Key Questions

Is the project on track to satisfy the customer's business objectives?Yes

Is the project on track to achieve the objectives in the approved timeframe?Uncertain

Is the project on track to achieve the objectives within the approved budget?Uncertain

Project Overall Health

Comments

Yellow

The Project Overall Health rating continued Yellow in May 2025 due to the current assessment of Time, Cost, and Quality focus areas. -- Time, Cost, Quality, continued as Yellow. -- Transition Readiness improved to Green. -- Governance, Scope, Resources, and Risks/Issues continued as Green. • The CDSS sent an Ad Hoc As-Needed APDU to the ACF on May 23 requesting approval of the final outstanding condition and restoration of CCWIS status. -- The ACF CB emailed the project on April 25, confirming that CWS-CARES will "remain in a non-CCWIS status and receive reimbursement at the title IV-E administrative rate” until further notice. If not restored, impact to the State’s General Fund may be impacted. • The project schedule was rebaselined in July 2024. Fifteen (15) milestones are complete (blue), Eight (8) are on track (green), thirteen (13) are at risk (Yellow), one (1) has not started. • A new feature-set build drop plan is being implemented to improve the efficiency of product delivery for EUST 3 milestones. • The system scope includes core product development, infrastructure, interfaces, shared services, data conversion, scenario testing, rework based on user feedback, and design blueprints. • There are zero (0) high-priority issues or risks open currently.

