ABOUT THE TRAINING
Every government program starts with good intentions—it’s how they’re carried out that can make them fail in big ways or in small ways that add up.
Jennifer Pahlka has been at the forefront of the push to reimagine government technology, and her new book, Recoding America, is an argument for seeing policy and implementation as coequal parts of governing—with stories and core concepts that will resonate for every caseworker. While caseworkers are part of the branch in charge of policy, casework experience is all about implementation: how do good policy ideas become complicated and counterproductive as they’re filtered through agencies?
Jennifer has argued that every policymaker should have experience in government customer service positions. This webinar will discuss how caseworkers and other frontline implementation experts can and must leverage that expertise to reimagine government service for the 21st century.
ABOUT THE “UNPACKING THE CAUSES OF CASEWORK” WEBINAR SERIES
In a recent letter to the GAO Comptroller general, a bipartisan group of lawmakers noted that
“Throughout our time in Congress, our offices have heard from thousands of constituents seeking help dealing with the maze-like procedural hurdles that ordinary people must navigate to get the support and resources to which they are legally entitled. [...] When people fall into crisis, have a child with complex medical needs, develop a disability, or take on the care and administrative work for an aging parent, they have to become their own advocate in the confusing system of social program bureaucracy.”
-August 15th 2022 letter to GAO Comptroller General Gene Doddaro, signed by Reps Derek Kilmer, Dan Newhouse, Kathleen Rice, Doug LaMalfa, Angie Craig, Lisa Blunt Rochester, Jimmy Panetta, Scott Peters, Lucy McBath, and Sara Jacobs
These concerns are familiar to any caseworker, but it can be challenging to explain the impact of casework issues—not to mention frustrating to keep seeing the same issues over and over. However, recent work in political science, journalism, civic tech, and policymaking has started to develop methods for understanding, measuring, and addressing these persistent challenges.
This Casework Navigator webinar series will give caseworkers a master class in understanding and explaining the root causes behind common casework inquiries, and some starting points to leverage casework expertise to inform policy that takes constituents’ experience into account.
SPEAKER
Jennifer Pahlka is the author of Recoding America, and a pioneer in making government work for people in the digital age. She founded Code for America in 2010 and led the organization for ten years. In 2013, she took a leave of absence to serve as U.S. Deputy Chief Technology Officer under President Obama and helped found the United States Digital Service. She served on the Defense Innovation Board, started by the late Ash Carter, under Presidents Obama and Trump.
At the start of the pandemic, she also co-founded United States Digital Response, which helps government meet the needs of the public with volunteer tech support. She has received the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, and was named by Wired as one of the 25 people who has most shaped the past 25 years. Jennifer is a graduate of Yale University and lives in California with her husband, Tim O’Reilly.
MODERATOR
Anne Meeker is a civic process and democratic engagement nerd, and a former House district staffer. She was a founding member of the POPVOX Foundation team as Director of Special Initiatives and now serves as Deputy Director. She previously served as Director of Constituent Services for Congressman Seth Moulton, where she worked to use data and technology to deliver smarter casework services to residents of the MA06. Anne holds a bachelor's degree in Anthropology from the University of Oxford (St. Hugh's College), and an MSc in History from the London School of Economics, where she wrote her thesis on presidential memoir. She is also a proud native Clevelander, and will take any opportunity to cheerlead for the 'Land.