THE 2020 CENSUS AND COVID-19
With the news on COVID-19, we understand there are questions around how this impacts census outreach and census operations in the coming weeks. The Census Bureau as plans in place when a pandemic occurs during census operations, and operations for the 2020 Census have procedures built in place that anticipate these scenarios. They will continue to stay up-to-date on the status of the virus and adjust their plans accordingly. Updated Census Key Milestones here.
Translated COVID-19 Updates:
中文 - Chinese Simplified |中文 - Chinese Traditional |ગુજરાતી – Gujarati | हिंदी – Hindi | hmoob – Hmong | 日本人 – Japanese | 한국어 – Korean | ខ្មែរ - Khmer | ລາວ - Lao |नेपाली – Nepali | ਪੰਜਾਬੀ - Punjabi |Tagalog | ไทย – Thai |Tiếng Việt - Vietnamese |اردو - Urdu |
Statement from Census Bureau Director Steve Dillingham 11/19:
“During post-collection processing, certain processing anomalies have been discovered. These types of processing anomalies have occurred in past censuses. I am directing the Census Bureau to utilize all resources available to resolve this as expeditiously as possible. As it has been all along, our goal remains an accurate and statistically sound Census.”
Update on 2020 Census Data Processing and Quality 11/5:
Read Dr. Ron Jarmin’s, Deputy Director And Chief Operating Officer of the Census Bureau, blog here.
OPERATIONAL UPDATE AS OF 10/21:
Paper response forms must be postmarked by October 15, 2020, and received by the Census Bureau no later than October 22, 2020.
OPERATIONAL UPDATE AS OF 10/13:
Self-response and field data collection operations for the 2020 Census will conclude on October 15, 2020.
Internet self-response will be available across the nation through October 15, 2020 until 11:59 pm Hawaii Standard Time (HST), (6:00 am Eastern Daylight Time on October 16, 2020) Visit 2020Census.gov to respond today.
Phone response will be available for its regularly scheduled time on October 15, 2020. Click here for schedule and a list of numbers.
Paper responses must be postmarked by October 15, 2020.
Nonresponse Followup census takers will continue resolving nonresponding addresses through the end of the day on October 15, 2020.
OPERATIONAL UPDATE AS OF 10/8:
Census workers will occasionally follow up with households over the phone to ask questions about their responses to the 2020 Census or other household surveys. The Census Bureau’s goal is to ensure that no person is left out of the census or counted in more than one place. We review your responses in order to ensure that we have a complete and accurate count.
By law, all responses to the 2020 Census are kept confidential. The 2020 Census caller will only review the responses that you previously provided. They will not ask about your financial information or Social Security number. If you receive a call and are asked about this information, do not provide it and you should report the call to the Census Bureau.
Additionally, the Census Bureau may reach out to you in other ways during the current COVID-19 pandemic, including email. Please see Avoiding Fraud and Scams for more information.
To report suspected fraud—or, if you think you received a call from the Census Bureau but want to confirm the legitimacy of it—call 844-809-7717 (English) or 844-809-7718 (Spanish) to speak with a local Census Bureau representative. Business hours are 7:00am to 12:00am Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.
OPERATIONAL UPDATE AS OF 10/2:
On October 2, 2020, the message below was sent to census takers working on the 2020 Census:
“As a result of court orders, the October 5, 2020 target date is not operative, and data collection operations will continue through October 31, 2020. Employees should continue to work diligently and enumerate as many people as possible. Contact your supervisor with any questions.”
Links to the orders from September 24 and October 1 were provided to employees as well.
The U.S. Census Bureau is currently updating 2020Census.gov and Census.gov and all external and internal guidance to ensure compliance with the orders.
****Update from Census Counts Campaign 10/1****
The Ninth Circuit has denied the government’s request for a stay of the Preliminary Injunction stopping the rushed census plan. The key takeaway: “No matter when field operations end, the Census Bureau will be unable to deliver an accurate census by December 31, 2020….” More here: https://www.npr.org/2020/09/30/916291712/appeals-court-rejects-push-to-end-census-early-by-trump-administration
Sharing the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights tweet on this development here: https://twitter.com/civilrightsorg/status/1311411671253028865
The courts’ decisions confirm that the goal of having the Commerce Secretary transmit the apportionment counts to the president by the current statutory deadline simply is not feasible. All census experts, including senior bureau officials, have said the bureau cannot produce accurate, high quality census data in the administration's shortened time frame for data processing. Every state will have skewed census results for the next 10 years, and Congress can't allocate vital federal assistance wisely to help all communities recover from the pandemic. Congress must act to extend the statutory deadlines.
This update does not change the timeline at this moment. We are still waiting for the outcome of a hearing scheduled for 3 p.m. PT on Friday, October 2nd, after which Judge Koh (of the California District Court) may issue another order preventing the Census Bureau from proceeding with the October 5th plan. Earlier this week, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh said she thought Census Bureau violated her order stating: "The Oct. 5 date is doing exactly what I enjoined the defendants from doing.”
OPERATIONAL UPDATE AS OF 9/28:
The Secretary of Commerce has announced a target date of October 5, 2020 to conclude 2020 Census self-response and field data collection operations.
OPERATIONAL UPDATE AS OF 9/25:
Census Bureau Statement on 2020 Census Court Order:
The Census Bureau will comply with the Court’s order and continue our Nonresponse Followup Operation (NRFU). Our office of general counsel is evaluating the ultimate impact of the order on the 2020 Census. Field staff have been instructed to continue with current operations until updates can be provided.
OPERATIONAL UPDATE AS OF 9/17:
The U.S. Census Bureau will begin the special operations to count people experiencing homelessness in communities across the country on Sept. 22. Specially trained census takers will count people Sept. 22-24 at shelters, soup kitchens and mobile food van stops in an operation called Service-Based Enumeration (SBE). Census takers will count people who live outdoors, in transit stations, and at other locations where people are known to sleep in an operation called Targeted Non-Sheltered Outdoor Locations (TNSOL).
“The Census Bureau is committed to counting everyone once, only once, and in the right place,” said Dr. Steven Dillingham, director of the Census Bureau. “To reach everyone living in the United States, our census takers are conducting special operations to count people experiencing homelessness to ensure we have a complete and accurate 2020 count.”
Counting people experiencing homelessness is part of the Group Quarters (GQ) operation, a special process to count people in unique living situations. The GQ operation also counts people living in nursing homes, prisons, missions and dormitories. A complete and accurate 2020 Census can ultimately help organizations provide better services, food distribution capability, and improved shelter options to those in need.
“We are committed to taking every step necessary to make sure we count everyone,” said Dillingham. “Even if you have someone staying with you who doesn’t have another place to live, be sure to include them when you respond.”
In preparation for counting people experiencing homelessness, the Census Bureau is coordinating with local service providers and has consulted with advocacy groups and other stakeholders throughout the country to adjust this work in response to COVID-19. The Census Bureau is also working with service provider administrators to identify locations where people experiencing homelessness are living to ensure a complete count of this population.
Hotels that are being used as COVID-19 shelters generally fall under the Enumeration at Transitory Locations operation and are not a part of SBE. However, if 100% of the hotel is housing people experiencing homelessness, then it is enumerated during SBE.
To count people outdoors in places like tent encampments, teams of census takers wearing reflective vests and carrying smartphones, flashlights and paper questionnaires will visit those locations; often at night. Every effort will be made to collect all the information requested on the census form. If that isn’t possible, census takers will conduct a population count. Census takers will follow the latest local public health guidance regarding the use of personal protective equipment and social distancing.
