Casework Communications
BY KATHERINE LONG
Introduction
With all that caseworkers have on their plates, it might be tempting to keep casework off the radar to avoid increasing casework demand. However, a productive working relationship with comms can help act as a force multiplier for a casework team’s efforts in a number of ways:
Give the Member public credit for the important work the they are doing and help the rest of the staff appreciate the value of casework
Increase appropriate requests for casework assistance
Make constituents feel welcomed by the office, overcome hesitation around asking for help, and remind them that the Member serves everyone, regardless of party affiliation or political connections
Share pertinent and timely information about federal benefits and services, preventing casework by helping constituents access benefits and services effectively
Build the Member’s credibility in new issue areas and engage constituent feedback to inform the their legislative agenda
Develop opportunities for caseworkers to improve their communications skills, and develop a portfolio of work
Build strong lines of communication that can help navigate negative attention around “problem” cases.
This chapter will suggest key messages with resonance in all districts/states, help casework teams establish communications goals, and provide tips for working effectively with comms colleagues to advance casework and the Member’s priorities.
Getting to Know the Comms Team
As with developing a relationship with legislative colleagues, building a productive relationship with a comms team starts with mutual understanding.
Comms teams in Congressional offices, like casework teams, will vary in size and scope depending on the Member’s priorities. However, most comms teams are responsible for:
Developing a consistent message about the Member’s priorities and achievements in office, including strategy to support legislative actions
Handling all earned media interactions, including pitching stories and responding to journalists’ inquiries
Developing the Member’s social media identity and presence
Maintaining the Member’s website (in some offices, this may be more of a system administrator role)
Assisting in strategy and execution around any other public-facing communications, including newsletters, town halls, texting campaigns, franked mail, events, and more.
Depending on the size of the office and the Member’s focus, typical comms teams will include a communications director, and usually a second role like an assistant comms director, press secretary, and/or digital director.
Like caseworkers, comms teams have a unique insight into constituents’ interests and concerns, and many see communications as another avenue for constituent service.
Relationship-building
To establish a new working relationship, consider scheduling a get-to-know-you meeting or call with the comms team focused on how casework can contribute to the office’s overall comms strategy and operations. If the team is not already familiar, consider asking:
What are the different comms roles on the team?
What regular communications does the office already send out?
Is there a style guide for office communications?
Who is responsible for the creation of different content (press releases, newsletter, website updates, social media) and what is the editing and approval process?
What barriers or hazards does the comms team see in terms of communicating the Member’s priorities?
What is the Member’s established voice? Do communications always refer to “The Senator/Representative” or does the Member post more personally or informally?
Are there certain key phrases the Member prefers using to describe their work (or any phrases to avoid)?
Why do they use certain communications platforms and not others?
Is there an editorial calendar to follow? What are the comms team’s goals for the upcoming year or Congress? These may include:
Intended audiences
Frequency
Message
Communications modes
Assessing effectiveness
The answers may be surprising. Building a foundation of mutual understanding will help the casework and comms teams work together to set and implement communications goals around casework and clarify how casework input can support the Member’s priorities.
If the comms team is not already engaged with the casework effort, it will also be important to help them understand what casework is (and isn’t). Even for veteran communications staffers, it may still be helpful to provide an overview of the casework team’s operations and values: each Congressional office runs a unique casework operation, so this may help clear up any misconceptions they may have from other offices.
Working with Comms: Checklist of Essentials
Some areas of casework require collaboration with the comms team to be effective. This section provides a quick overview of types of collaborative projects. Casework teams may want to use this section as a discussion guide to establish procedures for working with their comms counterparts.
As with any working relationship with legislative colleagues, it is always helpful to keep in mind the elements of a successful ask:
No surprises: Having some baseline expectations of the types of “asks” that might be coming from casework (and how they fit into audiences, goals, etc.) will help make sure that no requests come as a total surprise.
Well-timed: Giving colleagues enough time to fit tasks into their workflow, rather than scramble to rearrange their schedules, is always courteous.
To the right person: Depending on the team structure, requests for social media may go through the comms director, or directly to a press or digital secretary. Understanding roles to route requests to the right place will help make sure they don’t get lost.
Thought-out and researched: For example, a request for a social media post should have a good sense for its audience, timeline, and text.
Establishing the casework message
Part of the casework team’s initial conversations with the communications team should focus on how casework fits into the Member’s overall communications strategy and message. No matter what the Member’s agenda may be in Washington, casework lends itself to several universal and positive messages:
The Member and their staff are available to serve all constituents.
The Member and their staff are making an impact every day by helping constituents.
The Member has an up-to-date and accurate understanding of the problems faced by their constituents.