Focus Area/Rating	Comments
Governance Green	The Governance rating continued Green in May 2025. The scope and character of authority for decision making are documented, with governance bodies meeting regularly. • The last approval document, SPR 6, approved in May 2023, codified changes to the project’s delivery approach and resources. -- A new holistic design approach was approved on June 10, 2024. -- The project schedule was rebaselined on July 3, 2024. -- The Financial Analysis Worksheets (FAW) were updated in April 2025 to support a FY 2025-26 BCP. One-time costs increased by 1%. • The Annual Progress Demonstration was held on May 7, 2025 and presented: -- SPR 6 Major Milestone achievements since the previous Annual Demonstration. -- Extended User Scenario Testing (EUST) 2 Summary Results. -- County Constituent Input, including feedback on the EUST 2 preparation and execution process and results, and suggestions for improving the EUST 3 experience. -- CDSS Program Input. -- CWS-CARES Product Demonstration of Removals and Placements functionality, and Eligibility Linking with the CalSAWS system. -- External (County) Systems Activities Update. -- Training and Implementation Activities and Planning Update. -- Version 1 (V1) Production Pilot Planning Update. • 2 decisions were made via the Decision-Making Framework, including: -- 507: CARES V1 ILT Training Approach -- 505: LA County & LA Apps CWS/CMS Extract • ACF Monthly Report on User Engagement & Adoption – May report for April with key accomplishments and stakeholder metrics. • Per an SPR 6 approval condition, the project utilizes Earned Value Metrics (EVM) to monitor project health. The Total V1 Scope is measured in Function Point Equivalents (FPE). The FPE value of 88,568 reported in May is consistent with values reported since September 2024.
Time Management Yellow	The Time Management Focus Area rating continued Yellow in May 2025. • The project's performance in achieving the remediated and re-baselined project schedule is reported to be on track. -- PaaS SI schedule variance metrics show the overall project is on track at 67% (+2% from last month) and complete, with 79 (+33) activities Overdue and 125 (+98) activities behind schedule. -- IPO notes that 75% of the total state business days planned for V1 work have elapsed as of May end. • 15 (no change from last month) of 37 product and interface milestones have completed the Service Delivery Life Cycle (SDLC) stage, and will be tested and validated in EUST 3. As presented in the May Executive Dashboard, all product milestones and interfaces have been mapped to EUST testing/validation cycles. -- EUST 1 finished May 2024. All 3 milestones are SDLC complete (blue). -- EUST 2 finished April 2025. All 8 milestones are SDLC complete (blue). -- Of the 22 EUST 3 milestones, 3 are SDLC complete (blue), 5 are on track (green), 13 are at risk (yellow). -- There are 4 V1 Reporting milestones that will be tested in a separate EUST Reporting cycle. • RI-260: Sprint velocity is inadequate to achieve approved SPR 6 milestone schedule – In April, the issue priority was reduced to Low in recognition of a new Build Drop Schedule to support the EUST3 Holistic Design milestones. -- The Build Drop Schedule is sequenced using service area feature-sets and milestones to improve delivery outcomes. • The PaaS SI velocity plan shows significant spikes in the quantity of user stories to be completed, which began in March 2025, and if executed per plan, should improve alignment between the work completion percentage and IPO elapsed days schedule performance measures. -- The user story completion rate for Sprint 25.05 was 35%. The size of the sprint consisted of 196 user stories with 69 done. -- PaaS SI reported that 34 user stories were done, and 126 completed their Build and SIT phases of the SDLC. • Holistic Design activities for EUST 3 Milestones continue in progress. -- Case Mgmt. Group 1 (milestones 1, 2, 6, 8, 15, 19, 20) – complete. -- Case Mgmt. Group 2 (milestones 6.1, 7, 9) – complete. -- Case Mgmt. Group 3 (milestone 10, 11, 13) - Design Cycle 1 and 2 are overdue. -- Courts (milestones 16, 17, 18) - Design Cycle 1 & 2 are overdue. -- Resource Management (milestones 26, 27, 28) – complete. -- Financial Management (milestones 23, 23.1, 24) - Design Cycle 1 is complete, Design Cycle 2 is on track. -- Eligibility: Milestone 21 – complete. -- Admin Console: Milestone 32—Design Cycle 1 is overdue, and Design Cycle 2 is behind. -- Shared Services – Design Cycles 1 & 2 are behind. • As per an SPR approval condition, the Project is using EVM to gauge performance. The Schedule Performance Index (SPI) decreased to 0.963 as of May 15, indicating the project is on schedule with a variance of less than 5% from the target of 1.0.
Cost & Contract Management Yellow	The Cost & Contract Management rating continued Yellow in May 2025. • On May 23, the CDSS submitted an Ad Hoc As Needed APD to provide a progress update and written status of the remaining outstanding condition so that ACF may reassess the project status in accordance with the ACF letter dated October 21, 2024 (ref: CA_2024_09_17_DSS). • The Total Project Costs approved with SPR 6 are $1,711,011,443 with One-Time Costs of $1,228,909,579, Continuing Costs of $301,567,793, and Future Operations Costs of $180,534,071. -- Current Actual One-Time Expenditures are reported as $481,166,416 – 23% less than the planned $627,050,49 Cumulative Actual One-Time Budget planned at this time. -- The May Executive Dashboard Budget Display reports the Current Year Actual Expenditures for FY 2024-25 are $105,570,729, and projected annual expenditures are $166,217,763, which is 21% less than the $210,787,509 planned annual budget. This project clarified the decrease in projected costs is due to finalization of WOAs vs projected costs. • The FY 2024-25 budget included BBL and TBL defining “satisfactory progress” towards product milestones, and “may be augmented