Newsletter: You’re the Expert!
Welcome back to the Casework Navigator newsletter! DC was a little hazy last week, but it was wonderful to see some of you at our Modernization event at the Library of Congress. If you’re a nerd interested in how policy gets implemented, don’t miss Jen Pahlka’s book, Recoding America (or the Ezra Klein interview on it). Anyone who’s done casework will find this book deeply validating—and we hope it’s a call to action to legislative teams to take caseworkers’ implementation expertise seriously.
Tips on news stories we’ve missed and resources you find helpful are more than welcome: anne@popvox.org.
ICYMI: District Office Safety
Our last issue focused on safety resources for state and district staff. We recently had a chance to talk about these issues with Roll Call. Our hearts remain with Congressman Connolly’s staff as they continue to recover and process the attack. If you or your team would like to share your thoughts and experiences outside of the official channel, we have created an anonymous google survey, and we’re always happy to set up 1:1 time. Reach out at anne@popvox.org or reply to this email.
We’re Watching
With the debt ceiling compromise signed by President Biden, we’re watching to see how reductions in IRS funding will affect its efforts to modernize technology and customer service systems, and how changes to work requirements for SNAP benefits will impact constituents around the country.
Agency News
Social Security Administration Data Matches
The Social Security Administration announced plans to offer data matches to other federal benefit programs, which could help those agencies validate identity and prevent fraud (as long as the SSA can keep its own systems secure).
GSA Review of Login.gov
GSA is implementing a top-to-bottom review of the federal Login.gov identity validation system, hoping to address usability, security, and bias in the service.
Social Security Disability Approval Rates
Social Security Disability approval rates for benefits are down at every level of review and lower level decisions are rife with errors, resulting in high rates of remand and years of delay.
New VA homepage
VA’s new homepage went live at VA.gov and it seems vastly improved.
PACT Act Claims Backlog
The VA is processing PACT Act Claims at a record pace, but expects that the backlog of claims over 125 days old could grow to over 400,000 claims in the next year.
Camp Lejeune Justice Act Delays
A lesser known component of the PACT Act, The Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022, which allows servicemembers and family members to file suit against the government for health effects of exposure to contaminants is mired in delays and controversy around legal fees. Nerdy caseworkers who want to know more about suing the federal government can refer to this CRS Report on the Feres Doctrine.
IRS Direct File Pilot
Excitement over the IRS’s announcement of a Direct File Pilot was tempered by uncertainty created by cuts to IRS funding included in the debt ceiling deal.
The State of Public Trust in Government
The Partnership for Public Service closed out Public Service Month with a report on The State of Public Trust in Government, finding that a majority of people in the U.S. have a positive view of nonelected government officials, but perceptions vary based on age and political affiliation.
Unique Entity Identifier Hiccups
Anecdotally, it seems there are still hiccups with the conversion from the DUNS number to the Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) which was implemented in April 2022 for any entity seeking federal contracts or grants. The Federal Service Desk (FSD) has information and tutorials that may help. Locally, Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs) can help entities who are contracting with the government.
Online Passport Renewal Push
Casework meets oversight during the winter-spring-summer of passports as a bipartisan group of nearly 200 Members of Congress wrote to the State Department to ask questions and push for online passport renewal. The State Department is both surging hiring and pushing forward IT modernization efforts in response.
DHS Cuts Paperwork Time
CX is also on the agenda at DHS which reports that it reduced the total time the public spent on paperwork by over 20 million hours annually, with a particular focus on student and exchange visitors. This is welcome news ahead of summer programs and fall semester applications: what are you seeing for processing times?
Influx of Applications at USCIS
USCIS is facing a massive influx of applications from potential sponsors of migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela under a program that can approve no more than 30,000 arrivals each month.
AI Use Cases for Agencies
Wondering which federal agencies are using AI? Executive Order 13960, Promoting the Use of Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence in the Federal Government, required agencies to publish annually an inventory of AI Use Cases.
Ukraine’s Constituent Services App
Join us in drooling over other countries’ constituent service technology: Ukraine was in the spotlight in Washington during a demonstration of Diia, the groundbreaking and award-winning mobile application that connects 19 million Ukrainians with more than 120 government services and dozens of digital documents.
Calling on Caseworkers
You should consider responding to the White House’s Request for Information on National Priorities for AI.
What is this?
The White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy has issued a Request for Information (RFI) on national AI priorities. This RFI asks for input in five big areas, some of which directly impact casework and constituents:
Promoting rights, safety, and national security
Advancing equity and strengthening civil rights
Bolstering democracy and civic participation
Promoting economic growth and good jobs, and
Innovating in public services.
Why should I bother?
This is a chance to plug your casework expertise working with federal agencies directly into the rulemaking process. Are you fed up with cases involving agency backlogs? Frustrated with seeing decisions too-frequently overturned on appeal? Hearing from advocacy groups about equity concerns on things like the CBP’s border app? All of these casework experiences are going to be central to evolving conversations about how AI is used to innovate government services, and how it will impact constituents’ lives for decades to come.
Are you sure this is for me?
Yes: caseworkers have responded to OMB RFIs before, including a special study of Congressional caseworkers in the 1970s, and more recently in response to OMB’s RFI on equity in federal services. You are the experts they need!
On the fence?
On June 23, we’re hosting an info session on this RFI and how your response will be used.
Upcoming Events
Storytelling for Caseworkers I: Listening for What's Important
Caseworkers bear witness to the stories of constituents experiencing the federal government, often in the most difficult and intimate moments of their lives. In this session, we’ll learn how practicing the skills of a good story-listener can help ground and de-escalate constituents.
Informational Webinar on the White House’s RFI on National Priorities for AI
Join us for an informational webinar on the RFI process, how your feedback will be used, and how to craft a response for maximum impact on policy.
Storytelling for Caseworkers II: Telling Constituent Stories for Policy Impact
Told effectively and respectfully, the stories constituents share with caseworkers can illustrate problems with existing federal programs or the need for new federal initiatives.
Caseworker Burnout & Care
Experts from the Schwartz Center for Compassion in Healthcare share their innovative approaches to supporting caregivers facing burnout and trauma in the medical field and ways these lessons may be applied to Congressional contexts.
Other Resources
Involving Interns and Fellows in Casework
In addition to some great resources from the First Intern Branch Project, we’ve got your State and District interns covered with our recent Case Notes post on Working with Interns and Fellows and a video introduction to casework for interns.
House Office of the Whistleblower Ombuds
We continue to be amazed by the great work the House Office of the Whistleblower Ombuds is doing, including this Committee Jurisdiction Tool and a template that offices can use for Whistleblower Case Management. (Much of this information is useful and available to Senate offices, too.)
Benefits Calculator
This is not fully built-out for every state yet, but PolicyEngine is a very neat tool to allow constituents (and caseworkers!) to accurately calculate their benefits eligibility, tax liability, and see how changes to laws governing both would impact the national budget. Check out those benefit cliffs.
Question for the Quorum
While the dog days of summer are quieter on the Hill, we know that that’s often when the Members are home and things heat up in District and State Offices. How do your casework teams balance your leave schedules so staff get time to enjoy the summer? Half-day Fridays? Staggered vacations? Vacation bonuses (we know of one office doing them!)? Let us know and we’ll share some great ideas in a future issue.
Comments, questions, suggestions, tips, concerns? Did someone forward you the newsletter, and you’d like to subscribe? Send all of the above my way: anne@popvox.org.
Anne Meeker
Deputy Director