Beyond these basic messages, casework can also help tell the story of other priorities. While the comms team does not originate the Member’s priorities, they can play an important strategic role in coordinating a cohesive narrative that encompasses the Member’s work on the Hill and in the state/district. Casework can help strengthen or reinforce this narrative. For example, more specific casework narratives could include:
The Member is a dedicated local problem-solver and remains accessible to all constituents, no matter their activities in DC.
The Member prioritizes strong oversight and a check on the Executive branch, protecting constituents from Executive overreach and cutting through red tape.
The Member prioritizes equity and justice in services, particularly to historically underserved communities, and works to remove barriers to opportunity.
These messages will be most effective when they originate from and are frequently reinforced, both internally and externally, by the Member. If the Member is not already “all in” on the value of casework, the team may want to work with office leadership to:
Establish a regular update system for the Member that includes casework data and stories. (Asking the comms team for help developing the most effective format for presenting this information to this crucial audience can be a great foundation to creating a communications partnership.)
Make sure the Member is seeing any/all media coverage of and social media on casework successes (work with the comms team or clips service to include keywords such as “constituent” and “casework”).
Create a mail category for “thank you for your help” and ensure that when a constituent sends a thank you note, the Member sees it and can respond with a note or phone call.
If the Member makes phone calls to constituents, include references to those calls in any press statements, quotes, or press briefing memos (for example, “I was talking to a constituent in Smith County who told me about the difficulty they had reaching anyone at the IRS…”).
Beyond the Member’s direct messaging, having a clear casework-related message can also help casework teams by providing structure and language for form letters and talking points to use with constituents and external stakeholders.
Public information about how to access casework
At a minimum, “how to” information on casework services should be readily available on the Member’s website and regularly amplified in Member newsletters, social media, and press advisories. This should include:
How to contact the office for casework assistance,
What caseworkers can and cannot do (setting expectations),
What to expect from the casework process,
How to access, sign and return the privacy release form, and
Timely information distribution for casework-related events or in case of a disaster.
Consult with the comms team to ensure that the Member’s voice is evident on the main casework assistance page. Consider using a brief welcome letter or video from the Member on the casework assistance page, and offer translation if appropriate based on the demographics of the district or state.
Finally, have a direct conversation with the comms team about their preferred process for updates, including who on the casework team is responsible for reviewing the Member’s materials for accuracy to the casework process, and who will handle necessary website and social media updates.
Proactive public service messages
As the local, accessible representative of the federal government, Members are uniquely positioned to help provide constituents with accurate and timely information about federal programs that they may not otherwise receive: for example, reminders on deadlines to submit PACT Act claims, educational materials on an underutilized FEMA benefits program, proactive information to help retirees affected by WEP plan for their reduced benefits, or reminders to local VSOs on common problems with Aid and Attendance applications. The upside to this type of public service messaging is that it may also play a role in preventing casework inquiries by avoiding common problems.
Caseworkers should consult with their comms teams about the best ways to plan for and share casework-related messaging. Some things to consider may include:
What avenues already exist to share information? For example, does the Member have a regular newsletter or podcast, or does the team plan on a yearly physical mailer?
Who is the Member reaching on different channels? For example, does the team track audience demographics for social media vs. an email newsletter? This may help determine what message is best placed where — for example, sharing student loan announcements on Instagram vs. email.
How can casework teams communicate the urgency/importance of requests to share proactive information? E.g., what differentiates a “nice to have” piece of information that can help fill space in a slow news week vs. a “must-do” piece of messaging that should bump other previously-scheduled content?
For any channel, who is responsible for drafting language and/or fact-checking program information?
For graphics or designed materials (like a flier or social media post), what is the process for requests?
As with legislative asks, being tuned in to the rhythms of DC and the legislative/media calendar will help caseworkers find the right time for non-time-sensitive messaging.
Media procedures
From time to time, constituents may contact the media regarding their cases. The casework team, comms team, and office leadership should agree and establish policies ahead of time regarding whether to acknowledge any information about the constituent, whether to comment on a case, and what to do if the constituent requests that the office comment on their case.
Some helpful pieces of internal policy may include:
Standard language around requests for comment on casework
Template memo on specific cases for the casework team to complete and circulate to comms/senior staff. This may include:
A concise summary of the case and the steps the caseworker took to address it
Brief description of any systemic concerns affecting the case, like agency responsiveness or backlogs
Release form for a constituent to give the office permission to discuss their case if appropriate. This is not legally required, as House/Senate Rules give Members ownership over data and information provided to the office in the course of casework. However, some Members may wish to respect constituent confidentiality by going above and beyond to request written permission to discuss the details of their case. Consult with House/Senate counsel for additional information.