up to a maximum of $26,035,000 for project activities related to the implementation and data infrastructure contracts upon approval by the Department of Finance, in consultation with the Department of Technology”. • As per an approval condition, the Project is using EVM to gauge performance. -- The 1.310 CPI reported as of May 15 validates the underspending reported in the PSR. The variance from the target 1.0 continues greater than 10% but is less than the peak CPI of 1.378 in August. • There are currently 12 executed contracts for delivery of the CWS-CARES solution. -- 7 procurements are planned or in progress. -- 4 contract amendments are in progress. • The SPR 6 approved Financial Analysis Worksheets (FAW) were based on renegotiating the primary vendor contracts. -- Contract amendment negotiations for Implementation Services continues in progress and anticipated to complete in June. -- The renegotiated Platform as a Service (PaaS) System Integrator (SI) contract amendment was executed in September 2023, increasing the total contract value from $63,781,313 to $290,768,079. The total encumbrance is $273,514,765. Current Actual Expenditure is $101,221,177. -- The renegotiated Product Value Services (PVS) contract amendment was executed in September 2023, increasing the total contract value from $26,931,840 to $80,239,017. Current Actual Expenditure is $53,512,783. -- The renegotiated CARES Data Infrastructure (CDI) contract amendment was executed in March 2024, increasing the total contract value from $35,007,305 to $132,338,965. Current Actual Expenditure is $43,547,545.
Scope Management Green	The Scope Management rating continued as Green in May 2025. • SPR 6 approval condition #1 is satisfied. The PMO continues to provide monthly extracts of the CARES Version 1 (V1) product scope -- The May V1 Scope Extract provided by the project shows V1 is organized by the Extended User Scenario Testing (EUST) cycles and consists of 4,548 User Stories categorized into 37 Milestones (plus rework, forms, and shared services), 125 Building Blocks, and 521 Epics. -- 1,951 (39.3% of Total) user stories have completed the SDLC phase. -- The CDT expects the total number of epics and user stories to continue fluctuating as V1 SDLC and user feedback activities progress. • All previously developed user interface components are undergoing a ‘reskinning’ effort using the Salesforce Lightning Web Component Framework. All user interface screens for EUST2 milestones were done before testing. • Holistic Design Blueprints continue to progress, with the flow of blueprints achieving a “Ready for Development” status progressively increasing. -- As of May end, 603 (51% of the total 1181) have been completed • County system scope assessment of external systems continues in progress. -- As of October 2024, Of the total 1214 external systems, 410 are in scope for V1, and 142 are partially in scope for V1. -- The project is currently collaborating with counties to identify discrepancies with scope assessments. 50 of 51 counties have submitted assessments; 25 agree; 25 have discrepancies. -- RI-317 (Medium Priority Risk): External Systems functionality potentially not covered in CWS-CARES, in progress. -- RI-255 (Medium Priority Issue): Operational risk and impact of external systems failures as result of V1 Go-Live, in progress.
Resources Green	The Resources rating continued Green in May 2025. • The approved FY 2024-25 project budget allocates 123 positions. • The project’s overall position vacancy percentage decreased to 4% with 1 hire made in May, within the Project’s goal of 10%. • Total Vendor resources increased to 555 (+54) staff overall, including: -- PaaS SI – 300 (+48 from last month) -- CDI – 134 (+5) -- PVS – 45 (nc) -- Implementation – 66 (+2) -- QA/Testing – 10 (-1) • State and Vendor Resources have the tools and time necessary to complete tasks as assigned and demonstrate a detailed level of understanding to fulfill their assigned roles.
Quality Yellow	The Quality rating continued Yellow in May 2025. • The EUST 2 cycle test results were reported to the Board of Directors. Overall, it met stakeholder expectations. -- 198 staff from 25 counties participated. -- Scope of testing included Eligibility, Case Management, Courts, and Resource Management service areas. -- 977 feedback items reported by County users, which were categorized into 11 determination types, including 56 defects. -- 69 new requirements were identified and consolidated into 33 new user stories – 11 Essential, 20 Required Iteration, and 2 Enhancement. • Rework identified from user feedback indicate that some functionality may not fully meet user expectations, requirements, or usability standards. -- Of the total 1,016 Rework user stories, 400 are done. -- 293 user stories are categorized as Essential, 478 Required Iteration, and 255 Enhancement. • Defects identified during System Integration Testing (SIT) and Quality Assurance (QA) phases reveal gaps in system reliability, functional alignment, and integration readiness. -- 4,248 (+696 from last month) defects have been identified in System Integration Test (SIT) and 2,248 (+285) defects in QA. -- 414 Open defects with 14 Fixed, in Joint Review. -- 316 (+37) Open defects are Development Fixes. • The project continues to monitor and prioritize Technical Debt for V1 with 4 issues sized at 8 story points.
Risk And Issues Green	The Risks and Issues rating continued Green in May 2025. The administration and management of risks and issues is mature, with all items recorded and updated in the Risks and Issues Jira Backlog. • The CWS-CARES team is tracking 16 open project-level risks and issues, with 0 high-priority risks or issues open. -- 1 new risk opened – RI-325 (Medium). -- 2 risks were closed – RI-297 (Medium), RI-235 (Low). -- 3 issues closed – RI-322 (Medium), RI-307 (Medium), RI-274 (Low). • Breakdown of active Issues and Risks: -- 8 Issues: 0 High, 2 Medium, 6 Low -- 8 Risks: 0 High, 5 Medium, 3 Low
