Newsletter: Marking the Anniversary of the Afghanistan Withdrawal
As we hit the middle of August and another anniversary of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, we know this can be a difficult time for many who handled this difficult period of casework and are still actively working to support US allies in their journey to safety. We wanted to say that we recognize and honor your hard work, and hope that in the chaos of the August recess, you manage to get some time to reflect on the good you were able to do. Take care of yourselves, y’all — and let us know if there’s anything we can do to support you.
As a reminder, we wrote about the experience of caseworkers in this period (and made recommendations for how to strengthen casework going forward) earlier this year. You can read our full report or watch our Hill briefing.
We are also moving the date for our recognition ceremony and reception in DC for caseworkers who handled Afghanistan casework to November, post-election. It’s not too late to nominate someone on your team who went above and beyond to be recognized — this is not a competitive award, but a way to say thank you and create a record of how caseworkers came together with agency staff and civil society to support Americans and American allies. Stay tuned for a final date and event agenda soon — we hope to see many of you there!
More below on an upcoming webinar, and our usual roundup of agency news you can use. I am always here for questions, comments, suggestions, or just to chat. Feel free to reach out by replying to this email, or shoot me a note at anne@popvox.org.
Anne Meeker
Deputy Director
POPVOX Foundation
Webinar: Responsible AI Use for Casework
September 18 at 2 PM EDT
Recently-developed, Congress-approved generative AI tools can streamline Congressional casework processes, making them more efficient and accessible.
News About Casework
Casework in the News:
Lovely profile of casework staff for Rep. Abigail Spanberger [D, VA]!
25,000 people attending a job fair at the Globe Life Field?! Congratulations to Rep. Beth Van Duyne’s [R, TX] office on an incredibly successful event!
Neat state-federal partnership in Oklahoma from Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s team [R, OK]
Succinct, solid local PSA about casework services from Rep. Glenn Grothman [R, WI]
Casework-Related Agency News
State rolls out new passport inquiry form
State’s new passport inquiry form (should be accessible to folks on the Congressional network) automatically routes inquiries to the correct agency or center, allows you to handle most routine inquiries, and (HOORAY!) does not require a Privacy Act Release Form upload! State is also soliciting feedback on the form from Congressional staffers here. This is such a great best practice for other agencies — kudos to State on this one.
After issues with the initial burn pit registry, VA releases revamped version
The new version automatically enrolls veterans who served in specific theaters, with an option to opt-out. The new user-friendly version should help facilitate additional research into health hazards faced by the 4.7 million American service members potentially exposed to toxic chemicals in service.
VA also rolls out a new platform to ID and report scams
We’ve covered some previous updates on the VSAFE effort, and the public-facing version is finally here with resources for veterans to report scams and learn about common scams targeting veterans. Scams included cover everything from romance scams to fake job offers to scams around burials and memorials. Seems ripe for a PSA on social media!
FAFSA delayed until December 1
Due to ongoing challenges troubleshooting the revamped FAFSA application, the Department of Education has announced that the new form will not be available to next year’s students until December 1.
SSA OIG finds 6% of priority disability cases processed incorrectly
An SSA OIG study of how SSA handles priority disability claims estimates that the agency likely saw delays in processing for 40,000 priority cases.
What constituents should know about the latest SSN breach
Hackers may have gained access to millions of social security numbers in a recent breach. This article breaks down information your constituents may need on how to respond.
Data on constituent trust in government
According to a new Partnership for Public Service opinion poll, only 23% of Americans believe the federal government’s services are easy to navigate, only 35% of Americans agree the federal government serves their community, and only 21% of Americans agree the federal government listens to the public.
Call for proposals on government forms
Georgetown’s Beeck Center and Code for America have announced dates for their annual FormFest conference on improving government service delivery through forms. If your team has done something cool with your Privacy Act Release Form or other constituent-facing documents, consider submitting a proposal!
It’s recommendation season
As we head toward the election, all kinds of think tanks and civil society organizations are issuing recommendations for the next presidential administration. Take what you like and leave the rest.
Partnership for Public Service recommendations on improving the civil service and constituent interactions with government
Center for Budget and Policy Priorities recommendations on streamlining eligibility verification for Medicaid and SNAP
National Academy of Social Insurance recommendations on modernizing unemployment insurance to cope with a potential recession