Timeliness and quick turnaround are essential: the casework team should prioritize responding to their “internal customers” and be mindful of press deadlines whenever the office has been asked to comment.
Success stories
Casework success stories feature the work that the casework team has done on behalf of an individual or business. Success stories can be featured on the website, in newsletters, or social media, or be pitched to local media outlets. The casework team can work with the comms team to feature stories that highlight their Members’ other priorities, cover different geographic areas, and include constituents from different cultural communities, such as:
The rural parish that had been without a priest for a year until the Member was able to “unstick” the priest’s visa application.
A nonprofit ski area able to open at the first snowfall thanks to the Member flagging the urgency of the tax-exempt application to the IRS.
An elderly couple happily and safely residing in an assisted living community thanks to information they received about VA pension from the Member’s staff.
Vietnam veterans receiving the medals they earned in service on Veterans Day.
As with handling media requests, the team should set a policy in advance governing how to solicit permission from constituents to share their stories.
Timing is also critical: consider keeping a calendar of events that might tie into casework such as Veterans Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, and the anniversaries of significant pieces of legislation like the Affordable Care Act, the PACT Act, or the Americans with Disabilities Act. Placing earned media stories requires sometimes weeks of pitching before the event itself, so plan to work backwards from any significant events or anniversaries.
Whenever any constituent testimonials are featured by the Member, the team should ensure that the story is fully vetted, including verification of the constituent’s residency in the state/district and the basic facts of the story.
Casework statistics
To illustrate the scope of constituent service work, Congressional offices frequently share information about the number of constituents they have helped and the value of federal benefits they have “brought home” to the district/state. Tracking and sharing these statistics can help with internal and external understanding of the value of the casework team’s work.
Casework teams should discuss with comms counterparts what types of data are helpful, and the best format and frequency for collecting that data. Standard metrics may include:
Number of cases closed (possibly broken out by issue area or region)
% of cases closed/cases closed favorably
Money returned to the district/state
Quantitative satisfaction metrics from constituent service surveys
Quotes from constituent service surveys
Short stories of positive cases from constituent service surveys
Most CRM vendors have templates available for these metrics and reports, or would be willing to provide training for offices on how to pull them.
Depending on the casework team’s goals and demand, some metrics may be better presented as percentages rather than whole numbers: this helps demonstrate the team’s effectiveness while acknowledging that caseloads are not always comparable between offices.
The casework team should work closely with the comms team to ensure that these reports have adequate context, and that the data is internally consistent. Providing that information to the comms team before the casework statistics are published and reported on will help avoid any awkward surprises if, for example, the two Senate offices use very different tags or metrics to report on cases and the reports raise questions or comparisons.
Establishing a target date for collecting this information (or a schedule for regularly preparing reports) will also help avoid the end-of-the-year rush to provide data while also clearing out other end-of-year casework tasks.
For more information about using data to inform your casework operations, see our Casework Navigator chapter on Data-Driven Casework.
Testimonials
Testimonials, or first-person accounts from constituents who have had casework with the Member, serve both the casework operation and the Member’s overall communications strategy and reputation: they make casework services visible and approachable, and they also tell a powerful story about constituent satisfaction with the services they received from the office and how the Member made them feel.
As the team develops case closing procedures, they should consider how to offer constituents a chance to share feedback privately and/or to “go public” and share the story of their experience with the services they received from the office. Some best practices include:
Sending customer satisfaction surveys at the point of case closing that ask the constituent if they would like to share a quote or be contacted about a testimonial
Including a link to “share your story” on the Member’s e-newsletter or the casework section of the website
Provide options to constituents about the level of detail and platforms where they might want to share:
A general quote for the website with just the first name
A more detailed description of the issue and a quote on the website or newsletter
A brief testimonial with first and last name
A photo
An interview conducted by office staff (great intern project!) and posted on the website or social media
An interview with local news media
As with stories being pitched to the media, whenever any constituent testimonials are featured by the Member, the team should ensure that the story is fully vetted, including verification of the constituent’s residency in the state/district and the basic facts of the story.
Build the Record
Engaging with the comms team clearly helps the casework team build public awareness of the Member’s work on behalf of constituents in the district. Centering constituents, making the impact of casework more visible, and talking about the connection between constituent experience and legislation can also create important opportunities for recognition of the casework team and increasing job satisfaction and retention.
For casework managers, keeping a file of their work on communications (draft press releases, memos, etc.), press coverage or social media, and thank you notes and reviewing casework wins can be a helpful tool for building the long-term record of the team’s impact on casework, as well as a running archive of collaboration between the comms team and casework team to help tell a shared story.
