino (including both probation and child welfare staff) will gain access to Prod Sim.
• Thursday, July 16, 2026: Approximately 10,000 users from all remaining counties, Tribes, and CDSS (including both probation and child welfare) will gain access to Prod Sim.

Although all users are being activated, individual counties and organizations decide who participates and when they start their activities. To gain access, users must respond to onboarding emails sent on either July 13 or July 16, depending on their rollout date.

Four onboarding Kickoff sessions will be hosted via Microsoft Teams Town Hall, with American Sign Language interpretation provided for all sessions:

• Session 1: Monday, July 13 | 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
• Session 2: Tuesday, July 14 | 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
• Session 3: Thursday, July 16 | 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
• Session 4: Friday, July 17 | 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Links to the kickoff meetings and regional office hours are available on the CWS-CARES Production Simulation Hub. Counties and organizations may determine which sessions their staff should attend.

For full details, see the Upcoming CWS-CARES Prod Sim Onboarding Notification page on the CWDS website.

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Recap: Operational Alignment Session

On July 7, 2026, the CWS-CARES Project hosted the Operational Alignment Session. The session reinforced the purpose of Business Process Re‑engineering (BPR), an OCM activity focused on aligning current statewide operations with validated future CWS-CARES workflows.

During the session, participants reviewed key BPR concepts, upcoming activities, and guidance for preparing for the Delta Sessions, which are designed to help each organization pinpoint where local practices or policies need to align with CARES V1 workflow (Delta Session dates to be announced soon). Participants were also guided on how to use Prod Sim, business process maps, and updated project artifacts to identify operational differences. The team also shared recent workflow updates and a gap analysis framework to ensure organizations are working with the most current information.

A Q&A session followed, covering training, documentation, and communication need. The Project Team committed to providing follow‑ups.

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

Thank you to the 290 stakeholders who have already registered for the next Stakeholder Briefing on Wednesday, July 22, 2026! If you’ve not yet registered, we encourage you to attend the live webinar on Wednesday, July 22, 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 #9 | 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 #9 Registration page. Updates will include:

• Production Simulation
  • Preparations for onboarding
  • Available Functionality
  • Status of environment fixes 
• Implementation & Training 

Thank you for participating in our Stakeholder Briefing webinar series! We hope to see you on July 22, 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 _8 June 2026 - Q&A - ACC.pdf
• Stakeholder Briefing 8 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.

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CWS-CARES Environment for User Access: July 2026 Update

The CWS-CARES Project has published an updated overview of system environments as of July 2026. The CWS-CARES Environments for User Access: July 2026 Update provides a point-in-time overview of system environments, including their purpose, access, and availability, to support testing, training, and readiness activities ahead of Go-Live.

This resource is available on the CWS-CARES User Resources of the CWDS website.

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Additional Clarification: Microsoft Word 32/64-bit in CWS-CARES

CWS-CARES supports both 32-bit and 64-bit Microsoft Word and does not require counties to only use 32-bit Microsoft Word. However, the Project recommends that counties retain 32-bit Word to support legacy documents migrating from the CWS/CMS system. Because those documents were created in an environment that supported 32-bit Word, counties using 64-bit Word may encounter compatibility issues or errors when opening some legacy documents. While these issues may not occur in every instance, the recommendation is intended to help minimize potential disruptions when accessing legacy documents.

Counties may choose to use 64-bit Word if they prefer, with the understanding that compatibility issues with some legacy documents may occur. The Project continues to evaluate long-term options for supporting legacy documents/potential conversion and will communicate any future updates as they become available.

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CWS-CARES Functionality Spotlight: July 13, 2026 

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

July 13, 2026 FAQ of the Week: 

Q: Will Person Merge functionality be available in CWS-CARES to address duplicate client or person records?

A: Yes, Person Merge functionality will be available in CWS-CARES V1. 

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.

Security Protocols for Prod Sim Case Data

The Prod Sim environment contains converted CWS/CMS cases reflecting actual system data as of April 17th; because this includes real, sensitive 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 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.

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

To ensure everyone has full visibility and access to our available training materials, an upcoming change will occur this week to automatically assign all published Enablement Programs to all users within the CWS-CARES Production Simulation (Prod Sim) environment (CARES 100).

While this enhancement is designed to make it easier to explore available training options, it does mean users’ dashboards might look a little different soon.

Please review the upcoming changes and share them with your impacted users.

