The confidentiality of census records is protected by Title 13 of the United States Code. No data or tabulation can be created that could be used to identify a person. Individual documents may not be published for at least 72 years. Naleo.org/census2020 is a resource for the Latin American community. The decennial census, which is conducted every 10 years, is a comprehensive census of the entire U.S. population. It just asks a few questions about each person and each household. The American Community Survey (ACS), which has been conducted continuously since the early 2000s, is an ongoing survey of only a subset of the population. The CEA asks dozens of questions on a variety of topics to gather information on the demographic, social, economic and housing characteristics of the population. The Census Counts censuscounts.org coalition website is a good resource for most census questions, including country-specific information. Through a process of contact with each household, congregate neighborhoods (such as college dormitories, barracks, or prisons), and homeless support facilities (such as housing or soup kitchens), the Census Bureau will attempt to count the entire U.S. population in 2020.

The contact process includes a series of mailings and advertisements. Non-responding households are visited by a specially trained staff member, called a clinic, who can collect census information. In the United States, the census is officially a big problem (see How the census works to know exactly how big it is). Originally, the census was supposed to be a way to count them all, so that members of the House of Representatives could be properly assigned to the states. Every 10 years, there was a census, and states with more people had more members at home. Over time, the government has become much more complicated, and today the federal government allocates billions of dollars to the states for all sorts of programs, much of which is population-based. The census provides the only official head number. The U.S. Constitution requires that a census be conducted every 10 years to enumerate all people living in the United States, whether citizens or not.1 An accurate census of population is required by law and serves as the basis for equitable political representation.

It plays an important role in many areas of public life. Although it is mandatory to take the census – and answer all the questions – people sometimes leave a question blank. The Census Bureau uses a statistical procedure to fill in missing responses. Census Day has passed, but if you haven`t completed your online form yet, you still have time before the Census Bureau comes to you. We`ll tell you what to do. According to the Census Bureau website, you have between May 27 and August 14 before census participants conduct home interviews for those who did not respond. It is not yet known how the coronavirus outbreak will affect the personal census. For more information on what the Census Bureau will be asking for in the 2020 census and why, see PRB “Why are they asking this? What everyone needs to know about the 2020 Census questions. The real risk of not responding to the census is lack of funding and political representation, says Kristen Seefeldt, an associate professor at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan.

It is very likely that someone will notice if you don`t fill out your form and return it. After April 1 of a census year, all responses received from the U.S. Census Bureau are compared to major lists of U.S. residents. If your answer has not been received – or if you have not completed all the questions on your form – someone from the census will contact you to obtain this information. This is the easiest way to fill out the form. You will need your census identification number from the document that the office sent you in March. For 2020, the Census Bureau encourages U.S. citizens to complete the census online and use a special code they receive in the mail. (If you don`t have the code, you can still fill it out online with your address.) The census website states this message: “Everyone living in the United States and its five territories is required by law to be counted in the 2020 Census.” What does this mean in practice? If you don`t fill out the form, will you get into trouble? The Census Act of 1790 established — and all U.S. censuses were based on it — the concept of “habitual residence,” which is where a person lives and sleeps most of the time.

Identifying habitual residence is easy for most people. But not everyone has a residential address, and some people live in more than one residence at different times of the year. According to the Census Bureau, it is illegal not to complete the census. If you don`t fill it out or intentionally answer a question incorrectly, you can theoretically face a fine of up to $5,000. Experts say it`s unlikely you`ll have to spend thousands of dollars at the Census Bureau if you don`t respond, but you should still make it a priority. Going forward, Wolf predicts accurate counting issues in low-income areas, which tend to have less Wi-Fi access if COVID-19 prevents census participants from going door-to-door much longer. “The importance of responding to the census and making sure your community has an accurate enumeration cannot be overstated,” she says. “We have to live with the results for the next 10 years. From April 16 to June 19, census participants will work with colleges, seniors` centres, prisons and other major institutions to count all those who live there.