Census takers making last rounds
Reported by Adam Michael in the Gettysburg Times
The Adams County Complete Count Committee (ACCC) is making last efforts to ensure everyone is counted for the United States 2020 Census.
In addition to enumerators rounding up yet-to-be counted members of the population, the ACCC will organize groups of volunteers to camp out in frequently-trafficked areas such as food pantries and post offices to urge members of the population to be counted, said Complete Count Committee Chairman Leon Reed.
“Arendtsville and York Springs are the areas with the lowest self-response rates, so we will have volunteers with Chrome Books out to ask if people have done their Census yet,” he said. “We hope to pick up some stragglers from that.”
Potential volunteers should contact Census2020@SCCAP.org for more information.
The official end of the census has yet to be determined, though President Donald Trump’s administration is seeking for it to be completed by the end of September. A court order by the National Urban League is still challenging the plan, pushing for the count to continue through Oct. 31, the cutoff date publicized for several months before a change of course in August. That order was extended into next week, according to the Associated Press.
The ACCC is planning as if the census will conclude Sept. 30, Reed said.
“If we get another month, maybe there’ll be some tidying to do, but we don’t want to count on that extra month,” he said.
Pennsylvania has now received responses from 95.1 percent of known housing units, up from 68.6 percent that self-responded prior to sending people door to door, according to the United States Census website. Adams County had a self-response rate of 75.7 percent, tied for seventh in the state.
Ascertaining Adams County’s response rate since door-to-door interviews began has been difficult, Reed said. He and several other county commissions have requested the information but have been told it’s not available yet.
“I suspect it’s a case that because it’s on the fly, it’s hard to disaggregate the numbers,” he said. “They’ve told us everyone is asking for the same thing.”
Reed encouraged participation from every citizen. Census results determine how billions of dollars in federal funding flow into states and communities each year. This can be lead to more funding for health clinics, fire departments, schools and other public resources, according to the census website. The results also determine how many seats in Congress each state gets.
Reed said he can understand why some people might feel uncomfortable sharing even basic personal information, but reminded those yet to be counted that the census took pride in ensuring privacy.
“It’s potentially a quarter-million fine and serious jail time if you allow individually identifiable information outside the census bureau,” he said. “They spend megabucks on the computer security side of things, so that information is as secure as it is possible for information to be.”
For those who believe they’ve already submitted their forms, Reed said there is no harm in entering the information again to be sure.
“If in doubt, submit your information,” he said. “If you did it once before, it’ll be screened out.”
The goal remains to get every citizen counted, Reed said.
“There are sure to be some people who won’t be reached,” he said. “We want to minimize that number, but there are some people who will not be persuaded this is a good thing to do.”