The state Office of Technology and Solutions Integration (OTSI) is asking for the Legislature to approve an additional $256.5 million for Fiscal Year 2025-26, along with three additional permanent positions for the Department of Social Services (CDSS).
The request is “to continue the design, development, and implementation activities for the Child Welfare Services — California Automated Response and Engagement System (CWS-CARES) and CARES-Live,” OTSI says in a budget change proposal dated Jan. 10.
The proposal is to fund replacement of the Child Welfare Services/Case Management System (CWS/CMS), which was initially rolled out in 1997, and which “is not compliant with federal and state laws, regulations, or policies,” according to the budget change proposal (BCP). The system is used by about 30,000 county, tribal and state workers.
“The primary goal is to deliver a compliant California’s Comprehensive Child Welfare Information System (CCWIS) that keeps the needs of local child welfare practitioners at the forefront, meets the regulations and policies of state and federal laws and … supports the retirement of the CWS/CMS,” the request says.
Child Welfare Digital Services is a joint project among the California Department of Social Services, OTSI and the County Welfare Directors Association along with with 58 local child welfare agencies and tribal partners.
The project has 96 permanent project staff positions — 86 in OTSI, funded at $15.8 million; and 10 in CDSS, funded at $1.9 million with the addition of the three new requested positions.
As part of the request, the BCP breaks out component costs including hardware, software and licenses, with an estimated total of $60 million. The largest share of that sum, $48.3 million, would go to Salesforce licenses. Other vendors specified in the BCP include Okta, OwnBackup and Snowflake.
Also part of the BCP is a request for $22.6 million, which would cover “services provided by CDT for processing IT contracts and executing purchase orders and services provided by the State Data Center. The requested funding also includes costs associated with enterprise services, the Department of General Services, and other OE&E costs for OTSI and CDSS in 2025-26.”
OTSI Requests $256M in New Technology, Staff for Child Welfare Project
The budget change proposal by the Office of Technology and Solutions Integration would allow the statewide initiative to add three staff members and upgrade equipment and software, some of which was implemented in 1997.