OPERATIONAL UPDATE AS OF 9/9:
The 2020 Census operation to count people living in transitory locations is underway. The operation will count those living in housing such as RV parks, campgrounds, marinas, and temporary housing such as hotels and motels. The operation also counts people living at racetracks, carnivals and circuses, and will continue until Sept. 28.
The transitory population will be interviewed in person by one of more than 12,500 census takers who will be equipped with personal protective equipment (PPE) and trained to observe social distancing protocols.
Census takers can be easily identified by a valid government ID badge with their photograph, a U.S. Department of Commerce watermark, and an expiration date on the badge. They will ask respondents their name, age, date of birth, sex, race, who else lives with them, and whether there’s another place they stay or live most of the time. If families have a more permanent home elsewhere, the U.S. Census Bureau considers the place they spend most of their time to be their address.
This operation does not include people who are experiencing homelessness and/or live in makeshift tents or RV encampments where they do not pay to stay. That population is counted in a separate “Group Quarters” operation called Service-Based Enumeration, which is scheduled for Sept. 22-24. If a hotel is only used to shelter people who are experiencing homelessness, it will then fall under the definition of “group quarters.”
OPERATIONAL UPDATE AS OF 9/8:
Total Response Rates as of 9/8 Map
Total NRFU Completion Rates as of 9/8 Map
OPERATIONAL UPDATE AS OF 9/3:
Guidance for Census Bureau Field Employees
A federal district court for the Northern District of California issued a temporary restraining order at 9:29 PM EDT on 9/5/2020 in the case of National Urban League v. Ross, No. 20-05799. The Order provides that the Census Bureau and the Commerce Department "are enjoined from implementing the August 3, 2020 Replan or allowing to be implemented any actions as a result of the shortened timelines in the August 3, 2020 Replan, including but not limited to winding down or altering any Census field operations, until the Court conducts its September 17, 2020hearing on Plaintiffs’ PI motion.”
The Census Bureau and the Commerce Department are obligated to comply with the Court’s Order and are taking immediate steps to do so.
The Bureau and the Department are also in the process of preparing additional guidance and will distribute that guidance shortly.
Enumeration will continue.
OPERATIONAL UPDATE AS OF 9/3:
The U.S. Census Bureau is sending an additional paper questionnaire to over 16.2 million households in low-responding census tracts. About 84.9% of households have completed the 2020 Census with 65.2% self-responding online, by phone or by mail.
This final mailing began to arrive in homes on Aug. 22. All mail packages are expected to arrive by Sept. 15. Only nonresponding households that have received only one paper questionnaire in the mail may receive this mailing. This mailing is the last in a series of reminders the Census Bureau has mailed to nonresponding households since mid-March urging them to respond.
The Census Bureau strongly encourages households that have not yet responded to the census to complete their questionnaire by Sept. 30 online at 2020census.gov or by phone in English or 12 other languages. Households do not need their mailed materials to respond. Households that receive this mailing and want to respond using the enclosed paper questionnaire must return it as soon as possible. The Census Bureau will process all paper questionnaires postmarked by Sept. 30 and received at the Paper Data Capture facilities no later than October 7.
Households that have already responded may disregard the mailing. Census takers are now visiting households that have not responded to the census to collect responses in person. Census takers are also visiting some households that have already responded as part of 2020 Census quality checks.
OPERATIONAL UPDATE AS OF 9/1:
Non-Response Followup Completion Rates Map
The 2020 Census will conclude data collection operations on September 30, 2020. Keep track of progress for the Non-Response Followup operation in your local Area Census Office by using this map.
FAQ:
Q: How does the percentage completion in this graphic differ from the percentage in the Enumeration Progress tables?
A: The two percentages are not comparable. The percentage in this graphic is a reflection of just the Nonresponse Followup workload. The percentage provided in the Enumeration Progress table is a reflection of the entire housing unit universe for the 2020 Census. Both the numerators and denominators are different between this graphic and the Enumeration Progress table. For this graphic, the numerator is the number of completed Nonresponse Followup cases (including all case types) and the denominator is the total Nonresponse Followup workload. For the Enumeration Progress table, the numerator is the number of completed Nonresponse Followup cases (just the cases for households that have not self-responded) and the denominator is the full housing unit universe for the 2020 Census.
OPERATIONAL UPDATE AS OF 8/31:
With door-to-door visits by census takers now underway, the U.S. Census Bureau is informing households that they may also receive a follow-up visit to ensure everyone is counted in the 2020 Census. So far, 64.9% of all housing units have responded online, by phone or by mail, and another 17.5% have been counted by census takers and other field data collection operations. In total, over 82.4% of all housing units throughout the nation have been accounted for in the 2020 Census as of Aug. 30. The Census Bureau is working to count the remaining households—about 1 in every 5 households across the nation.
On a daily basis, the Census Bureau updates its list of households that have responded. It is possible that a locally hired census taker will still visit the address as part of the Census Bureau’s quality assurance program for the 2020 Census even if a household has already responded. The public is encouraged to cooperate with census takers as they follow up.
For example, census takers are visiting households where there may be some confusion about the address. If the community’s addresses recently changed or the household responded with an address that does not match the Census Bureau’s address list, census takers will visit to verify the address and collect a response in person. Please respond when the census taker visits. If a census taker left a notice of their visit, you can respond online or by phone using the Census ID provided on the notice. This ID links your address to your response and ensures you are counted in the right place. The Census Bureau has rigorous methods and processes to resolve any duplicate responses.
In some cases, a second census taker may visit a household to conduct a short interview. This additional interview is one of the ways we check the quality of census takers’ work.
In addition, other Census Bureau representatives continue visiting homes for ongoing surveys that are occurring at the same time as the 2020 Census, such as the American Community Survey. These ongoing surveys affect only a small number of households nationwide and provide valuable information to help community leaders plan for hospitals and schools, improve emergency services, and make informed decisions about creating jobs.
OPERATIONAL UPDATE AS OF 8/25:
Census Bureau will send out reminder 7th mailer with paper questionnaire arriving to households Aug 27-Sept 15.
Paper Questionnaire is going to households that have only received one paper questionnaire previously (not Internet Choice households). Going to households that have not responded, that are internet first, and in census tracts with less than 65% response rate
Census Bureau will accept paper questionnaires post marked September 30 received by October 7th.
OPERATIONAL UPDATE AS OF 8/21:
The U.S. Census Bureau announced today the new 2020 Census User Experience Survey, a survey measuring how satisfied respondents were with their online experience with the 2020 Census questionnaire.
The data collection for the online response satisfaction survey began Aug. 17 and will end in October. The 2020 Census marks the first time households have been invited to respond online using a computer, smartphone or tablet. Data collected from the voluntary survey will help identify problem areas within the current 2020 Census online questionnaire and inform future Census Bureau questionnaires and online data collections, such as the 2030 Census and the American Community Survey.
Data collected from the voluntary survey will help inform future online data collections and help identify problem areas within the current 2020 Census online questionnaire. The information will be used to improve the online questionnaire for the 2030 Census and other ongoing Census Bureau surveys, such as the American Community Survey. People who completed the 2020 Census online questionnaire and provided a cell phone number may be invited to respond. A limited number of randomly selected people from across the country will be contacted by text message. Only those who have been selected to participate can complete the survey.
OPERATIONAL UPDATE AS OF 8/17:
Census Bureau Operational Plan Updates
OPERATIONAL UPDATE AS OF 8/14:
The Census Bureau will follow up with some nonresponding households by phone.