Transition Readiness Green	The Transition Readiness rating improved to Green in May 2025. • The CWDS Board of Directors approved in May the recommendation for five counties selected for the V1 Production Pilot scheduled for Summer 2026. -- Butte, Fresno, San Mateo, Tuolumne, and San Diego affirmed their willingness to participate and represent small, medium, and large counties across urban and rural geographic locations. -- Alternate counties have also been identified should one of the selected participants drop out. Supporting activities are also planned for counties not selected. • The CWDS Board of Directors unanimously approved decision (DMF 487) in January 2025, to move forward with the recommended Two Systems of Record Approach, Option 2: Less Technically Complex, to satisfy CWDA expectations for a V1 Production Pilot. -- Refinement of the final estimated costs, scope, and schedule for the Pilot is in progress. • As of May 1, there are 2 counties with 1 or more Go-Live Readiness Tasks behind schedule. -- Master Implementation Plan V12 – 100% complete. -- Rollout Contingency Plan – 95% complete; Final iteration due June 30, 2025. -- Pilot Plan – 98% complete; version 2A was completed in April. -- Sandbox Strategy – 98% complete; finalizing level of effort and costs. -- Training Plan Iteration 3 – 62%. • RFA Application Production Operations. There is a total of 164 (no change) User Accounts, of which 131 (n/c) are Active (aka Registered) and 33 (n/c) are Pending Registration. -- 34 (-1 from last month) Cumulative Total Applications received, and 1270 (+2) Total Applications Adjudicated.
Conditions For Approval Green	The SPR 6 Approval Letter stipulates that the project must adhere to the following conditions (abridged language below): 1. Complete an elaboration of the Product Backlog to clarify program needs further and establish the inventory of functions and features required to complete the project. -- a) Satisfied – V1 product scope (Epics) must be elaborated into requirements (Stories) not later than October 31, 2024. IPO reviewed the materials in November and determined it satisfies the condition. As per CDT request, the project is also providing: 1) Tabular data that demonstrates completion progress and adjustments in total stories by milestone in future Project Status Report (PSR) and Quarterly Project Report (QPR) submissions to the CDT, commencing with the PSR due in December 2024. 2) The PSR and QPR reports include tabular data specifically on the details and progress of the "Rework" milestone stories, including identification of the original source milestone (e.g., 157 Rework milestone stories are sourced from "Milestone 03: Screening"). -- b) Satisfied – “V1 reporting and V2 Epics must be elaborated into Stories not later than February 28, 2025”. On February 28, 2025, the project submitted to the CDT materials intended to satisfy condition #1b. IPO reviewed the materials in March and determined that it satisfies the condition. CDT acknowledges that the V2 Baseline scope information must be kept "procurement confidential" now. The project is requested to provide the CDT: 1) An updated version of the V2 scope at the Epic/Scenario level immediately after the V2 PaaS SI contractor procurement is completed. (Date TBD) 2) An updated version of the V2 scope elaborated to the Story level immediately upon completion of V2 Business Requirements activities. (Date TBD) 2. Conduct annual Development Progress Demonstration for stakeholders and CDT during the first quarter of each Calendar year. -- Satisfied. The most recent annual demonstration was held on April 4, 2024, and this year’s demonstration has been scheduled for May 7, 2025. 3. Commence Earned Value Management (EVM) reporting in the monthly Project Status Reports (PSR) and Quarterly Project Reports (QPR) submissions beginning in October 2023. -- Satisfied. The Project began reporting EVM in October 2023. The Project continues to refine the approach and calculations using Function Point Equivalents. 4. Provide a Board of Directors-approved V1 Pilot Plan to the CDT upon completion of the SPR 6 Major Milestone in September 2023. -- Satisfied. The Project Director obtained Board of Directors approval on September 28, 2023, for the initial Pilot Plan version to satisfy the CDT SPR 6 approval condition. -- Board approval is conditional, stipulating that all future iterations be returned for approval. 5. The Independent Advisor (IA) consultant must assess the efficacy of the project’s constituent engagement, communications, and adoption model and provide a report that includes improvement recommendations to project leadership, the CalHHS, and the CDT by March 31, 2024. -- Satisfied. Per IPO request, the findings and recommendations were presented to executive stakeholders on June 3, 2024. 6. Provide an updated Vendor Management Plan that includes a revised Work Order Authorization (WOA) process that aligns with the PaaS SI and PVS vendor contract amendments described in SPR 6 before the amendments are executed. -- Satisfied. In August 2023, the CDT IPO team reviewed the new WOA Management Plan with updated WOA templates. -- Per IPO request, the WOA Management Plan was updated in October 2023 to include recurring activities, deliverables, and org readiness details for Implementation WOAs. 7. The CWS-CARES project must submit a new SPR if one or more of the following occurs: a) Estimated One-Time Cost increases by $15 million. b) Estimated Project End Date extends by three months. c) Product scope or requirements vary by 10 percent. d) Service Delivery Lifecycle (SDLC) undergoes major changes, as determined by the CDT. -- Condition has not been triggered
Corrective Action Green	Not currently applicable

• Special Project Report 6 (pdf)
• Special Project Report 5 (pdf)
• Special Project Report 4 (pdf)
• Special Project Report 3 (pdf)
• Special Project Report 2 (pdf)
• Special Project Report 1 (pdf)