Haldiman: From counting calories to counting citizens — a true Thanksgiving
Posted
Census timeline
January 2020: The Census Bureau begins counting the population in remote Alaska.
April 1, 2020: Census Day is observed nationwide. By this date, every home will receive an invitation to participate in the 2020 Census. Once the invitation arrives, you should respond for your home in one of three ways: online, by phone, or by mail. When you respond to the census, you tell the Census Bureau where you live as of April 1, 2020.
April 2020: Census takers begin visiting college students who live on campus, people living in senior centers, and others who live among large groups of people. Census takers also begin conducting quality check interviews to help ensure an accurate count.
May 2020: The Census Bureau begins visiting homes that haven’t responded to the 2020 Census to make sure everyone is counted.
December 2020: The Census Bureau delivers apportionment counts to the President and Congress as required by law.
March 31, 2021: By this date, the Census Bureau will send redistricting counts to states. This information is used to redraw legislative districts based on population changes.
This past weekend may have involved counting calories from the feast you indulged in on Thanksgiving.
Nothing wrong with that. But one thing we should all give thanks for is a different kind of count known as the 2020 U.S. Census.
The count comes every 10 years and workers are now burning off all those calories preparing for the upcoming count next year, officially April 1.
The decade census count is extremely critical because it determines how Arizona municipalities will divvy up the state-shared funding determined by the decade count. State-shared revenues make up about 30% of Peoria’s general fund revenues, according to the city’s finance and budget department.
Response to the 2020 Census helps ensure that more than $675 billion in federal funds are directed to the right places to support education, roads, health care, firefighting and more each year. That’s a lot of money so it is important to make sure it goes to where it is needed most.
The census also determines redistricting in the state and helps guide city planners on how to grow the city with the demographic information it provides.
Full disclosure: I have been chosen by the city of Peoria to sit on its Complete Count Committee, to fight for the complete count of all Peoria residents, and bring awareness to the issue through informative articles published on Independent Newsmedia’s platforms.
The group is an ad hoc advisory committee represented by a cross-section of the community, including schools, businesses, faith-based communities, media, community organizations and others.
I have already written a number of news articles on the subject, but this is my first commentary on the subject and I figured a good place to start would be to focus on the questions the census asks, or those, more appropriately, that won’t be asked.
Remember that question about citizenship the Trump administration was fighting to have put on the survey? The courts blocked the question, so you won’t see it. You will also not be asked for:
Your Social Security number,
Money or donations,
Anything on behalf of a political party,
Your bank or credit card account numbers.
Businesses and citizens’ personal information is kept confidential. The Census Bureau is bound by federal law to protect your information, and your data is used only for statistical purposes. Records may only be released after 72 years.
They take this seriously — All Census Bureau staff take a lifetime oath to protect your personal information, and any violation comes with a penalty of up to $250,000 and/or up to five years in prison.
When it comes to the actual survey, don’t sweat it too much. It will be one of the easiest tests you’ll ever take. There are only a few questions and they should be easily answered. According to the U.S. Censu Bureau, they will ask:
How many people are living or staying at your home on April 1, 2020? This will help include the entire U.S. population and ensure people are counted according to where they live on Census Day.
Whether the home is owned or rented. This will help produce statistics about homeownership and renting. The rates of homeownership serve as one indicator of the nation’s economy. They also help in administering housing programs and informing planning decisions.
About the sex of each person in your home. This allows officials to create statistics about males and females, which can be used in planning and funding government programs. This data can also be used to enforce laws, regulations, and policies against discrimination.
About the age of each person in your home. The U.S. Census Bureau creates statistics to better understand the size and characteristics of different age groups. Agencies use this data to plan and fund government programs that support specific age groups, including children and older adults.
About the race of each person in your home. This creates statistics about race and provides other statistics by racial groups. This data helps federal agencies monitor compliance with anti-discrimination provisions, such as those in the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act.
About whether a person in your home is of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin. These responses help create statistics about this ethnic group. This is needed by federal agencies to monitor compliance with anti-discrimination provisions, such as those in the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act.
About the relationship of each person in your home. This allows the Census Bureau to create estimates about families, households and other groups. Relationship data is used in planning and funding government programs that support families, including people raising children alone.
All these questions lead back to making sure your community gets the funds it needs, and that will make a better America for all of us.
Philip Haldiman is the Peoria Independent News Editor.
