Plans for the 2020 United States Census are already underway to count every person in the country, as defined by the Constitution. Ensuring an accurate count of all persons in the United States is not only essential to the basic principles of a representative government but also to make certain that federal funding is allocated fairly and efficiently for programs such as special education, Child Care and Development Block Grant, Head Start, and Early Start.
California has a lot at stake in ensuring an accurate census and faces additional barriers due to its large “hard to count” population, which includes young children, the elderly, low-income individual, minorities, foreign-born individuals and individuals living in complex housing arrangements. Young children – ages 0-5 – are the hardest to count age group and require additional outreach, attention and education of families, community partners and persons responsible for executing the census. Additionally, the Trump Administration is jeopardizing the count with the last minute inclusion of a citizenship question. This question has not been included in the census for over 50 years and is harmful to the goals of the census; it will dramatically reduce participation by immigrant communities, resulting in an inaccurate census and costly repercussions to California including potential loss of federal dollars and even loss of representation in Congress.
The Census Bureau published a notice on June 8 that allows public comment on the citizenship question. Join advocates across the country as they are seeking to submit 100,000 comments on the citizenship question. Send a strong and clear message opposing the citizenship question through submission of comments by August 7.
See tips and a template for a strong submission here. For more information about the importance of the 2020 Census, check out this op-ed in the San Jose Mercury News.
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