CWDS Bulletins

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. 

•  \CODEDIST\Staging\R98

• Restart (reboot) the workstation and log into Windows (aka the "welcome screen").
• Restart again and do not log into Windows.
• Leave the workstation powered on.

This communication was sent to CARES SPOCs, Implementation Coordinators, OCM Coordinators, County Leadership, Tribe Leadership, Probation Leadership, and State Leadership:

July 7, 2026

CWS-CARES Weekly Digest

In this Weekly Digest :

• CWS-CARES Train-the-Trainer (TTT) Schedule Update
• CARES Explorer June 2026 Issue Now Available
• Registration Now Open for CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #9
• Now Available: 500+ Frequently Asked Questions on the CWDS Page
• CWS-CARES Functionality Spotlight: July 7, 2026

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CWS-CARES Train-the-Trainer (TTT) Schedule Update

The CWS-CARES project has shared an important update on the train the trainer (TTT) schedule. To support county requests for more preparation time and ensure seamless training experiences, TTT will now be conducted from July 20 to August 28, 2026, shifted from the original July 6th to August 14 timeline.

The adjustment was made to allow counties more time in the Production Simulation environment to complete prerequisites and build system familiarity, to resolve open bugs and data load issues ahead of training, and to shorten the gap between TTT, Instructor-Led Training (ILT), and Go-Live to improve knowledge retention. The potential impact on ILT dates is currently under evaluation.

CWS-CARES Training Coordinators will contact Organization Training Coordinators directly to share specific TTT dates and registration details. Additional preparation steps, including prerequisites, recommended Enablement Program sequencing, and environment access confirmations, will be shared next week.

For the full update, see the CWS-CARES Train-the-Trainer (TTT) Schedule Update article.

If you have any questions about how this training impacts your training plans or prerequisites, please connect with your Training Coordinator or contact CWDS Training.

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CARES Explorer June 2026 Issue Now Available

We are pleased to present the Volume 3, Issue 3 of the CARES Explorer, the long‑form newsletter published every other month! For the best experience, please open the link using the Microsoft Edge browser. This issue includes the following topics: 

Project Updates:  

• Upcoming Activities at CWS-CARES 
• Production Simulation: A Closer Look at the Path to Go-Live
• Strong Engagement at CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefings

Implementation Corner:  

• Preparing for Success: Training Comes into Focus
• Understanding Organizational Change Management (OCM) and Business Process Re-engineering (BPR)

Explore CWS-CARES:  

• Support for County Forms in CWS/CMS Now Available
• CWS-CARES Communication Effectiveness Survey #3: Next Steps

We recommend that you share this newsletter with all staff impacted by the changes coming with CWS-CARES. All previous issues of the CARES Explorer and CARES Compass are available to view on the CWDS website: CARES Compass/Explorer | Child Welfare Digital Services. 

View the articles from all issues of the CARES Explorer in the CWS-CARES Public Library, a searchable, sharable repository of information related to CWS-CARES. The Public Library is available on the CWDS website on the Resources for CWS-CARES Users page. 

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Registration Now Open for CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #9

We encourage you to attend the next CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing on Wednesday, July 22, 2026! 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.

All stakeholders impacted by the changes to CWS-CARES are welcome to attend, ask questions, and hear updates from Project leadership. 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
  • 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.

Please contact Customer Relations at CWS_CustRel@otsi.ca.gov with any questions.

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Now Available: 500+ Frequently Asked Questions on the CWDS Page

CARES Project recently uploaded 500+ new FAQs to the CWDS Frequently Asked Questions page on June 28, 2026. These FAQs are drawn from questions recently responded to (within the last year) and cover a range of CWS-CARES topics. The new FAQs are organized into updated categories and tagged by meetings or forums for easier searching.

Stay tuned for additional FAQs will continue to be added as more questions are reviewed.

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CWS-CARES Functionality Spotlight: July 7, 2026

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

July 7, 2026 FAQ of the Week: 

Q: Who will provide support for the CWS-CARES Resource Family Approval (RFA) and Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) Portal once CWS-CARES goes live, including password resets? How does someone get access to the portals?