In order to supplement our capabilities to send census takers to households in person, the Census Bureau is training census takers to follow up with households by phone. Using information provided to the Census Bureau and third-party purchased data, the Census Bureau has a strong contact list for both landlines and cellphones assigned to houses on the Census Bureau’s address list. These phone calls will enable the Census Bureau to have maximum flexibility for conducting field operations, and is one more method that census takers can use to reach nonresponding households.. If a voicemail is available, the census taker will leave a message asking the household to call one of the Census Bureau’s call centers. Census takers have begun following up with households nationwide. Census takers will continue to follow up with nonresponding households in person, and will follow CDC and local public health guidelines when they visit. If no one is home when the census taker visits, the census taker will leave a “Notice of Visit” with information about how to respond online, by phone or by mail, to encourage response. During Census Bureau tests, the “Notice of Visit” proved successful in encouraging people to respond on their own to the census.
The Census Bureau will mail an additional paper questionnaire to nonresponding households.
To encourage more households to respond on their own to the 2020 Census, the Census Bureau is contacting nonresponding households by mailing an additional paper questionnaire to some households that have yet to respond. The Census Bureau is sending a seventh mailing, including a paper questionnaire, in late August to early September to the lowest-responding census tracts.
The Census Bureau is emailing households in low-responding areas. The Census Bureau recently announced that households in low-responding areas would be receiving emails to encourage response to the 2020 Census. The emails will go to all households that the Census Bureau has contact information for in census block groups with a response rate lower than 50%. This will include households who may have already responded.
In total, the Census Bureau expects to email more than 20 million households in these low-responding areas. The email messages will come from 2020census@subscriptions.census.gov and will give recipients the option to opt out of receiving future messages. The Census Bureau is using email addresses that households have provided in response to another Census Bureau program, or received from states (such as from their WIC, SNAP or TANF programs) or from a commercial list.
In addition to contacting households through these new methods, the Census Bureau is increasing other outreach efforts during one last push to encourage everyone to respond to the census online, by phone or by mail. The Census Bureau recently announced that it has launched Mobile Questionnaire Assistance, a program that offers assistance with responding at locations, such as grocery stores and pharmacies, in low-responding areas. Additionally, the Census Bureau has expanded its paid advertising, launching a series of new advertisements aimed at increasing online response. Now, 45 non-English languages are receiving some level of paid media support.
OPERATIONAL UPDATE AS OF 8/11:
This week, the U.S. Census Bureau began following up with households nationwide that have not yet responded to the 2020 Census. Based on the current self-response rate of 63.3%, the Census Bureau estimates it will need to visit about 56 million addresses to collect responses in person. Up to 500,000 census takers across the country will go door to door to assist people in responding to the 2020 Census. Census takers have completed training on social distancing and safety protocols, will follow local public health guidelines, and will be required to wear a face mask when conducting follow-up visits.
In most cases, census workers will make up to six attempts at each housing unit address to count possible residents. This includes leaving notification of the attempted visit on the door. The notification will include reminder information on how to respond online, by paper or by phone. In addition, census workers may try to reach the household by phone to conduct the interview. Census takers will go to great lengths to ensure that no one is missed in the census. After exhausting their efforts to do an in-person interview with a resident of an occupied housing unit, they will seek out proxy sources — a neighbor, a rental agent, a building manager or some other knowledgeable person familiar with the housing unit — to obtain as much basic information about the occupants as they can. Census takers are hired from local communities. All census takers speak English, and many are bilingual. If a census taker does not speak the householder’s language, the household may request a return visit from a census taker who does. Census takers will also have materials on hand to help identify the household’s language.
OPERATIONAL UPDATE AS OF 8/10:
As census takers start visiting neighborhoods across the country, the U.S. Census Bureau is launching the last phase of its “Shape Your Future. Start Here.” 2020 Census communications campaign with a new series of advertisements informing the public that there is still time to self-respond to the 2020 Census online, by phone or by mail. The ads are designed to reach 45 language-based audiences and will run from approximately Aug. 3 to Sept. 27. The advertisements will appear in English and 12 other languages across multiple platforms including radio, television, print, and digital and outdoor media (billboards and bus stops), with an additional 21 languages covered in newspaper advertising and 11 additional languages in paid media online search support.
The following languages will be covered: English, Arabic, Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin), French, Haitian, Creole, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Armenian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Dutch, Farsi, German, Greek, Gujarati, Hebrew, Hindi, Hmong, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Khmer, Lithuanian, Malayalam, Nepali, Portuguese, Punjabi, Romanian, Serbian, Slovak, Somali, Tamil, Telugu, Thai, Ukrainian, Urdu, Yiddish.
The 2020 Census Integrated Communications Campaign (ICC) officially launched in January as part of a $700 million public education and outreach effort. Featuring more than 1,000 ads, the campaign was designed to reach the nation’s 140 million households in three phases: (1) the Awareness/Education Phase (Jan. 14-March 12), (2) the Motivation/Participation Phase (March 13-May 20), and (3) the Reminder/Nonresponse Followup Phase (May 13-June 28).
The original promotional advertising schedule for the Reminder/Nonresponse Followup Phase was extended through the end of September to support the adjusted 2020 Census operational timeline. The Census Bureau has conducted paid advertising and communications campaigns to encourage the public to respond to the census since 2000. The 2020 Census ICC is the largest ever for the Census Bureau and is based on the most robust research program ever implemented for a decennial census communications program.
OPERATIONAL UPDATE AS OF 8/7:
In carrying out our respective missions, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are committed to protecting the health and safety of those we serve and employ. This is particularly important during the current COVID-19 health crisis.
Participation in 2020 Census interviews should present a low risk of transmission of COVID-19. Census takers are trained to rigorously and universally follow these CDC recommendations to mitigate risk of transmission:
Wearing of face masks.
Maintaining social distance of 6 ft. or more.
Practicing hand hygiene.
Not entering homes, and conducting interviews outside as much as possible or practical.
Household members encountered by census staff are encouraged to maintain social distances during interviews and practice the CDC’s other recommendations as much as possible.
The CDC stands ready to support the work of the Census Bureau and its staff in providing consultation and technical assistance to ensure that relevant data and findings are communicated in a timely fashion to keep Census field staff and household members safe and healthy.
OPERATIONAL UPDATE AS OF 8/3:
The U.S. Census Bureau continues to evaluate its operational plans to collect and process 2020 Census data. Today, they announced updates to their plan that will include enumerator awards and the hiring of more employees to accelerate the completion of data collection and apportionment counts by our statutory deadline of December 31, 2020, as required by law and directed by the Secretary of Commerce.
Complete Count: A robust field data collection operation will ensure we receive responses from households that have not yet self-responded to the 2020 Census.
Census Bureau will improve the speed of our count without sacrificing completeness. As part of our revised plan, we will conduct additional training sessions and provide awards to enumerators in recognition of those who maximize hours worked. They will also keep phone and tablet computer devices for enumeration in use for the maximum time possible.
They will end field data collection by September 30, 2020. Self-response options will also close on that date to permit the commencement of data processing. Under this plan, the Census Bureau intends to meet a similar level of household responses as collected in prior censuses, including outreach to hard-to-count communities.
Accurate Data and Efficient Processing: Once Census Bureau has the data from self-response and field data collection in our secure systems, they plan to review it for completeness and accuracy, streamline its processing, and prioritize apportionment counts to meet the statutory deadline. In addition, we plan to increase our staff to ensure operations are running at full capacity.
Flexible Design: Their operation remains adaptable and additional resources will help speed their work. The Census Bureau will continue to analyze data and key metrics from its field work to ensure that our operations are agile and on target for meeting our statutory delivery dates. Of course, they recognize that events can still occur that no one can control, such as additional complications from severe weather or other natural disasters.
