Q: What is the Census?A: The Census is a headcount of everyone residing in the United States on April 1, 2020. It has been mandated by the US Constitution (Article 1, Section 2) since 1790, and it occurs every 10 years. The Census counts people of all ages, races, and ethnic groups. Population totals from the decennial Census determine the number of seats each state has in the House of Representatives; the totals are also used to redraw federal and state legislative districts. The Census population counts are used to determine the allocation of federal dollars to states, cities and counties, and to help citizens and policymakers understand demographic, economic, and geographic trends needed to inform critical business decisions.
Q: When is Census 2020?
A: Census Day is April 1, 2020 but the online tool will start accepting responses in mid March. Some other programs will be starting in March as well.
Q: How can I respond to the Census?
A: In 2020 you can respond to the census online (using a computer or a smart phone), over the telephone, or by submitting a paper form. Early in 2020 all census addresses will receive a card inviting the residents to complete the census. The 2020 Census provide people with a URL so they can complete the census online, a toll-free telephone number if they want to call in their responses, and an address to request a paper form.
Q: Will a census worker come to my door?
A: In most cases, no. The Census Bureau will send out multiple notices encouraging people to respond. Some of these mailings will include the census form. Census workers will only visit those addresses that did not respond to a previous mailing.
Q: How will I know that someone is from the census?
A: All census workers carry official government badges marked with their name. You can ask them for a picture ID from another source to confirm their identity. If you are still are not certain about their identity, please call the Regional Census Center toll-free number to confirm they are employed by the Census Bureau.
Q: Who should be counted?
A: All residents living at an address as of April 1, 2020 should be counted. This includes all children from birth and older living at an address, grandparents, family members and other, non-relatives living at the address.
Q: What about college students? What about people in other places?
A: College students living in a dormitory on April 1, 2020 will be counted at their dormitory. People living in prisons, people living in shelters, people in the military, or people living in other group quarters will be counted where they live. College students living in off campus housing should be counted at the off campus housing if that is where they living most of the time.
Q: Will the Census form be available in multiple languages?
A: Yes. The on-line version of the census form will be available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Russian, Arabic, Tagalog, Polish, French, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, and Japanese. The Census Bureau will provide video and print language guides, language glossaries, and language identification cards in a total of 59 non-English languages.
Q; Do I have to enter a census ID number?
A: No. The census form will ask you for your address and use that information to verify your location and ensure that no one else has completed your census form.
Q: What data is released?
A: The Census Bureau releases aggregated data, i.e., information about the people living in a defined area, not individual person level data. The privacy of your responses is guaranteed by law. The form does not ask for your Social Security number, bank account information or financial assets. Name and addressed are asked only to insure that each person in the US is counted once where they live.
Q: Will my individual responses be reported to another government agency?
A: No. By law, the Census Bureau cannot share respondent answers with the FBI, the CIA, ICE or even the Present of the United States.
Q: What if I choose not to answer a question? Will the Census Bureau follow up?
A: The accuracy of the census depends on everyone providing accurate answers to all of the questions on the census form. However, if you decide not to answer a question the Census Bureau may follow up with you as part of its quality control process. The Census Bureau’s Nonresponse Follow Up program (NRFU) will send a census enumerator out to addresses that have not submitted a census form, but there are no plans to contact all addresses that skip questions..
Q: When will the Census counts be released?
A: Counts for reapportionment must be delivered to the President of the United States by December 31, 2020. Counts will be released to the states for redistricting purposes by April 1, 2021.
Q: What if I have questions later?
A: If you have additional questions about the Greeley/Weld County Complete Count Campaign, please contact Chris Garcia at the City of Greeley by phone at (970) 336-4288 or by e-mail at
chris.garcia@greeleygov.com.
A: For more information on statewide and federal efforts around the census, call the Regional Census Center at 1-800-852-6159 (toll-free) or visit
https://www.census.gov/about/regions/denver.html.