Brown County community leaders are encouraging residents to ensure that they have responded to the 2020 U.S. Census before the Sept. 30 deadline, as census takers are currently going door to door to homes that haven’t yet responded.
The U.S. Census, which is conducted throughout the entire United States every 10 years, is a counting of every person inside the country and five of its territories that has taken place since 1790, according to U.S. Census Media Specialist Tim Swarens. The results of the census help to determine how billions of dollars are spent by state and national governments.
“If there is an undercount in a community, then citizens put themselves at risk,” he said. “Response rates for the census are key to properly developing Indiana areas like Brown County.”
The census provides statistics that elected officials, businesses, teachers and other community groups use. One of these groups is the Brown County Community Foundation, whose CEO, Maddison Miller, said that many local community projects are impacted by the census.
Billions of dollars in federal, state and local funding go to hospitals, fire departments, education and infrastructure based on census data annually.
“People feel that the census is an abstract concept that doesn’t have any significant impact in the county, but a lot of the community activism and other programs here are affected by census numbers,” she said.
Brown County had a total of 58.9 percent of its residences respond to the U.S. Census in 2010. Currently the county’s response rate is at 57.6 percent, putting Brown County at 88th of the state’s 92 counties for response rate.
“Looking at Indiana specifically, $17 billion each year is going out to benefit our roads, give our citizens programs like SNAP, Pell Grants and so much more,” Miller said. “It really trickles down through all aspects of our community.”
In addition to government funding, Swarens said that the census affects Indiana on a national level. Census data is used for a process called reapportionment, in which each state is reexamined to see if they have equal representation in Congress. According to Miller, Indiana is in danger of losing one of its nine congressional districts, and neighboring states Illinois and Ohio are as well.
If you’ve lost your original census form mailed to you in March, Swarens said that’s no problem because there are multiple ways to complete the census. To do the census online, go to 2020census.gov. Or, you can call the census hotline at 1-800-923-8282.
“They’ve made the process as smooth as possible,” Miller said. “It is really super easy for something so important.”
Rven homes that have no people permanently living in them must be accounted for in the census by the owner, Swarens said. This is particularly important for tourist areas like Brown County that include a lot of rental and vacation homes.
April 1 is considered to be census day because it is the day that the questionnaire asked participants where their permanent residence was at the time. It does not mean that residents can’t respond past that date.
Government-employed census takers are currently out in the field going door to door in Brown County seeking responses from houses that have not yet been accounted for in the census. Swarens said that all census takers are properly trained in social distancing techniques and have been provided with PPE such as face coverings.
Additionally, Miller said that the government is still looking to hire census takers for the rest of the census’ duration. “Payment starts around $19.50 an hour and the government will also cover the mileage traveled,” Miller said.
Despite this, Miller said that with less than 60 days left to complete the census, Brown County is not currently responding well.
“This is not where we wanted to be at this point,” she said. “Everyone should call and text their family and friends, post about the census on social media, anything you can do to raise awareness.”