Health and Safety: Census Bureau will continue to prioritize the health and safety of our workforce and the public. Their staff will continue to follow Federal, state, and local guidance, including providing appropriate safety trainings and personal protective equipment to field staff.
The Census Bureau continues its work on meeting the requirements of Executive Order 13880 issued July 11, 2019 and the Presidential Memorandum issued July 21, 2020. A team of experts are examining methodologies and options to be employed for this purpose. The collection and use of pertinent administrative data continues.
To date, 93 million households, nearly 63 percent of all households in the Nation, have responded to the 2020 Census. Building on our successful and innovative internet response option, the dedicated women and men of the Census Bureau, including our temporary workforce deploying in communities across the country in upcoming weeks, will work diligently to achieve an accurate count.
OPERATIONAL UPDATE AS OF 7/30:
The U.S. Census Bureau announced that it will begin following up with households in select areas that have not yet responded to the 2020 Census.
Starting August 6, census takers will begin interviewing households in areas managed by the following area census offices:
New Haven, Connecticut
Washington, District of Columbia
Wilmington, Delaware
Boston, Lawrence and East Bridgewater, Massachusetts
Concord, New Hampshire
Lansing and Oakland County, Michigan
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Parsippany, South Plainfield and Newark, New Jersey
Albany, Bronx (2 locations), Brooklyn (3 locations), Manhattan (2 locations), Queens (4 locations), Pawling, Peekskill, Rochester, Staten Island and Syracuse, New York
Providence, Rhode Island
Allentown, Norristown, Philly Franklin, Philly Penn and Reading, Pennsylvania
Fairfax, Fredericksburg and Roanoke, Virginia
The majority of census offices across the country will begin follow-up work on August 11.
OPERATIONAL UPDATE AS OF 7/27:
The U.S. Census Bureau announced that it will begin emailing households in low-responding areas to encourage them to respond to the 2020 Census.
Millions of emails will be sent this week and then grow in numbers and continue into September. These emails supplement a final campaign reminding people to respond to the 2020 Census on their own, as census takers begin asking households to respond to the census.
The messages alert households in low-response areas that time is running out and their response to the 2020 Census is important for their communities. The email messages will invite people to respond online at 2020census.gov. People who receive the email and haven’t already responded should click on the link provided and complete the census online. It’s easy, safe and important.
The emails will go to all households that the Census Bureau has contact information for in census block groups with a response rate lower than 50%. This will include households who may have already responded. In total, the Census Bureau expects to email more than 20 million households in these low-responding areas.
The email messages will come from 2020census@subscriptions.census.gov and will give recipients the option to opt out of receiving future messages. The Census Bureau is also considering sending text messages to areas that have low response.
The Census Bureau’s recent success with contacting households by email to participate in the Household Pulse Survey prompted the agency to add these methods to support the 2020 Census. This contact method will help increase response rates and reduce the need for in-person follow-up. The Census Bureau is continuing to review the use of text messages and will make an announcement prior to deploying that outreach. In addition to emailing households, the Census Bureau is increasing other outreach efforts during one last push to encourage everyone to respond to the census online, by phone or by mail. The Census Bureau recently announced that it has launched Mobile Questionnaire Assistance, a program that offers assistance with responding at locations such as grocery stores and pharmacies in low-responding areas.
OPERATIONAL UPDATE AS OF 7/15:
The U.S. Census Bureau announced that it will begin following up with households in select areas that have not yet responded to the 2020 Census.
Starting July 30, census takers will begin interviewing households in areas managed by the following 35 area census offices across 14 states and Puerto Rico:
Aurora, Colorado North and Denver, Colorado
Danbury, Connecticut
Honolulu, Hawaii
Chicago Central, Chicago Far Southwest, Chicago South, Cook County Northwest, Cook County South, Dekalb, Oswego, Peoria and Skokie, Illinois
Indianapolis and Lake County, Indiana
Quincy, Waltham and Worcester, Massachusetts
Hanover, Hagerstown and Towson, Maryland
Bismarck, North Dakota
Trenton, New Jersey
Buffalo, New York
Mansfield, Ohio
Cranberry Township and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Guaynabo, Caguas and Mayaguez, Puerto Rico
Everett, Olympia and Seattle, Washington
Green Bay, Wisconsin
All other area census offices across the country are scheduled to begin follow-up work on August 11. All offices will conclude work no later than October 31.
OPERATIONAL UPDATE AS OF 7/14:
More than 3,000 U.S. Census Bureau staff will begin going into communities with the lowest 2020 Census response rates to encourage and assist people with responding on their own to the 2020 Census. This operation, known as the Mobile Questionnaire Assistance (MQA) program, is a separate activity from census takers going door to door to count households that have not yet responded. MQA is part of the Census Bureau’s final push to encourage people to complete the 2020 Census before the Nonresponse Followup (NRFU) operation begins nationwide on August 11.
MQA representatives will encourage people to respond to the 2020 Census in open, public places in the lowest responding areas of the nation. These are places where people naturally visit when leaving home to help increase self-response rates. People are encouraged to respond on their own online or by phone. Locations for MQAs will include grocery stores and markets, food banks, laundromats, restaurants and grab-and-go eateries, unemployment offices, back to school drives, places of worship, and libraries.
The local census response representatives will help people complete the census on a 2020 Census tablet or on their own device, while practicing state and local social distancing protocols. All census workers have been trained in social distancing protocols and issued personal protective equipment (PPE), including masks to be worn during MQA support.
About 62% of households across the country have already responded online, by phone or by mail since invitations began arriving in mid-March. The Census Bureau is selecting where to provide MQA based on local response rates and conditions.
If people need help responding in a language other than English, Census Bureau staff can provide phone numbers or assistance responding online in 12 other languages. Staff will also have guides available in 59 languages that walk people through how to respond to the English questionnaire.
All staff will carry an ID badge with their name, photograph, a U.S. Department of Commerce watermark seal, and an expiration date. They will have an official Census Bureau-issued bag and tablet. MQA locations will have banners bearing the 2020 Census logo.
In the interest of public health concerns because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Census Bureau staff will decide on a weekly basis whether MQA activities will take place in a low-response area in coordination with local partners.
For more information, visit 2020census.gov.
MQA will be available from July 13 through September 18.
OPERATIONAL UPDATE AS OF 7/8:
The U.S. Census Bureau announced that it will begin following up in select areas with households that have not yet responded to the 2020 Census.
Starting the week of July 20, census takers will begin interviewing households in areas managed by the following area census offices:
Hartford, Connecticut
Evansville, Indiana
Wichita, Kansas
State College, Pennsylvania
Crystal City, Virginia
Tacoma, Washington
The Census Bureau will announce additional census offices as it prepares to begin enumeration activities nationwide. The majority of census offices across the country will begin follow-up work on August 11. All offices will conclude work no later than October 31.
OPERATIONAL UPDATE AS OF 7/1:
Census Takers to Start Follow Up with Nonresponding Households in Limited Areas in July
Today, the U.S. Census Bureau announced that it will begin following up with households that have not yet responded to the 2020 Census in a small number of locations in July. Based on the current self-response rate of 61.8%, the Census Bureau estimates it will need to visit approximately 56 million addresses to collect responses in person. Because of the scale of this operation, the Census Bureau will begin the work in a few areas before operations begin in earnest across the country.
Starting July 16, census takers will begin interviewing households that have yet to respond to the 2020 Census in areas managed by the following area census offices:
Beckley, W.V.
Boise, Idaho
Gardiner, Maine
Kansas City, Mo.
New Orleans
Oklahoma County, Okla.
