Highlands Consulting is providing strategic communication services on the CWS-CARES project. CWS-CARES stands for Child Welfare Services – California Automated Response and Engagement System. It replaces the existing statewide 30+ year old California Child Welfare Services/Case Management System (CWS/CMS) with a Comprehensive Child Welfare Information System (CCWIS) federally compliant system. For more information: Child Welfare Digital Services (ca.gov)
Recently, we assisted the CWS-CARES Project to make its debut at the 2024 County Welfare Directors Association of California (CWDA) Conference in San Diego on October 9 – 11, 2024. This annual conference aims to improve the well-being of Californians by sharing best practices and policies in human services. During the conference, participants also learn about new technologies, service delivery, and innovations in hybrid or remote work environments. This is the first time that the CWS-CARES Project was selected to host a conference breakout session and a project booth in the main exhibit hall.
Highlands Consulting helped to write the breakout session proposal earlier this year. Once the CWS-CARES Project was notified of the selection, the team went straight to work on planning for this conference. We worked closely with CWS-CARES Project executives and staff to create the 90-minute breakout session presentation content which included a project overview and day-in-the-life scenarios, and plan for the exhibit booth that showcases the CWS-CARES Project with booth décor, signs with QR codes, online subscription forms, recorded system demonstrations, and handouts.
It was a special privilege to be involved in preparing for the 2024 CWDA Conference which had 1,200+ attendees including county human services directors and their staff, state administration and policy staff, advocates, academics, foundations, and statewide organizations. We hope to participate next year and showcase even more of the new CWS-CARES as we continue building the system!