How This Impacts Users

1. Users will now see all available programs in the Prod Sim (CARES 100) environment.
2. Users may see programs assigned to them that don't align with their specific learning path.
3. If users previously chose to disenroll from a program, this update may automatically re-enroll them. Users still have full control to manually adjust their enrollments and disenroll again as needed.

We highly encourage users to work directly with their supervisor or training coordinator to confirm which programs are right for their specific role. Their published learning paths remain the best reference to guide their selection and enrollment. Our goal is to provide maximum flexibility so users can tailor the enablement experience to their individual and organizational needs.

Action Required

If you have questions or need assistance, please contact your training coordinator or OTSICWDSTraining@otsi.ca.gov.

Security Protocols for Prod Sim Case Data

The Prod Sim environment contains converted CWS/CMS cases reflecting actual system data as of April 17th; because this includes real, sensitive 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 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.

CARES-Live Scheduled Outage

All SPOCs and Technical Contacts:

In support of the CWS/CMS Release 9.8 deployment scheduled for Saturday, July 11, 2026, from 5:00 AM to 1:00 PM, the CARES-Live application will also not be available during this CWS/CMS scheduled deployment.

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.

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

Following up on our July 6th CWS-CARES Prod Sim update, we are adding all users to the CWS-CARES Prod Sim environment (CARES100) this month. This ensures staff have enough time to finish their enablement modules before starting Instructor-Led Training (ILT).

Please review the rollout schedule and let your users know they will be onboarded on July 13 or July 16, depending on their county. Please note that because we are onboarding the whole county rather than individual lists, we will not send separate user communications. Impacted staff will only receive the system-generated onboarding emails referenced below.

Monday, July 13, 2026: Approximately 10,000 users in Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Bernardino (including both probation and child welfare staff) will gain access to Prod Sim.

Thursday, July 16, 2026: Approximately 10,000 users from all remaining counties, Tribes, and CDSS (including both probation and child welfare) will gain access to Prod Sim.

• Organizations Include: Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, CDSS, Colusa, Contra Costa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Humboldt, Imperial, Inyo, Karuk, Kern, Kings, Lake, Lassen, Madera, Marin, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Modoc, Mono, Monterey, Napa, Orange, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Benito, San Diego, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tulare, Tuolumne, Ventura, Yolo, Yuba, Yurok.

Although all users are being activated, individual counties and organizations decide who participates and when they start their activities. To gain access, users must respond to onboarding emails sent on either July 13 or July 16, depending on their rollout date.

Once access is granted, users will receive the following emails:

1. "Welcome to CWS-CARES" from sender: no-reply-test@cares.cwds.ca.gov (from Okta)

• Integrated counties/organizations: This is just a confirmation email. No action is needed.
• Non-integrated counties/organizations (New/Reactivated users): Contains a link to set up your password.

Note: The link expires in seven days for new users and one day for reactivated users.

2. "Finish changing your Salesforce account’s email address" from sender: QA_SUPPORT@salesforce.com

• Recipients: Only users in counties that are changing their email domains.

Note: You must click the verification link within 72 hours to confirm the change.

Kickoff Meetings: We will host four onboarding kickoff sessions via Microsoft Teams Town Hall. The sessions have a maximum capacity of 10,000 attendees. American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation will be provided for all sessions.

Available Sessions:

• Session 1: Monday, July 13 | 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
• Session 2: Tuesday, July 14 | 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
• Session 3: Thursday, July 16 | 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
• Session 4: Friday, July 17 | 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Links to the kickoff meetings and regional office hours are available on the Production Simulation Hub. Counties and organizations may determine which sessions their staff should attend.

Thank you for your continued collaboration as we transition to CWS-CARES.

Action Required

Please contact Customer Relations for questions.

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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 17th; because this includes real, sensitive 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 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.

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, July 25, 2026, at 8:00 PM and concludes on Sunday, July 26, 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.

Please Note

When working with the CARES support teams we ask that you take the following precautions to protect CARES case data: 

• Do not share sensitive data (PHI / PII)  or other case details with the Service Desk, either directly or via email.  Sensitive and confidential data cannot be stored in the ticketing system. The Service Desk can only receive fully redacted information.
• If performing a screen share at the request of the support team, ensure minimum necessary practices are followed, including that only those that need to see the information are present. Screenshots or recordings of the meetings where sensitive/confidential information is present is not permitted.
• If sensitive information is required by third tier support (e.g., case numbers), ensure that it is shared via secured methods – please contact your county Privacy officer or the CWDS ISO for guidance as needed.

We appreciate your partnership in protecting the privacy and safety of the children and families we serve while ensuring we can effectively support you. 

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