Between July 1 and 2, several Census Field Supervisors will make contact with about 80 households in a limited geography — within the Boise ACO and Nashville ACO — to ensure readiness of systems and processes for the soft launch which is scheduled for July 16.
In subsequent weeks the Census Bureau will announce additional census offices as it builds to beginning enumeration activities nationwide. The majority of census offices across the country will begin follow-up work on August 11. All offices will conclude work no later than October 31.
What Households Can Expect
Census takers will follow local public health guidelines when they visit. Census takers will wear masks and follow local public health guidelines when they visit your home. Census takers must complete a virtual COVID-19 training on social distancing protocols and other health and safety guidance before beginning their work in neighborhoods.
Census takers are hired from local communities. All census takers speak English, and many are bilingual. If a census taker does not speak the householder’s language, the household may request a return visit from a census taker who does. Census takers will also have materials on hand to help identify the household’s language.
If no one is home when the census taker visits, the census taker will leave a notice of their visit with information about how to respond online, by phone or by mail. People are encouraged to cooperate with census takers and ensure that everyone who was living in their household as of April 1, 2020, is counted.
How to Identify Census Takers
Census takers can be easily identified by a valid government ID badge with their photograph, a U.S. Department of Commerce watermark and an expiration date on the badge. To confirm a census taker’s identity, the public may contact their regional census center to speak with a Census Bureau representative.
How Are These Offices Selected for the Early Start to Deploying Census Takers?
Career Census Bureau operational leadership makes the decision on when and where area census offices will begin following up with households that have not yet responded to the 2020 Census. As part of the selection criteria, we ensured these offices offered a variety of situations to help roll out the systems. We also followed a thorough review of the operating status of a state, locality or tribal area; the key data that support that operating status as identified by federal, state and local guidance; and the ability of Census Bureau staff to safely resume operations, including the procurement of personal protective equipment.
Group Quarters Enumeration
Group Quarters Enumeration is the U.S. Census Bureau's special set of operations for counting people who live or stay in the estimated 250,000 group quarters facilities, such as correctional facilities for adults, college/university student housing, nursing/skilled nursing facilities, group homes, residential treatment centers, and military barracks. The Census Bureau works directly with group quarters administrators in responding to the 2020 Census on behalf of residents to ensure a complete and accurate census count.
The 2020 Census offers several response options for people living in group living arrangements, including electronic response options where an administrator fills in data for each person who stayed at the facility on April 1, 2020. Group quarter administrators can also mail a paper listing of census response data for each person being served or staying at their respective facility to their respective area census office or have a census taker pick up the paper listing or drop off paper questionnaires to the facility. The Census Bureau strongly encourages group quarters facilities to utilize these available options that do not involve in-person contact.
For facilities that elected a non-contact response method, the Census Bureau will conduct in-person interviews to complete their census questionnaire between July 1 and September 3. All census takers have been trained on social distancing protocols, and will be issued Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and will follow local guidelines for their use. This operation was originally scheduled to occur between April 2-June 5 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Census Bureau continues to coordinate with group quarters administrators to assist in counting people living in group quarter facilities, including contacting group quarters facilities between February 3 and March 6 as part of the Group Quarters Advance Contact Operation. Many group quarters began responding on April 2 through an eResponse option. Facilities that have not responded by early August will be visited by a census taker.
About 35 percent of group quarter administrators have responded to the 2020 Census via eResponse or paper listings.
OPERATIONAL UPDATE AS OF 6/30:
With about 4 in 10 households having yet to respond to the 2020 Census, the U.S. Census Bureau today announced it is on track to conduct multiple follow-up activities aimed at ensuring a complete and accurate count. Census Bureau staff will conduct the following operations over the next several months:
Coverage Improvement: The Census Bureau began making follow-up calls to some households that have already completed the 2020 Census. The goal is to make sure everyone in a household was counted, and to validate information provided when they completed the census questionnaire. Census call center agents began making calls on April 22. If the household does not answer a call, agents will leave a voicemail with a 12-digit ID as a reference number. This effort is set to continue through the end of the response phase on October 31.
Non-response Followup: The Census Bureau routinely “soft launches” operations to ensure systems, operations and field plans work as they should. Starting in mid-July, census takers from six area census offices (one per Census Bureau region) will begin the operation of interviewing households that have yet to respond to the 2020 Census. The six area census offices will be announced by the beginning of July. Additional area census offices may be announced for a second wave soft launch to occur later in July. Aside from area census offices that are part of a soft launch, the remaining area census offices will begin the Nonresponse Followup on August 11 and conclude no later than October 31. All census takers will be trained on social distancing protocols. They will be issued personal protective equipment (PPE) and follow local guidelines for their use.
Non-response Followup Re-interview: In some cases, a second census taker may visit a household to conduct a short interview to ensure the quality of our data collection activities. These reinterviews are meant to confirm every census taker followed our training and did their jobs correctly. The reinterview will be conducted by a different census taker than the one who originally visited the household. The Nonresponse Followup Reinterview operation is scheduled to run from August 12 to October 31.
Post-Enumeration Survey: After a household has already completed the 2020 Census, census takers will visit a select number of households as part of the Post-Enumeration Survey. The Census Bureau conducts this survey to measure the coverage of housing units and people residing in housing units in the 2020 Census. To that end, census takers will gather the following information:
Current residents of the housing unit.
People living in the household who may or may not have been there April 1 (Census Day).
People who moved out of the household between April 1 and the time of the interview.
The information collected for each person includes name, sex, age, date of birth, race, relationship to householder, and Hispanic origin. The interviewer also collects information about alternate addresses to establish where people lived on Census Day, according to census residence rules. Post-Enumeration Survey interviews are set to take place September 23 to December 22.
The Census Bureau urges the small percentage of households that are contacted during the Non-response Followup Re-interview and Post-Enumeration Survey operations to take a few minutes with the census taker to help ensure the quality of the 2020 Census.
All census takers have official ID badges that include their name, photograph, a U.S. Department of Commerce watermark, and an expiration date.
More Information on Census Bureau Follow Up Calls
In addition to requesting a callback before you respond, after you have responded to the 2020 Census you may receive a short call from the Census Bureau to the number you provided, beginning April 22, 2020.
Census workers will occasionally follow up with homes to ask questions about their responses. The goal is to ensure that no person is left out of the census or counted in more than one place. We review your responses in order to ensure that we have a complete and accurate 2020 Census.
All responses are kept confidential. The 2020 Census caller will not ask about your financial information or Social Security number. They will only review the responses that you previously provided.
If you think you missed a call from the Census Bureau (or actually received one) but want to confirm the legitimacy of the call, call 844-809-7717 (English) or 844-809-7718 (Spanish) to speak with a local Census Bureau representative. Our business hours are 7:00am to 12:00am Eastern Time, Monday through Sunday.
OPERATIONAL UPDATE AS OF 6/24:
The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that it will send an additional reminder postcard to households that have not yet responded to the 2020 Census. The postcard is scheduled to arrive between July 22 and July 28, a few weeks before census takers are set to begin visiting most households that haven’t responded.
The COVID-19 pandemic delayed the start of census taker visits from mid-May to mid-August, giving the Census Bureau the opportunity to send one more reminder to households encouraging them to respond online, by phone or by mail. Responding now minimizes the need for census takers to visit homes to collect responses in person. About 61.7% of households across the country have already responded online, by phone or by mail since invitations began arriving in mailboxes on March 12.
Reminder Postcards to P.O. Boxes
The U.S. Census Bureau is sending postcards between June 24 and July 3 to an estimated 1.3 million post office boxes in communities where P.O. boxes are the only mailing address available. The postcards alert households that a census taker may drop off census invitations soon or will visit later to interview them. The postcards also provide information on how to respond to the 2020 Census online or by phone. Households are encouraged to respond to the 2020 Census as soon as they receive their invitation packet.
