ANNOUNCEMENT

New York State Census Equity Fund Awards $500,000 to equip nonprofits for 2020 Census outreach

(May 20, 2019) NEW YORK, NY – The New York State Census Equity Fund today announced its first round of grants totaling more than $500,000 to six organizations to help support efforts across the state to reach hard-to-count communities in the 2020 Census.

Read the full press release .
CENSUS IN THE NEWS
CENSUS EVENTS
Early Childhood Funders Collaborative Invites You to:


Wednesday, June 5th, 1:00-2:00 pm
Webinar

The Decennial Census happens every ten years and it is the only time we count everyone--adults, children and babies, citizens, and immigrants. Census data informs the allocation of federal, state, and local dollars while states, localities, and businesses use census data for community planning, including where to open new stores and distribute school funding. 

Yet, in 2010, one in ten young children were missed in the Census, mostly due to households leaving them off in the questionnaire. A complete count of young children in the Census is critical to the child's and family's access to resources such as housing, child care, equitable education, and health care. Early childhood funders also face obstacles in advocating for children and families when Census data are unreliable and incomplete. 

Join us for a conversation with and for funders to explore the factors contributing to young children's under-count in the Census and actionable strategies that funders can undertake to ensure that every child is counted when the next Census takes place on April 1, 2020.


Speakers:
·    Kiki Jamieson, Ph.D., President, The Fund for New Jersey
·   Florencia Gutierrez, Senior Policy Associate, KIDSCOUNT at The Annie E. Casey Foundation
·   Moderated by Deborah Stein, Network Director, Partnership for America's Children


NACO - Counting All Children in the 2020 Census

The 2010 Decennial Census missed 2.2 million young children ages 0-4, or one in 10 young children. If the Census had counted every child correctly, states would have received over a half billion dollars a year more in funding just from five federal programs. The undercount of young children has been growing for the last 40 years, and this trend may continue in 2020. The Count All Kids Campaign is developing tools that counties and Complete Count Committees can use to help count every child in their community.

Deborah Stein, Network Director for the Partnership for America's Children, and a leader of the Count All Kids Campaign discussed the following:
  • Why counting all children helps them thrive
  • Which children are at risk of being missed in the Census, and why they are missed
  • What tools they are developing to improve the count of young children
  • What steps counties can take now and in 2020



NALEO - A Briefing on the Latino State of the Census 2020

Earlier this month, NALEO Educational Fund and the National Latino Commission on Census 2020 hosted a briefing of the Latino State of Census 2020.
During the briefing, the Commission released a new report outlining its findings and recommendations for how Congress, the Administration and the U.S. Census Bureau can act now to ensure the Latino community is fully counted in Census 2020.
Speakers included: Arturo Vargas, NALEO Educational Fund CEO, California Secretary of State and National Latino Census Commission Co-Chair Alex Padilla and Miami-Dade County School Board Member and National Latino Census Commission Co-Chair Lubby Navarro.
A message from
Jeff Behler,
Director, US Census Bureau - New York Region
Dear Partners,

Communities across our Region have always believed that everyone matters and that people can make a difference. It is extremely important that community partners like you work diligently together to build trust to remove fears and barriers so your neighborhood can benefit from a complete and accurate Census count. Partnering with other stakeholders such as faith leaders, libraries, schools, politicians, local non-profits, and so many other trusted voices has proven to be a successful strategy. You all are the safe havens for children, adults and the hard to count population. Your organizations play a major role by providing information, motivation, computers, wireless hotspots, services, and staffing to help people apply for 2020 Census Jobs and to assist with the upcoming 2020 Census questionnaire.
 
We need you, the trusted partners of the community, to help us succeed at reaching every resident. We are depending on everybody’s participation in the 2020 Census, and your ability to reach and influence others, by being the trusted voices in the community, you are the most vital and valued component to this process. I continue to be energized by all the work you are doing in preparation for the 2020 Census as highlighted by the articles in the attached newsletter .

Thank you for all of your efforts.

Jeff T. Behler

FOUNDATION RESOURCES

Federal Policy Update - This document has been developed by FCI consultant Terri Ann Lowenthal. The national collaborative has asked that we don't post this memo publicly, but we wanted to make sure you had access to her analysis of what is happening at the federal level around funding and stakeholders. Key highlights are:

  • The FY 2020 House appropriations subcommittee bill that has jurisdiction over the Commerce Department includes the level of funding that stakeholders recommended for the Census Bureau: $8.45 billion for the bureau -- more than $2 billion in new funding for the 2020 Census above the president’s request.
  • The bill also includes a provision that would prohibit questions on the 2020 Census that were not a part of the 2018 End-to-End Census Test in Providence, RI. Note that the provision does not refer directly to the citizenship question.
  • One of the stakeholder asks is for Congress to direct the Census Bureau to expand its Mobile Response Initiative, to include more staff and fixed location Questionnaire Assistance Centers of sufficient scope and structure to reach hard-to-count population groups in diverse communities -- including rural areas and on American Indian reservations.



UPDATED: Key 2020 Census Milestones 
Funders Census Initiative (FCI) has released the updated version of the  Key 2020 Census Milestones , which reflects the Census Bureau's latest planning and timeline as reflected in Operational Plan 4.0. This document should be reviewed in conjunction with this recently updated document for funders:


Did you know that 95% of households will receive a census questionnaire in the mail? And less than 1% will be counted in person? To learn more about how people will be counted in 2020, click on the info-graphic above.

Find out Why Your Foundation Should Become a 2020 Census Official Partner by clicking here .
GRANTEE RESOURCES

In 2020, the   Census   will be conducted primarily online for the first time. Like past e-government efforts, this will likely impact libraries and libraries' technology resources as staff work to assist people in participating in the Census. The 2020 Census also presents an opportunity to increase public awareness and use of Census data. To best position libraries to support our communities in the 2020 Census, ALA is engaging with the Census Bureau and other stakeholders to ensure that libraries are informed and represented in the policy discussions and planning process. ALA is advocating for a fair, accurate, and inclusive Census that recognizes the roles libraries will play in this vital civic effort. Click here for the full Libraries Guide to the 2020 Census.

For grantees looking to engage in census-related activities, refer them to   NY Counts 2020.   NY Counts 2020 is a coalition of nearly 100 diverse nonprofits/groups from across New York State developing a state-strategy focused on advocacy efforts, and providing information, resources and technical assistance as it relates to 'get out the count' measures to community-based organizations. 

This email was generated by Engage New York in support of the NYS Census Equity Fund; a pooled fund focused on supporting and mobilizing get out the count efforts to ensure every New Yorker is counted in Census 2020.