Census Day 2020

Franklin County residents will be counted through the summer of 2020 and it is critical for every person in our community to be counted. The federal government uses census data to fund programs that families rely on. Over $33.5 billion in federal spending is allocated to Ohio per year based on 2010 Census data for programs like: Medicaid, Medicare, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, WIC (Women, Infants, and Children), school lunches, SNAP, Head Start, and so many more programs. For every person not counted in Ohio, that’s $1,814 lost per year for a decade in federal funding.

The Impact on Young Children: 

The 2020 Census will help determine how more than $675 billion in federal funding is distributed to communities for the next 10 years—basically, an entire childhood. When young children are not counted, support for programs, such as health insurance, hospitals, child care, food assistance, schools, and early childhood development, is impacted because the more children there are, the greater the need. Census data are also the basis of survey data that measure a wide range of characteristics about young children and their communities. When census counts are incomplete, survey estimates are inaccurate, impacting the quality of decisions made by all data users.

Children under 5 are some of the hardest to count, but if we miss out on including them, we miss out on funding that will impact the next ten years of their life. At Action for Children, we’re working with parents and child care providers in our community to make sure all infants and children are counted.

Learn more about the 2020 Census by visiting these local, state, and federal resources: 

Important Dates for the 2020 Census:

  • January 2020:The Census Bureau begins counting the population in remote Alaska.
  • April 1, 2020:Census Day is observed nationwide. By this date, every home will receive an invitation to participate in the 2020 Census. Once the invitation arrives, you should respond for your home in one of three ways: online, by phone, or by mail. When you respond to the census, you tell the Census Bureau where you live as of April 1, 2020.
  • April 2020:Census takers begin visiting college students who live on campus, people living in senior centers, and others who live among large groups of people. Census takers also begin conducting quality check interviews to help ensure an accurate count.
  • May 2020:The Census Bureau begins visiting homes that haven’t responded to the 2020 Census to make sure everyone is counted.
  • December 2020:The Census Bureau delivers apportionment counts to the President and Congress as required by law.
  • March 31, 2021:By this date, the Census Bureau will send redistricting counts to states. This information is used to redraw legislative districts based on population changes.

The Census is Safe:

Personal information is protected by law and sworn U.S. Census Bureau personnel, and used only in aggregate to form statistics. Computer systems at the Census have been updated with the highest-level security. And the individual information or family information cannot, by law, be shared with any law enforcement, taxing, or other government authority. Personal Census data is held in strict confidentiality for 72 years.