Let's work together to ensure everyone is counted! [childrennow.org]

By The Children's Movement of California, April 28, 2020

By now, every single household across the country should have received multiple mailers with instructions on how to fill out the 2020 Census. Many community organizations are grappling with how to engage members and families as on-the-ground, door-to-door outreach and engagement strategies -- that have proven to be effective in the past – have been halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic at least until the end of May. Phone calls, text messages, and media outreach strategies are now being used to get the word out. An accurate count is critical – this crisis underscores the need for policymakers to know who lives in each of our communities to plan for providing resources, especially during times of natural disasters, such as fires, and global health emergencies like the one we are experiencing today.

Check Your Local Response Rate
Use the 2020 Response Rate Map Tool to check the 2020 Census response rates by state, county, city, census tract, congressional district, city, town/township, and tribal community. As of today, California's response rate is just over 54%; let's keep pushing to Get Out The Count!

Your Efforts are Making a Difference!
The great news is that concerted, collaborative efforts to raise awareness make a difference. On April 1, organizations like yours posted social media messages, made phone calls, and participated in other awareness-raising efforts that helped increase response rates by 3% from the day before; and that was just the beginning.

Let's keep up the momentum and outreach efforts through August 14 – the new deadline for census responses (Note: The U.S. Census Bureau just requested to extend the collection period to October 31; we will share updates when we know more).

Learn more with these resources from national and state partners, as well as the U.S. Census Bureau on reaching hard-to-count populations, including young children, children living with grandparents and communities of color. Please use these and share them with your networks to help Get Out The Count so that all communities, and especially those that are most vulnerable, get the services and supports they need now and in the future.

Read Our Latest Blog Post

A FOCUS ON GRANDPARENTS
Kids living with their grandparents had a 39% higher risk of being missed in the last census, and in California, more children are living with their grandparents than in any other state.

PARTNER SPOTLIGHT:
EMPOWERING PACIFIC ISLANDER
COMMUNITIES (EPIC) NATIVE HAWAIIAN PACIFIC ISLANDER
(NHPI) 2020 CENSUS PSA CAMPAIGN