In light of the exceptional circumstances imposed by the pandemic and due to the significant rise in unemployment rates, The Clark County government seeks to make it easier for citizens to access housing support and speed up the provision of services to them. Therefore, The county, in collaboration with IBM, has launched a program that employs artificial intelligence technologies through an interactive platform and a chatbot to help classify those eligible to receive support automatically. In order to increase the efficiency of services and the speed of their delivery.
The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have not been limited to health consequences, Rather, it has gone beyond them to impose many negative economic and social effects, Tens of millions around the world have lost their jobs, resulting in some financial challenges to secure food and housing. The United States of America has topped the percentage of coronavirus infections globally, This prompted the authorities to take several measures to limit the spread of the epidemic, Such as imposing lockdown measures and restricting travel and gatherings. All this has led to the disruption of some sectors, especially the tourism sector, which is one of the most important sources of income for Clark County, Nevada, USA. This brought unemployment rates to unprecedented levels. This reality has put the local government in front of an urgent challenge to provide relief to its residents as quickly as possible through the district social services department to put an end to the loss of citizens from their homes due to financial constraints.
In order to meet this challenge, The Clark County Department of Social Services has launched a new program called the Clark County Housing Support Program. In order to provide assistance to citizens who have been incurred by the pandemic financial losses that prevented them from paying for their housing, Employing automation to facilitate the work of social workers. In 2020, nearly a quarter of a million people are at risk of eviction. This means that one-tenth of Clark's population could experience the catastrophe of displacing their families. In the face of the difficulty of movement and the closure of service centers, Social workers had to work remotely, They faced difficulties such as reconciling meeting increasing cases with continuing care and education from home.
The federal government has provided funding to Clark County under the umbrella of CARES, a program dedicated to COVID-19 relief and economic security for 2020. Through it, Money is allocated to pay for rents, mortgage, utilities, deposits and emergency housing, All such fees are paid to owners or mortgage companies, After receiving the applications of citizens wishing to benefit from the program.
In order to proactively engage with critical services, Options for online support and assistance had to be provided, The Clark County local government teamed up with IBM to develop simple-to-use, smartphone-capable software. Using the company's expertise and services in the health sector. In just 11 weeks, The team has completed tasks that usually require 8 months, Two main technologies were developed to launch the program. The first technology is an artificial intelligence chatbot designed to answer common questions of users, Its software relies on natural language to provide a human-like experience and help manage citizen interaction with government. This software has worked to classify users, determine who is eligible to benefit from the program, and then send them an application link.
The second technology is an interactive platform called "Citizen Engagement Platform" and was created using IBM's cloud computing system. It is an AI-powered digital services platform specifically employed to help facilitate citizens' access to vital social services, including housing, It is accessible to residents affected by the lockdown measures that have affected the tourism, entertainment and dining sector in the region. The platform is designed to be flexible, responsive and easy to use across several means such as smartphones, personal computers or tablets. The platform also sends notifications, alerts and messages from the Social Service Department to users and enables them to review their payments and manage their accounts.
Thus, The technologies provided by the Clark County Government provide the effectiveness and security needed to deliver social services under the critical circumstances imposed by the pandemic, Spare the authorities the challenges of maintaining users' privacy, It also enabled them at the same time to provide services quickly.
Within one month, the chatbot was able to answer more than 120,000 queries. Through artificial intelligence techniques that have helped to electronically select cases eligible for government assistance, The robot has shortened a lot of social workers' time and directed their effort to those who really need help. The smart digital platform also enabled Clark residents to track every detail of their orders using any device, from anywhere.
During 2020 and 2021, The U.S. government's federal emergency housing assistance program has been able to provide billions of U.S. dollars to households unable to pay their rents as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Clark County Housing Support Program was one of the most important beneficiaries of these grants. The technologies employed by the Department of Social Work contributed to its success. In July, The Global Data Foundation awarded the Clark County Program the North American Smart Cities Award in the Public Health and Social Services category. To be a model for effectively utilizing technology and innovation in providing new economic services and opportunities and meeting the needs and expectations of citizens.
While local authorities continue their efforts to provide assistance to larger numbers of citizens, The data indicate that other governments will resort to technological solutions to help the most needy citizens. Due to the success of previous experiments of their counterparts.