California Complete Count
Once each decade, the U.S. Census Bureau attempts to count every person in the United States. The next enumeration will be April 1, 2020 and will be the first to rely heavily on online responses.
An accurate count is one in which every person is counted once, only once, and in the right place.
The ongoing challenge facing the U.S. Census Bureau is the undercount of certain population groups. That challenge is amplified in California, where more residents are considered traditionally hard to count. Those include foreign-born residents, renters, individuals living in homes without a broadband subscription, people living close to or below the poverty line, and children younger than five years old.
A complete and accurate count of California’s population is essential. The data collected by the decennial Census determines the number of seats each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives and is used to distribute billions of dollars in federal funds to state and local governments.
That is why California has launched a statewide effort to ensure an accurate and complete count of Californians in the 2020 Census. The California Complete Count – Census 2020 Office (California Census Office) is coordinating the State’s outreach and communication strategy, which focuses on the hardest-to-count residents. Working through local governments, Tribal Governments, community-based organizations and media, the state is funding work that will complement work being done nationally by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Counting Nevada County
The County of Nevada is dedicated to achieving a complete count for the 2020 Census. A complete count will ensure that our County receives appropriate Federal funding for vital services like food assistance, housing assistance, childcare, education, employment, veterans services, roads, public transportation, fire prevention, and more to benefit our community.
Connecting Point and the County of Nevada will spearhead the complete count effort in our community, with a focus on bringing together local leaders, business partners, faith-based organizations, schools, community based organizations, and trusted messengers in hard-to-count communities to “get out the count.”
For more information, please contact:
Heather Heckler
Connecting Point
heatherh@connectingpoint.org
530-274-5601
Taylor Wolfe
County Executive Office
Taylor.Wolfe@co.nevada.ca.us
530-265-7020
Hard to Count Map
Many California residents live in areas that, based on demographic, socioeconomic and housing characteristics, may be hard to count in the 2020 Census. The California Census Office has created this interactive map that shows California census tracts and block groups shaded by their California Hard-to-Count Index, a metric that incorporates 14 variables correlated with an area being difficult to enumerate.
Project Timeline
| August 2019 | Form Steering Committees |
| September 2019 | Form Local Complete Count Committees (LCCCs) |
| Create Implementation Plan | |
| October 2019 | Establish Questionnaire Assistance Centers/Kiosks (QACs/QAKs) |
| Train all frontline staff | |
| November 2019 | Implement Outreach Plan |
| March 2020 | |
| March 1 | Service-based enumeration begins |
| March 1 | Group quarters enumeration begins |
| March 12 | U.S. Census Bureau mailing #1 begins arriving by mail |
| March 20-27 | U.S. Census Bureau mailing #2 sent to non-respondents |
| March 30-April 6 | U.S. Census Bureau mailing #3 (postcard) sent to non-respondents |
| April 2020 | |
| April 1 | Census Day! |
| April 12-19 | U.S. Census Bureau Mailing #4 letter & paper questionnaire sent to non-responders |
| April 23-30 | U.S. Census Bureau Mailing #5 it’s not too late postcard |
| May 2020 | |
| May 1 | Implement Non-response Follow-up (NRFU) Plan |
| September 2020 | |
| September 30 | Final Report Due |
Resources
Demographic Populations Considered Least Likely to Respond
Nevada County’s Census 2020 Strategic Plan