The 2020 Census “is all about money and power,” Kenneth C. Wilkins told the Wake Forest Town Board Tuesday night.
The power is about the number of seats in the U.S. Congress, where North Carolina has 13. “There is a good chance for North Carolina to have another seat,” Wilkins said, but that means competing with other states because the membership of the House of Representatives is set at 435. If North Carolina gains another seat because of population growth there has to be a corresponding loss of a seat in another state.
The money? Wilkins, who is employed by the U.S. Census Bureau and headquartered in Raleigh, said the federal government returns $675 million to the states each year. How much each state receives is another function of what its population is. Gain more people, get more money.
His mission in Wake Forest Tuesday night was to encourage the town, town commissioners, community leaders, faith leaders, and neighborhood leaders to begin organizing to make sure that all the people in town are counted when the Census forms are filled out on April 1, 2020. The forms will be mailed in mid-March to all households in the country, and it is essential that they be filled out to count every member of that household, even babies still in the hospital. You can also respond to the question in the Census online or by telephone.
The problem is that a number of populations are undercounted or not counted, Wilkins said. That includes children and homeless people. It could also include unregistered immigrants who may be fearful of having their information revealed. That can not happen, Wilkins said, because he and all other Census workers are sworn to keep private information private.
After April 1, Census workers will begin working through neighborhoods, knocking on the door of each house where a Census form has not been returned or reported. Wilkins said they will go to each house on three separate dates and even go to a neighbor to ask about the family if there is no response.
To become part of the Complete Count and partner with the Census Bureau, go to www.census.gov/partners. You will receive a community outreach toolkit with a handout, printable stickers and outreach tips and tricks, mapping tools to better understand the demographic composition and characteristics of your community, and resources on Census Bureau confidentiality and data security efforts to keep census responses secure.
And remember that the Census needs workers. To find a job with the Census, go to www.2020census.gov/jobs or call 1-855-562-2020. “We are hiring 6,500 people in North Carolina to get the job done,” Willkins said.
