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Even babies must be counted

Census: Most undercounted group under age of 5

Posted 10/16/19

When officials say everyone in the United States must be counted for the census, they really mean everyone.

This includes children under the age of 5

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Even babies must be counted

Census: Most undercounted group under age of 5

Posted

When officials say everyone in the United States must be counted for the census, they really mean everyone.

This includes children under the age of 5.

This demographic was the most undercounted in the 2010 Census — an estimated 5 percent of children in that age group weren’t counted, or about 1 million young individuals, the highest of any age group.

So the U.S. Census Bureau has been partnering with local entities to make sure they fill the gap.

About 6.6% of Peoria’s population is under the age of 5, an increase of about 16% in that demographic since 2000, according to the most current estimates. The demographic was 6.4% percent of the population in 2010 and 7.4% in 2000, an increase of nearly 23% population growth in that demographic during that time period, according to the census.

Census information is used for school attendance projections, boundary determinations and new school construction projections.

Population numbers are tied to federal funding at the state and local levels to pay for things such as schools. K-12 education funding comes from the state budget and more than $20 billion in funding for Arizona in fiscal year 2016 was allocated based on data from the 2010 Census.

Earlier this year the city of Peoria formed the Complete Count Committee to make sure every person is counted in the 2020 Census, including this demographic. The ad hoc advisory committee is represented by a cross-section of the community, including the Peoria Unified School District.

Peoria Unified Media Relations Specialist Kerri Staack, a member of the committee, said the district has been creating awareness of the census using various communication tools such as social media and email.

She has connected with the district’s family resource centers that serve families with children who are birth through age five and will continue to provide them with materials and information they can share. The centers served more than 200 families since July. She said attendance for the drop-in program varies per event.

Additionally, Peoria Unified employees will also receive this information through internal communication channels, and social studies teachers touch on the census as it aligns with their standards and serves as a current event for students, she said.

“It is important to gather an accurate count so that we can adequately plan for future growth and project future attendance,” Ms. Staack said. “The information is also used in the allocation of federal funding to the state of Arizona related to schools like Title I, special education and competitive grant funding.”

Every home in the country will receive an invitation to participate in the census by April 1, 2020. Residents will be able to respond via online, phone or mail.

Complete Count Committee co-chair Chris Jacques said the undercount of children has been a persistent issue with the census, and has implications for political representation and federal funding for special education grants, national school lunch program and programs that provide temporary assistance for needy families.

It is a very important issue, he said.

“It is vitally important we engage the school districts and get the information out so that hopefully we can get everybody including children under 5 counted in the next census,” Mr. Jacques said.

The most common situations where the young aren’t counted include, the child splits time between two homes, or the child lives or stays with another family or with another relative such as a grandparent. Other reasons may be the child lives in a lower income household, lives in a household with young parents or a single mom, or is a newborn.

Philip Haldiman can be reached at 623-876-3697, phaldiman@newszap.com, or on Twitter @philiphaldiman.