A: The CWDS Service Desk will be responsible for system support for the RFA and FFPSA portals. Within each portal, should a user need their password reset, there is an option to self-serve a password reset. In most cases this will resolve a user’s password concern, such as forgetting their password. However, if the password reset link is not received by a portal user after 24 hours, the user will need to contact the CWDS Service Desk for additional support. 

 For basic troubleshooting and supporting the applicant, i.e., how to complete an application, questions on overall application questions and processes, etc., the County would be responsible for providing that support. 

Portal access is granted/received in two distinct methods based on the portal. 

RFA Portal – A Resource Family can access the portal via public link on the CWDS and county website(s) and is open for individuals to submit applications for interest in becoming a Resource Family Home. The second way to access the RFA Portal is for a CWS-CARES RFA Worker or RFA Supervisor to initiate an invitation to the prospective portal applicant. It should be noted that this method of invitation is only in the circumstance of an Emergency Placement, otherwise the Applicant would go to the public link to apply. Existing RFH homes with an email address previously provided will be extended an invitation to the portal. This will be done in the CWS-CARES application and dedicated training materials and guides will be provided on how to accomplish this task. 

• To access an RFA Portal end-to-end demonstration, click the “RFA_Applicant_Portal_-_03-26-2025-_Core_Constituent_Demonstration_for_RFA.mp4” video on the CWS-CARES RFA Demo Videos page. 

FFPSA Portal – Access to this portal is by invitation only to Community Based Organizations (CBOs). A CWS-CARES worker will initiate the invitation to the portal by adding the prospective or existing Service Provider to CWS-CARES, including their email. Once the email address has been added to CWS-CARES, the provider will receive an email inviting them to the FFPSA Portal. With this invitation email, the provider will be able to establish their password and update any applicable information. CWS-CARES will provide CARES workers with the necessary training materials and guides on how to accomplish this task.  

• To access a FFPSA demonstration, click the “02_23_2026_FM_FFPSA_Portal_CC_Demo_Recording.mp4” video on the CWS-CARES Financial Management Demo Videos page. 

To view all of the CWS-CARES FAQs, please visit the CWDS website: CWS-CARES FAQs | CWDS Website.

Have a question? Send it to CWDS 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.

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.

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

This is the July 6 update regarding the CWS-CARES Production Simulation (Prod Sim) and additional updates as we track toward our CWS-CARES Version 1 Go-Live on October 26, 2026.

Attached to this post are two linked documents:

1. How to Access & Self-Enroll in Enablement Guide

2. The CWS-CARES Prod Sim and Environment Status document

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 detailed 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.

Please note that the attachment is a living document. We will refresh this framework regularly, with the next update scheduled for August 4.

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

Prod Sim

1. Prod Sim (CARES100) 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. Individual counties have full control over their participants and the timing of their Prod Sim activities.

2. CWS-CARES Support and Data Security Protocols: To protect the case data in the Prod Sim environment, 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 for system usage, technical issues, and feedback 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: A generalized 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.

We acknowledge how critical this information is to your planning, and we remain fully committed to partnering with you to ensure a smooth transition. We will continue to keep you informed with our next update scheduled for August 4. Thank you for your ongoing commitment to preparing your teams for the V1 Go-Live.

Action Required

No action is required.

Please contact Customer Relations for questions.

Binti County SPOCs and Implementation Coordinators:

As part of the ongoing Binti to CWS‑CARES data conversion effort, county‑specific data cleanup reports have been distributed. All counties received their initial set of reports June 29, 2026, with earlier delivery occurring for some counties.

These reports identify Binti records for county review before data is converted into CWS-CARES. Counties should review their report, confirm whether the records are accurate, and complete updates where cleanup is needed. Some records may be accurate as-is and may not require updates.

This workbook is the first set of data cleanup workbooks counties will receive. Additional workbooks may be distributed as further data cleanup needs are identified during ongoing analysis. Counties will be notified if subsequent workbooks become available.

To ensure updates are reflected in CWS-CARES, counties are encouraged to complete cleanup activities by the end of September 2026, prioritizing records that may impact business functions. Some cleanup activities may still be completed in CWS-CARES after Go-Live.

