The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the Census Bureau �to change how it will operate� and a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) warns that, as the Bureau implements those changes and �anticipates completing them within the new compressed timeframes,� that a number of areas require close watch. �We have previously reported that late design changes can introduce new risks and the Bureau identified this as a risk in August of 2015. Delays, the resulting compressed timeframes, implementation of untested procedures, and continuing challenges such as COVID-19 could escalate census costs and undermine the overall quality of the count.�
As the GAO demonstrates, the impact of a rushed 2020 Census could be quite negative.
GAO Warns That Compressing Census Timeframes Risks an Accurate Count
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the Census Bureau �to change how it will operate� and a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) warns that, as the Bureau implements those changes and �anticipates completing them within the new compressed timeframes,� that a number of areas require close watch. �We have previously reported that late design changes can introduce new risks and the Bureau identified this as a risk in August of 2015. Delays, the resulting compressed timeframes, implementation of untested procedures, and continuing challenges such as COVID-19 could escalate census costs and undermine the overall quality of the count.�
As the GAO demonstrates, the impact of a rushed 2020 Census could be quite negative.
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