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Casework Corner - 2007 Year in Review

By Joshua Dieker
District Representative

At the beginning of a new year, I like to look back and reflect on the lessons learned and the accomplishments of the previous one. Being that this was our office’s first year in operation, there is plenty to reflect upon. On day one we hit the ground running, and we haven’t looked back since.

In our first month alone it became clear that many of our neighbors in the district were struggling with Social Security, the VA, Medicare, immigration and numerous other issues. Our constituent services operation went from three people to seven as the case load grew. By summer we were working like a well oiled machine.

Then, as if out of nowhere, the “Passport Crisis of ‘07” hit us like a brick wall.

Throughout most of the summer, our office was working practically around the clock helping people obtain passports so they could keep their travel plans. Many late nights were spent over take-out as we placed countless phone calls to the passport agencies, and kept our constituents apprised of the status of their passport applications. By the end of the summer, we had helped nearly 800 people get their passports.

Just as that crisis began to subside, a new issue began to look like it was going to take its place. While not nearly as many people need Social Security Disability benefits as need a passport, the ones who do are frequently in a dire financial situation. By the end of the summer, the news had begun to report that the time it takes to appeal an unfavorable disability determination had crept up from around 6 months to upwards of three years.

Of course, disability applicants are generally unable to work, so this kind of wait puts them in a terrible place. Our office has worked diligently to find a solution to this problem, and throughout the last half of 2007, we worked with the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review to shepherd cases through the bureaucratic mess. Since then, many of our constituents have been able to obtain the benefits they need. The Social Security Administration is also working with us to help reduce the backlog so that others won't have to face going years unable to work without the benefits they have earned. While this situation has not been completely resolved to date, great strides have been taken, and I’m hopeful that next year’s year-end Casework Corner will reflect on how the disability backlog was finally resolved in the early months of 2008.

Our Military and Veterans caseworkers had no shortage of constituents to help, either. Through the course of the year, they helped more than 350 people with issues ranging from correcting errors in their Veterans Administration benefits package, to obtaining medals that had been awarded, but never presented, to family members. Additionally, they helped several area veterans participate in the Library of Congress’ Veteran’s History Project, allowing them to record and preserve their thoughts and memories of their time in the service for all of posterity.

Of course, the past year had its share of natural disasters, and the 2nd District of Kansas suffered the worst flooding it has seen in many years. In addition to the flooding, there were tornados, as well as serious ice storms. Many affected by the various disasters suffered serious property damage as a result. Our office worked to make sure that those affected were able to reach FEMA and begin the process of rebuilding. For many it is an ongoing process that will continue well into 2008.

Of course, these are just a few examples of the areas where we have been able to reach out and help the people of the 2nd District deal with the federal government. We also worked with more than 170 groups and individuals to advise them on the federal grant process, referred more than 150 people to the appropriate local or state government agency to work through problems they were having on that level, and many others with various other problems. All told, by the end of 2007 our office had helped more than 2,000 Kansans.

In addition to constituent service casework, our office visited each of the District’s 26 counties at least once, hosted 31 Congress on Your Corner events, and sent more than 60,000 letters in response to constituent questions. You could say it’s been a busy year, but I prefer to think of it as just the beginning. Here’s to 2008!