Census launches Census Week of Action starting June 17
Beginning Wednesday, June 17, California will mark a statewide week of action, urging all residents to participate in the 2020 Census as hundreds of thousands of households have filled out their Census forms.
The state and hundreds of outreach partners are organizing a huge push to encourage Census participation, with car caravans, phone banks, webinars, billboards, and virtual events taking place across the state Wednesday, June 17 through Tuesday, June 23.
The campaign includes local partnerships with school districts and food banks to distribute Census materials to families with young children as part of the existing food distribution operations that are essential services during COVID-19.
The continued efforts to galvanize Californians to participate in the Census come after delays to the Census timeline caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, including restrictions on field operations to protect the health and safety of the public and census bureau employees.
The deadline for responding to the Census has been delayed until August 14, and could be extended to October 31, pending an Act of Congress.
Responding to the simple, confidential nine question census survey helps secure billions of dollars for programs in California’s communities, including health care and emergency services critical for responding to crises like COVID-19.
Some key programs funded include Head Start, child nutrition programs, community healthcare centers, mental health programs and roads and parks.
With all the uncertainties Californians face today as well as the ongoing calls for social change and civic engagement, it’s more important than ever for all residents to participate in the Census so local communities can claim their fair share of resources and representation for the next decade. Once 2020 Census data collection is complete, the Census Bureau begins a rigorous process to produce the apportionment counts, redistricting information and other statistical data that helps guide hundreds of billions of dollars in public and private sector spending each year for the Golden State.
It is estimated that for every person uncounted, the state will lose $1,000 for 10 years—totaling $10,000 in critical community funds for every Californian who doesn’t complete the Census.
California is the hardest-to-count state in the nation and has been undercounted in every Census since the very first enumeration in 1790. The state faces several unique challenges which include, but are not limited to the diversity of the population, geographic size of the state and distrust of the federal government.