Households that receive mail in P.O. boxes should provide their street address (not their P.O. box number) when responding to ensure their response is associated with the physical location where they live, not where they receive mail. Households can respond online in English or 12 other languages, by phone using the Census ID included in the packet or by completing and mailing back the paper questionnaire delivered to them.
OPERATIONAL UPDATE AS OF 6/18:
Counting College Students
The U.S. Census Bureau is reaching out to colleges and universities with significant off-campus student populations to help ensure they are counted in the right place in the 2020 Census. Earlier this week, Director Dr. Steven Dillingham sent a letter to college and university presidents asking them to provide roster information for off-campus students. See letter here.
This information allows the Census Bureau to count the students where they would have been staying on April 1, 2020, even if they went home early due to a school closure or shift to distance learning. Dr. Dillingham thanked administrators for their help in ensuring a complete and accurate count of college students, as an accurate count is important to every community’s funding, political representation and planning decisions.
The census counts people where they live and sleep most of the time, and that includes college students. With many students having left their college campuses because of school closures before census questionnaires were delivered, the Census Bureau needs help counting students where they would have been living and sleeping as of April 1, 2020.
The Census Bureau asked presidents for assistance in counting students who may not have responded on their own by sharing basic demographic information already provided to the university for off-campus students. Census Bureau staff began calling school officials June 16, and at a minimum will request full name, date of birth, and local and alternative addresses. By having access to this information, the Census Bureau can ensure college students are counted in the right place, including removing duplicate responses to the census or to count the student (if there is no other record of the same individual in another location).
As with all information the Census Bureau collects, this personal information is protected by law. For more information on how the 2020 Census can impact college students and how to count them, visit 2020census.gov/grads.
Update Leave
Census workers have completed 96% of the 2020 Census “Update Leave” operation- where 2020 Census invitations and paper questionnaires are delivered to households in certain — often rural — areas across the country. In these areas, most households generally do not receive mail at their homes, so census workers drop off census materials in person. When the operation is complete, nearly every household nationwide will have received an invitation to participate in the 2020 Census either in the mail or from a census worker.
As of June 18, 61.5% of households have responded to the census. The U.S. Census Bureau urges households to respond now by completing and mailing back the paper questionnaire, responding online at 2020census.gov, or by phone at 844-330-2020 using the provided Census ID. Census workers are dropping off census materials at the front doors of roughly 6.8 million households nationwide, including Puerto Rico. Census workers began delivering materials on March 15 but suspended delivery on March 18 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Census workers resumed delivery on May 4 as part of a phased restart of 2020 Census operations. In some areas of the country, the operation is complete, and in others it will be completed soon. In addition to delivering census materials, census workers also update the Census Bureau’s address list in these areas to ensure no living quarters were missed. This helps reach people in areas where the majority of households may not receive mail at their home’s physical location, such as small towns where mail is only delivered to post office boxes or areas affected by natural disasters.
Currently, nearly four out of 10 households have yet to respond to the 2020 Census, which is why the Census Bureau urges every household to complete it as soon as possible online, by phone or by mail. Households that do not respond to the invitation will be visited by a census taker during the Nonresponse Followup Operation.
Your response shapes decisions about how public funds are spent for schools, fire and emergency services, and health care for your community. Results from the 2020 Census also determine how many seats each state receives in Congress and provide data for redrawing legislative districts. If your household has not received an invitation in the mail or at your door, please respond online at 2020census.gov or by phone at 844-330-2020.
OPERATIONAL UPDATE AS OF 6/12:
Updates to 2020 Census Operations
The U.S. Census Bureau continues to monitor the impacts COVID-19 has on 2020 Census operations and follow guidance of federal, state and local health authorities to ensure the safety our staff and the public. The Census Bureau is ready to announce resumption of other operations in addition to the Update Leave operation and fingerprinting of new hires, which are already underway, in order to conduct a complete and accurate 2020 Census.
As of today, over 90 million households have responded to the 2020 Census, with over four in five households doing so online. People can still respond on their own online, over the phone or by mail — all without having to meet a census taker. The operational updates outlined below include the Update Enumerate operation, Nonresponse Followup operation, Remote Alaska operation, partnership events, Mobile Questionnaire Assistance (MQA) program, and the integrated communications and partnership campaign.
The Census Bureau will resume the Update Enumerate operation on June 14.
Census takers will update the Census Bureau’s address list in remote parts of northern Maine and southeast Alaska, as well as interview households for the 2020 Census. Because these areas are geographically remote and have unique accessibility challenges, census takers collect census responses in person, instead of inviting households to respond online, by phone or by mail. As previously announced, the operation will occur June 14-July 29. It was originally scheduled for March 16-April 30. All census takers have been trained on social distancing protocols, and will be issued Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and will follow local guidelines for their use.
The Census Bureau will begin a soft launch to Nonresponse Followup.
The Census Bureau routinely “soft launches” operations to ensure systems, operations and field plans work as they should. Starting in mid-July, six area census offices (ACOs) (one per census region) will begin the operation of interviewing households that have yet to respond to the 2020 Census. The six ACOs will be announced by the end of June. Additional ACOs will be announced for a second wave soft launch to occur later in July. Aside from ACOs that are part of the soft launch, all remaining ACOs will begin the Nonresponse Followup on August 11 and conclude no later than October 31. All census takers will be trained on social distancing protocols. They will be issued PPE and will follow local guidelines for their use.
The Census Bureau will extend Remote Alaska into August.
After further review and in coordination with remote Alaska villages, the Census Bureau will continue to count people living in remote Alaska through August. As of June 11, 78% of the remote Alaska workload was complete.
The Census Bureau will count people living in transitory locations in September.
Between September 3 and September 28, census takers will count people staying at campgrounds, RV parks, marinas and hotels if they do not usually live elsewhere. This operation, known as Enumeration of Transitory Locations, was previously scheduled to occur between April 9 and May 4.
The Census Bureau’s Community Partnership and Engagement Program (CPEP) has resumed in-person events.
In coordination with local guidance, partnership specialists resumed in-person efforts in early June working with the over 370,000 partner organizations and attending in-person events across the country where it is safe to do so. Over the past few months, CPEP outreach efforts have been largely comprised of virtual engagements to support stay-at-home orders and social distancing.
The Census Bureau’s Mobile Questionnaire Assistance (MQA) program is being modified to reflect the current environment.
We anticipate that MQA staff may be able to resume offering in-person questionnaire response assistance in selected areas based on current health conditions. This program will also add to its portfolio of activities to include direct outreach efforts within the lowest responding neighborhoods throughout the nation. All Census Bureau staff involved in MQA will follow local guidelines with respect to PPE and social distancing.
The Census Bureau will continue its communications campaign through October 2020 — the end of 2020 Census data collection operations.
The Census Bureau has adapted the communications campaign and launched a series of new advertisements aimed at increasing online response to the 2020 Census while much of the nation remains at home practicing social distancing. Additional paid media is planned for July, August and September. The expanded advertising campaign reaches new audiences in 33 languages, raising the total to 45 non-English languages receiving some level of paid media support. The expanded languages will receive some combination of paid search, print or digital advertisements. In addition, the Census Bureau expanded the list of media vendors to increase Census Bureau reach of historically undercounted populations through paid advertising on digital, print, television and radio platforms.
The updates to operations outlined above all incorporate the latest federal, state and local guidelines regarding PPE and regulations. For the safety of our staff and the public, the Census Bureau has ordered PPE for all field staff, including those that work in a field office. These materials will be secured and provided to staff as operations begin. Census Bureau staff will follow local health official guidance when wearing PPE.