Report Delivery

Following feedback from counties, reports were delivered through Keeper, which provides a simple and secure way to share files without requiring a password or account setup.

If your county submitted the Binti Conversion Report Delivery – County Contacts & Delivery Preference survey, the report was sent to the designated contact identified in the survey. That contact received an email from Naomi Robledo with a secure link to download the report. The link is valid for 30 days and can be accessed from a single device.

If your county did not submit a survey response, the report was sent to your county’s CWS‑CARES Single Point of Contact (SPOC) and Implementation Coordinator.

If your secure link expires or you experience any issues accessing your report, please contact the External Systems Data Conversion Mailbox.

Binti Data Conversion Reports Overview

Each county received an Excel workbook for this initial round of data cleanup activities. Additional workbooks may be provided later if further data cleanup needs are identified. Each workbook contains multiple tabs, with each tab representing a category of records identified during the Binti data analysis. Tabs vary by county based on applicable records. For detailed instructions, please refer to the Instructions tab included in your county workbook.

Below is a high-level overview of each tab:

• users_with_binti_email (Portal users with placeholder emails)
  • This tab contains portal user records with placeholder emails (@binti.com emails). Placeholder emails cannot be used to create a CWS-CARES account or send an invitation. Counties may review these records to determine whether each user is needed for CWS-CARES access.
• multiple_or_no_profiles (County workers with duplicate or unmatched CWS/CMS profiles)
  • This tab contains worker records that exist in Binti but could not be matched or have multiple matches in CWS/CMS. Counties may review these records to determine whether access is still needed and whether any identity or duplicate issues apply.
• Binti_homes_same_license (Homes sharing the same license number in Binti)
  • This tab contains home records sharing the same license number. Counties may review these records to determine whether they represent duplicates or valid business scenarios.
• CMS_multiple_license_match (Homes with multiple license matches in CWS/CMS)
  • This tab contains home records with multiple license matches in CWS/CMS. Counties may review these records to determine whether any duplicates or multi-match issues need to be addressed.
• CMS_multiple_ address_match (Homes with multiple address matches in CWS/CMS)
  • This tab contains home records with multiple address matches in CWS/CMS. Counties may review these records to determine whether any data issue apply.
• invalid_address_match (Homes with missing or invalid address information)
  • This tab contains home records with missing or invalid address information. Counties may review these records to determine whether updates are needed to support a valid CWS/CMS match.

Action Required

Review your county’s Binti Data Conversion Report(s) when received and complete any needed cleanup, prioritizing records that may impact business functions. To ensure updates are included in CWS-CARES, counties are encouraged to complete data cleanup by the end of September 2026.

Questions?

If you have questions, please contact the CWDS CARES External Systems Data Conversion Mailbox.

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.

SPOCs, Technical Contacts, and CAD Contacts:

July 3, 2026 UPDATE: The issue that prevented Business Intelligence (BI) reports from running has been resolved. BI users should now be able to access their reports without any issues.

Action Required

Review and validate your BI reports.

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

_______________________________________________

Multiple counties have reported that their scheduled Business Intelligence (BI) reports did not run and then received the following error message when they attempted to open a report in BI:

Updates will be provided as new information is received or status when the status has changed.

Action Required

Review scheduled BO reports today and tomorrow morning. Rerun the report jobs, as necessary, when allowed.

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

As previously noted on the login page banner earlier this week, the CWS-CARES Production Simulation (Prod Sim) environment (CARES100) will be temporarily unavailable due to scheduled system maintenance. Here are the outage details:

Start Time: Thursday, July 2 at 5:00 PM

End Time: Monday, July 6 at 8:00 AM

During this time, users will not be able to log in or access the environment. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your patience as we complete these necessary system updates.

Action Required

No action is required.

SPOCs, Technical Contacts, and CAD Contacts:

Multiple counties have reported that their scheduled Business Intelligence (BI) reports did not run and then received the following error message when they attempted to open a report in BI:

Updates will be provided as new information is received or status when the status has changed.

Action Required

Review scheduled BO reports today and tomorrow morning. Rerun the report jobs, as necessary, when allowed.