Happy New (Census!) Year. While the 2020 Census already “started” in earnest last year, it officially kicked off on January 21 with the first enumeration in Toksook Bay, Alaska!
The Census Project rang in 2020 by updating its website and forming an advisory board to help shape its priorities and activities post-2020 Census. Please check out the changes at www.thecensusproject.org (with more to come).
No appropriations news this month, but Fiscal Year 2021 deliberations will dominate future headlines once the President sends his proposed budget to Congress on February 10. While we anticipate the FY 2021 request will be significantly less than what the Census Bureau required in FY 2020, it will be important for stakeholders to understand the ramifications of the Administration’s FY 2021 request—especially for understanding and disseminating 2020 Census data and data products. The Census Project will update its network once details are available.
2020 Census Activities
To help amplify the significance of the 2020 Census, The Census Project promoted the release of several fact sheets from the Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality. The fact sheets, some of which were conducted with other stakeholder organizations, cover a wide range of topics including why the 2020 Census matters to women and girls, the 2020 Census Group Quarters Enumeration, and information regarding 2020 Census accessibility for people with disabilities.
The Census Project also shared new postcards to help get out the count of children from the NALEO Educational Fund.
On January 10, The Census Project hosted a briefing with Article 1, a non-profit organization which promotes a fair, complete and accurate 2020 Census, to present the results of their messaging research on the 2020 Census. The 20+ participants discussed the best approaches to encourage response, and how other stakeholders can take a similar deep dive. On January 15, The Census Project hosted a webinar to share the findings more broadly with stakeholders nationwide. The revised home page features a link directly to all information about the Article 1 Campaign.
The Census Project recently shared a blog by Dr. William O’Hare regarding how states use decennial census data to distribute state dollars.
The House Oversight & Reform Committee held a hearing on getting out the count among the hard-to-count on January 9.
Census Bureau Updates
The Census Bureau is hiring thousands of people to help conduct the 2020 Census! Information about 2020 Census hiring is prominently posted on the agency’s home page at: https://2020census.gov/en/jobs.html.
To promote the 2020 Census, the Bureau has posted resources for partners and a Response Rate Challenge Toolkit to help local and community leaders promote participation in the 2020 Census.
On January 28, the Census Bureau’s Trust and Safety Team held a Facebook Live event to inform the public about their efforts to combat misinformation and disinformation in the 2020 Census, and how partnerships with tech companies are advancing their efforts.
On January 14, the U.S. Census Bureau unveiled highlights of a $500 million public education and outreach campaign featuring more than 1,000 ads designed to reach 99 percent of all U.S. households and communicate the importance of responding to the 2020 Census.
On January 9, the U.S. Census Bureau released the first state and local area data from the 2017 Economic Census Geographic Area Statistics.
News You Can Use
Tennessee governor encourages participation in Census
Associated Press
January 30, 2020
Latino immigrants, regardless of citizenship status, encouraged to participate in U.S. Census
WTVO
January 30, 2020
Cyber Risks Cloud Census With Resources, Congress Seats at Stake
Bloomberg Government
January 29, 2020
Asian American, Pacific Islander communities: You matter. Be counted in the 2020 Census
The Sacramento Bee
January 29, 2020
Pinterest bans misinformation about 2020 census
The Hill
January 29, 2020
Advocates see challenges in persuading immigrants to fill out census form
The Washington Post
January 28, 2020
The Census Begins Where It Has Struggled Before: Remote, Frozen Alaska
The New York Times
January 21, 2020
Census Official: Mainers’ Personally Identifying Data Is Confidential And Can’t Be Shared
Maine Public Radio
January 21, 2020
States pour millions into census prep
CNHI
January 18, 2020
What you need to know before 2020 Census starts in Alaska
Associated Press
January 17, 2020
For Shrinking Cities, an Aggressive Way to Dodge the Census Bullet
The New York Times
January 17, 2020
The 2020 Census starts tomorrow. Will Native Americans be undercounted?
The Hill
January 16, 2020
As 2020 Census hiring ramps up, bureau expects ‘swimmingly successful’ field operations
Federal News Network
January 15, 2020
Thousands of workers needed for 2020 Census
TNN
January 15, 2020
U.S. Census Bureau reaches out to the nation for upcoming count in 59 languages
The Washington Times
January 14, 2020
Census Bureau plans hundreds of ads in 13 languages for 2020
Associated Press
January 14, 2020
Census Bureau kicks off 2020 ad campaign amid fears around privacy and hacking
The Washington Post
January 14, 2020
Not on form, but brawl over citizenship question continues
Associated Press
January 12, 2020
Editorial: Texas wins if census counts every person
Austin American-Statesman
January 12, 2020
Audio recordings in Native languages urge completing census
Santa Fe New Mexican
January 11, 2020
Citizenship question hangs over census preparations, panel told
Roll Call
January 9, 2020
The U.S. Census has always undercounted the number of SC children. It’s a big problem.
The Post and Courier
January 9, 2020
Even Without Citizenship Question, Concerns for Census Persist
Courthouse News Service
January 9, 2020
Reapportionment after census could shake up swing districts
Roll Call
January 8, 2020
The Census Project 