Updates on Counting People Experiencing Homelessness
The U.S. Census Bureau has announced the new schedule for counting people experiencing homelessness in the 2020 Census. The operation was originally scheduled for March 30, March 31 and April 1, but health and safety concerns with COVID-19 forced us to delay these activities. Between September 22 and 24, the Census Bureau now plans to send specially trained census takers to count people at shelters, soup kitchens, regularly scheduled mobile food vans, and locations previously identified by the Census Bureau where people are known to sleep outdoors (like under bridges) and at all-night businesses (such as transit stations and 24-hour laundromats).
People experiencing homelessness will be counted where they are staying when census takers visit between September 22-24.
In preparation for counting people experiencing homelessness, the Census Bureau is coordinating with local service providers and consulting with advocacy groups and other stakeholders, throughout the country to adjust our operations accordingly for this audience in response to COVID-19. We have also worked with the administrators at these different service provider locations to utilize rosters to ensure a complete count of this population. Census takers will follow the latest local public health guidance regarding the use of personal protective equipment and social distancing.
Additional 6th Mailer and Weeks of Actions
The 6th Census mailing will be a postcard with unique ID, but will not include the paper questionnaire. It will arrive between July 22nd - 28th.
The Census Bureau will be conducting regional surges/weeks of action: Dallas July 13 -19, Atlanta July 20 - 26 , NYC July 27 - August 2.
Hiring
Priority Counties Hiring Census Enumerators
OPERATIONAL UPDATE AS OF 6/8:
The U.S. Census Bureau, in coordination with federal, state and local health officials, will begin a phased restart of some 2020 Census field operations in additional area census offices (ACOs) across the nation the week of June 8.
With these additions, field activities have restarted in 247 of 248 area census offices stateside, all ACOs in Puerto Rico and the Island Areas, and 98.9% of the nation’s update leave workload will have resumed. As of June 4, 73% of the update leave workload was completed.
Census Bureau officials are coordinating closely with the Navajo Nation on the safe resumption of operations in the Window Rock, Arizona, ACO. Additional ACOs in the following states will begin a phased restart of operations: California, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Texas, and Virginia.
Status of Current Operations. FAQs in Resuming Operations in English, Traditional and Simplified Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.
OPERATIONAL UPDATE AS OF 5/29:
The U.S. Census Bureau, in coordination with federal, state and local health officials, will begin a phased restart of some 2020 Census field operations in seven additional states and the District of Columbia the week of June 1. With these additions, field activities have restarted in at least one office in every state and 98.2% of the nation’s update leave workload will have resumed.
As of May 27, half of the update leave workload was completed. The locations that will begin a phased restart of operations are: Delaware, Washington, D.C., Hawaii, Illinois, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, South Carolina.
Additional area census offices in the following states will begin a phased restart of operations: California, Maryland, Michigan, New York, Texas, Virginia.
OPERATIONAL UPDATE AS OF 5/22:
The U.S. Census Bureau, in coordination with federal, state and local health officials, will begin a phased restart of some 2020 Census field operations in 10 additional states the week of May 25. With the addition of these area census offices resuming operations, 90% of the nation’s update leave workload will have resumed.
All of the area census offices in the following states will begin a phased restart of operations: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
Some of the area census offices in the following states will begin a phased restart of operations: California (13/30), Maryland (1/4), Michigan (2/5), Texas (10/26), Virginia (2/6). In addition, the Census Bureau is expanding resumption of operations in New Mexico (Albuquerque) and New York (Albany, Buffalo and Syracuse).
Current Area Census Office Restarting Status here
OPERATIONAL UPDATE AS OF 5/15:
The U.S. Census Bureau, in coordination with federal, state and local health officials, will begin a phased restart of some 2020 Census field operations in 11 additional states and Puerto Rico the week of May 18. The places that will begin a phased restart of operations are: Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York (Rochester), Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Wyoming.
Updated Area Census Office Map
For Organizers:
The Census Counts campaign does not encourage organizations or partners to resume census canvassing or schedule in-person activities. Find resources from State Voices about organizing in the wake of COVID 19 here and Census Digital U digital organizing training here.
Organizers should advise households that this is a NO CONTACT operation and encourage households to maintain physical distancing by not interacting with census workers.
Households, including households in update/ leave areas, can respond to the census online and by phone without their census ID using just the address of where they’re living on April 1, 2020. (See a helpful how to here.)
The Census Counts is encouraging people to respond to the census as soon as possible. Note that households in update/ leave areas that responded before they received a census packet will still receive a census packet. That does not mean that the household was not counted.
Households should respond once and have the option of responding now or waiting until they receive a census packet. The Census Bureau has released fact sheets for communities in update / leave areas and for American Indian and Alaska Native communities on this issue noting that households can wait to respond.
OPERATIONAL UPDATE AS OF 5/8:
Census Bureau to Resume Operations in additional states. Earlier this week, the Census Bureau announced a targeted and phased approach to resume some 2020 Census field operations, in compliance with federal, state, and local health guidance; notably, that the Bureau would start dropping census invitation packets at the front doors of households that don't normally receive mail at home (known as the Update/Leave operation). Area Census Office (ACO) staff in some cities in AK, AL, AR, ID, ME, MS, MT, ND, OK, TN, UT, VT, and WV have begun returning to the office to support this operation as well as complete the hiring process for Non-Response Follow-Up. Each Friday, the Bureau will post the additional areas where U/L will resume the following Wednesday. Today’s announcement noted that operations will ramp up in an additional 54 ACOs across nine new states: FL, GA, KS, KY, MO, NC, OR, PA, and WA. The announcement is here and the full revised operational schedule is here.
OPERATIONAL UPDATE AS OF 5/4:
Update/ Leave and Hiring: The Census Bureau will be announcing today that some field operations, specifically Update/ Leave and Hiring, will resume in some areas of some states on Wednesday (5/6) of this week. The Census Bureau determined the states and areas within states where it believes U/L can resume safely by evaluating: the operating status of the state; governors' SIP orders; assessment of staff and readiness; and trends of COVID-19 cases going downwards.
Notably, the Bureau has adjusted its Update/Leave operation in light of public health guidance to remove the "door knock." This means that field staff WILL NOT knock on a household's door to verify the address; rather, they will just hand-deliver census packets (Internet Choice version) and place on the doorknob. They will try to do an inspection of the property "by sight" to determine if there are other "hidden" housing units to add to the master address list. U/L staff also "spot" the location of the housing unit on a digital map.
The full update and the list of states will be posted to the Census Bureau's website today here. Going forward, every Friday as warranted, the Bureau will post additional areas where U/L will resume the following Wednesday.
Finally, the Bureau is evaluating ways to resume the hiring process, most notably by resuming the fingerprinting process, in the coming days and weeks, in areas where public safety measures and guidelines permit.
Current Area Census Office Restarting Status here and map of ACOs opening here.
More information on PPE for census takers here.
OPERATIONAL UPDATE AS OF 4/27:
The Census Bureau is planning a “phased start to many of census operations” rather than beginning field operations nationwide on June 1, 2020, as previously announced. Operations could resume at different times in different areas of the country based on federal, state, and local public health guidance, as well as the availability of personal protective equipment. The Census Bureau noted that reopening mail processing centers and census offices were among the Bureau’s priorities. The Bureau will notify Congress as it begins to restart operations.
