Constituent Services and Case Management

The Front Line of Government

🔄 Quick Recall: In the last lesson, you learned to analyze government data and present findings to stakeholders. Now you’ll apply AI to the most human part of government work: connecting with the people you serve.

Every phone call, email, walk-in visit, and online form submission represents a person who needs something from their government. A permit. An answer. A benefit. Help.

Constituent services teams handle thousands of these interactions every month — and most of the responses follow predictable patterns. That’s exactly where AI excels: handling the predictable so your team can focus on the complex.

The Constituent Response System

Tier 1: Routine Inquiries (60-70% of volume)

These are questions with standard answers: office hours, application status, how to apply for a service, where to find a form. AI can draft responses almost instantly:

Draft a response to this constituent inquiry:

Their message: [paste the email or summarize the call]
Category: [general information / application status / complaint / service request]
Standard answer: [what's the correct information to provide]
Tone: Warm, professional, helpful

Requirements:
- Open by acknowledging what they asked
- Provide the answer clearly in 1-2 sentences
- Include relevant links, phone numbers, or next steps
- Close with an invitation to follow up if they need more help
- Under 150 words

Tier 2: Complex Cases (20-30% of volume)

These need research — someone’s case involves multiple departments, an exception to standard policy, or a complaint that requires investigation:

Help me draft a response to a complex constituent case:

Situation: [describe what the person is asking/complaining about]
What I've found so far: [any research or case history]
Departments involved: [which offices are relevant]
Policy context: [relevant regulations or procedures]

Draft a response that:
- Acknowledges the complexity of their situation
- Explains what steps we're taking and who is involved
- Provides a realistic timeline (not an AI guess — I'll fill in the actual dates)
- Gives them a specific point of contact
- Avoids making promises we can't keep

Mark anything you're uncertain about with [VERIFY].

The [VERIFY] tag is critical. It tells you exactly where to check the AI’s work. Timelines, policy specifics, and case details should always be flagged for human verification.

✅ Quick Check: Why does the prompt above ask AI to mark uncertain items with [VERIFY]? Because AI can’t access your case management system, doesn’t know current processing times, and might generate plausible-sounding details that are wrong. Flagging uncertain information prevents you from sending inaccurate responses.

Tier 3: Sensitive or Escalated Cases (5-10% of volume)

Angry constituents, elected official inquiries, media requests, legal matters. AI can help you prepare, but these responses need significant human judgment:

A [constituent / elected official / media outlet] has contacted us about [sensitive issue].

Context: [what happened, what they're asking]
Our position: [what we can and can't say]
Legal constraints: [any limitations on what's public]

Help me:
1. Outline the key points our response must address
2. Draft talking points (not a full response — I'll craft the final version)
3. Identify potential follow-up questions and prepare answers
4. Flag any areas where legal review might be needed

FOIA Processing with AI

FOIA requests surpassed 1.5 million in FY2024 — a 25% increase from the previous year. Many agencies have backlogs stretching months or years. AI can help at every stage:

Document Search and Collection

I'm processing a FOIA request for: [describe what the requestor is seeking]

Relevant date range: [start - end]
Likely document locations: [which systems, drives, or databases]
Key search terms: [names, topics, project names]

Help me create:
1. A comprehensive search strategy (terms, variations, synonyms)
2. A list of file types and locations to search
3. Criteria for relevance screening (what makes a document responsive)
4. A tracking spreadsheet structure for documenting my search

Redaction Review Preparation

I'm reviewing documents for FOIA release. Help me create a redaction checklist based on these exemptions:

Applicable exemptions: [e.g., Exemption 6 - personal privacy, Exemption 5 - deliberative process]

For each exemption, list:
- What type of information is covered
- Common examples in government documents
- Key phrases or patterns to look for during review
- The legal standard for applying this exemption

IMPORTANT: This is for preparation only. A trained FOIA officer makes all final redaction decisions.

MITRE’s FOIA Assistant and similar NLP tools can scan document collections and flag potentially responsive records, reducing the initial search from weeks to days. But the release decision — what’s disclosed, what’s withheld, what’s redacted — remains a legal determination that requires human expertise.

Case Management Workflows

Intake and Triage

When cases come in through multiple channels (phone, email, walk-in, web form), AI can standardize the intake:

Standardize this case intake from [channel]:

Raw information: [paste notes, email, or transcript]

Extract and organize:
- Constituent name and contact: [pull from text]
- Issue category: [classify from our standard categories]
- Priority level: [routine / urgent / emergency]
- Department(s) involved: [which offices need to know]
- Requested action: [what does the person want?]
- Deadline or time sensitivity: [any statutory or promised deadlines]
- Summary: [2-3 sentence case description]

Format as a structured intake form.

Status Updates and Follow-ups

Nothing frustrates constituents more than silence. AI can help you maintain consistent communication:

Generate a status update for case [type]:

Case summary: [what the person originally asked about]
Current status: [where things stand — I'll provide the actual status]
Next step: [what happens next]
Expected timeline: [when to expect resolution — I'll fill in the real date]

Tone: Reassuring but honest. Don't promise what we can't deliver.
Keep under 100 words.

✅ Quick Check: Why should constituent-facing AI responses always include a human point of contact? Because AI can’t handle follow-up questions, unexpected situations, or emotional conversations. A real person’s name and phone number tells the constituent that a human is accountable for their case — which is the foundation of public trust in government.

Measuring Service Quality

Track how AI affects your constituent services:

The satisfaction metric matters most. If you’re faster but less helpful, you’ve gained nothing. Track both speed and quality.

Key Takeaways

• Organize constituent inquiries into tiers: routine (AI drafts), complex (AI assists), and sensitive (AI prepares, humans craft)
• Use [VERIFY] tags in AI-drafted responses to flag information that needs human checking
• AI can dramatically speed up FOIA processing for search, collection, and review preparation — but release decisions must be made by trained officers
• Standardize case intake across channels using AI to extract and organize information
• Always include a human point of contact in constituent responses — accountability requires it

Up Next: You’ll tackle one of the most important topics in government AI: responsible use, bias prevention, and the ethical frameworks that ensure AI serves all people fairly.