South Bend Tribune
The coronavirus pandemic has forced adjustments in the way the census has been conducted.
But one thing hasn’t changed: the importance of getting an accurate count.
Even in normal times, getting people to respond to the once-in-a-decade census is a challenge.
The new normal has created additional complications. The pandemic has delayed the census, which ordinarily would be wrapped up. Instead, it has been extended through Oct. 31.
The U.S. Census Bureau recently mailed another round of reminder postcards to an estimated 34.3 million households that haven’t responded yet and is sending out in-person census takers.
Here in Indiana, the response rate is at 66.6%, compared with the 69.6% self-response rate it ended with in 2010.
There’s a lot at stake: The information collected in the census is used by the federal government to determine how to distribute hundreds of billions of dollars — toward Medicaid, food stamps, highway projects and other programs. Congress also uses the results to reapportion seats in the House of Representatives for the next decade.
The Indianapolis Business Journal has noted that nearly $18 billion is on the line for Indiana, which is how much in annual federal funding the state receives based on population data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
It’s estimated that for every person missed in the count, Indiana will lose about $10,000 in federal funds over the next decade. The chairman of the Every Hoosier Child Counts! coalition wrote last year that children from birth to age 4 and ages 5 to 9 are the two age groups most likely to be undercounted, with African American and Hispanic young children having a higher net undercount than other children. One in five children were missed in the 2010 census because their family did not return the form; four in five lived in families that returned the form but didn’t include the young child on it.
You can still mail in the paper questionnaire sent this spring, call 844-330-2020, or go online to 2020census.gov. It’s easy to complete, and doing so supports your community. With so much at stake, it’s critical that everyone be counted.
Send comments to [email protected].