NEW Census Bureau COVID-19 Resources:
Operational Update as of 4/21:
Over the next three months, the U.S. Census Bureau will be rolling out a survey called the "Household Pulse Survey" to around 14 million people try to measure how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting life for households in the U.S. The Census Bureau believes this data will be crucial in informing policymakers on the pandemic’s impact on employment, education, childcare, health, food and housing security. Read more. Please note:
Household Pulse Survey Timing: The Census Bureau is planning to push out a link to an online form through official emails in April and may start sending its own text messages about the Household Pulse Survey.
Household Pulse Survey Questions will include: Are you getting enough food to eat? How often have you been bothered by feeling depressed or hopeless? Did you wait to see a doctor because of the pandemic? How many hours are you spending teaching any children in your home?
Household Pulse Survey Confidentiality: The survey is voluntary and will take about 20 minutes to complete. Your responses will be confidential and protected by Title 13. Aggregated results of the new household survey are also set to be published weekly on the bureau's website.
Please note that this survey is NOT the 2020 Census, the mandatory U.S. decennial census. Please remind communities that the 2020 Census is underway and they can respond online, by phone, or by mail. See more at www.2020census.gov.
The Bureau will also be conducting a Small Business Pulse survey. Click here for more information.
Operational Update as of 4/16:
The Census Bureau’s paper mailing schedule has been delayed due to social distancing at their paper facilities and the USPS.
Revised schedule for mailer 4 and paper questionnaire: April 8-30
Revised schedule for final reminder mailer: April 27-May 9
Operational Update as of 4/13:
The Census Bureau temporarily suspended 2020 Census field data collection activities in March. Steps are already being taken to reactivate field offices beginning June 1, 2020, in preparation for the resumption of field data collection operations as quickly as possible following June 1 - This has now changed, please see operational update on 4/27.
In-person activities, including all interaction with the public, enumeration, office work and processing activities, will incorporate the most current guidance to promote the health and safety of staff and the public. This will include recommended personal protective equipment (PPE) and social distancing practices.
Once 2020 Census data collection is complete, the Census Bureau begins a lengthy, thorough and scientifically rigorous process to produce the apportionment counts, redistricting information and other statistical data products that help guide hundreds of billions of dollars in public and private sector spending per year.
In order to ensure the completeness and accuracy of the 2020 Census, the Census Bureau is seeking statutory relief from Congress of 120 additional calendar days to deliver final apportionment counts.
Under this plan, the Census Bureau would extend the window for field data collection and self-response to October 31, 2020, which will allow for apportionment counts to be delivered to the President by April 30, 2021, and redistricting data to be delivered to the states no later than July 31, 2021.
The deadline for self response online, by phone or by returning the paper questionnaire has been extended to October 31.
• The Update/Leave operation, which is the hand-delivery of census packets to about 6.2 million primarily rural households, plus most (not all) American Indian reservations, has been delayed to June 13-July 9.
• Group Quarters will be delayed to April 2-September 3.
Enumeration of Transitory Locations has been tentatively been delayed to September 3–September 28.
• Non-Response Follow-Up via E-Response & paper enumeration has been delayed to August 11-October 31.
• The Mobile Questionnaire Assistance operation is under review.
• The American Community Survey and other surveys have discontinued in-person visits to households that don’t self-respond on-line or using a paper questionnaire. (Note: Under the ACS design, only a sample of non-responding households receive a follow-up visit.) All 9,000 field representatives working on the ACS and other ongoing surveys are working to make connections by phone instead.
• Hiring and training of new 2020 Census staff:
The required fingerprinting of candidates applying for 2020 Census jobs has been paused for health reasons, meaning further on-boarding and training of new census field staff will be delayed.
In-person training of Census Bureau staff has been suspended. The Bureau is working to shift all training on-line, including virtual meetings. Fortunately, much of the training already was on-line.
HOWEVER, during this period, households can still respond to the 2020 Census in the comfort of their home. Just a reminder, the self-response portal is live NOW at my2020census.gov. During this time, remind folks that they can self-respond online, by phone, or by mail.
Operational Update as of 4/10:
The U.S. Census Bureau, following guidance from federal, state, and local health officials, has implemented social distancing measures and staffing adjustments to help protect the health and safety of 2020 Census call center employees. As a result, callers may be experiencing increased call wait times.
To increase call center capacity, the Census Bureau is reinstating the callback option and making more employees available to respond to requests. The callback option enables callers to leave a message and receive a timely call back from a census taker to process their 2020 Census response when all call center agents are busy assisting others. The Census Bureau had temporarily turned off the callback option due to staffing adjustments.
The callback option is now available in seven languages (English, Cantonese, Korean, Mandarin, Russian, Spanish and Vietnamese). The callback option will be available in the remaining seven languages (Arabic, French, Haitian Creole, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese and Tagalog) by Tuesday, April 14, 2020.
The Census Bureau has live customer service representatives supporting direct phone lines to 14 languages. Every census response is important and we appreciate callers’ patience as we seek to respond to all incoming requests.
Households can also respond online at any time at 2020census.gov in the following languages: English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Haitian Creole, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese. The Census Bureau offers webpages and 2020 Census guides in 59 languages, including American Sign Language, in addition to guides in Braille and large print. Visit the Language Support page for more information.
Operational Update as of 4/8:
Paper forms start arriving on Wednesday, April 8-16 for households that have not completed the form yet. - **NOW EXTENDED TO APRIL 30**
Final reminder mailer will come to households from April 27-May 9.
Some areas where census takers were originally going to hand-deliver forms in person will now receive a letter in the mail from the Census Bureau reminding them to participate, including many households in Puerto Rico. Even if households don’t receive a letter in the mail, the Census Bureau will drop off a census invitation and paper form as soon as it is safe to do so. Census takers will also follow up with all households that do not respond on their own.
Filling out the census is a way to be proactive about building and protecting your community in the wake of COVID-19.
Language guides (video version here) are available from the Census Bureau in 59 non-English languages.
There’s no cost sending back the paper form. You can drop it in the mail without any postage or have your mail delivery person pick it up.
Field Guidance
Instead of tabling in-person, use that time to phone bank, text bank, leverage digital organizing, or even spend time to create a presence online. All of these activities can be done from home or in an office. There are vendors who can help implement these activities.
Organizations can also create group events like tele-town halls, Facebook Live streams, or Zoom meetings. There are vendors who can help implement these activities.
Ensure there are informational flyers, palm cards, and materials at grocery stores, community centers, clinics and other essential locations with your website, ways to engage online or by phone
Drop-off literature with information on how to self-respond so that people are still hearing about the census
Consider creating digital ad campaigns for Twitter or Facebook to spread more information about the census. You can use the Census Counts Campaign in a Box toolkit. Similarly, your organization might want to think about working with local radio, print, and TV outlets to place free PSAs. Prioritize “warm” contact opportunities where existing relationships can be utilized
Be vigilant of mis and dis information. Ensure best practices are followed and false information isn’t pushed out.
Institute privacy and security practices. Ensure staff and volunteers are familiar with basic phishing scams.
For More Information:
Census Bureau Statement on Facility in Jeffersonville, Indiana
Census Bureau Update on 2020 Census Field Operations - March 28
Census Bureau Statement on Coronavirus and the 2020 Census - March 11
In addition, the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans, Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC, and our partners denounce anti-Asian racism around COVID-19. See the letter we sent to Congress with the support of over 260 civil rights organizations. The discriminatory sentiment and instances of violent attacks aimed at Asian Americans is unacceptable, but unfortunately nothing new. We thank the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus for their response and urge other elected officials and the media to dispel misinformation around COVID-19. We encourage allies to take action by reiterating the correct information on the virus, holding bystander intervention trainings, and by reporting hate incidents to www.StandAgainstHatred.org. Together, we must combat xenophobia.