Census 2020 – Time to Act October 30, 2017 www.unitedphil forum .org
Welcome Forum’s Census Project: ̶ 2‐year funding from The Joyce Foundation ̶ Purpose to engage regional funders in ensuring a more thorough and accurate census count in 2020. Objectives include: To educate philanthropy serving organizations (PSOs) on the importance of the 2020 census and the role for their grantmaking members To mobilize regional funders to advocate for policy improvements for the 2020 census To increase funding support for the 2020 census among regional funders
Agenda & Speakers Status of Census 2020 Funding & Design: ̶ Terri Ann Lowenthal, Consultant, Funders Committee for Civic Participation, Funders Census Initiative State & Local Government’s Role: ̶ Daranee Petsod, President, Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR) Partnering with Nonprofits: ̶ Debra McKeon, Senior Vice President, Council of Michigan Foundations and Joan Bowman, External Affairs Officer, Michigan Nonprofit Association www.unitedphil forum .org
Status of Census 2020 Funding & Design Terri Ann Lowenthal, Consultant, Funders Committee for Civic Participation, Funders Census Initiative www.unitedphil forum .org
Census? Why Us? Civic engagement opportunity, at its core Nonpartisan, most inclusive government activity with wide‐ranging, far‐reaching consequences for policy decisions and well‐being of all communities and all Americans Basis for constitutional guarantee of equal representation at federal/state/local levels Fair and equitable distribution of public resources and private sector investments $600b+ annually in federal assistance distributed to states/localities based on census‐derived data Data inform and guide philanthropic strategies, goals, investments, grantee proposals, grantee progress and evaluations Understanding and addressing social and economic inequalities Targeting philanthropic investments wisely; measuring outcomes objectively You know what you know, and you do what you do, because of census data. Your work depends on a good census. It’s that simple.
Why Worry? Census doesn’t count all population groups equally well “Hard to count” groups include: People of color (esp. young men, ages 18−49) Low income households (renters), urban & rural Young children (ages 0−4), esp. Black and Latino Limited English Proficiency and foreign born households Single, female‐headed households Young mobiles Result: higher rates of undercounting that skew census data and other statistics for next 10 years Non‐Hispanic White, higher‐income households overcounted
2020 Census At Risk: A Perfect Storm? Insufficient & delayed annual funding (appropriations) Congress set unrealistic 2020 Census cap on cost (at/below 2010 Census) Administration’s initial funding request for FY18 (~$1.5 billion) inadequate Revised lifecycle cost: $15.6 billion (+$3.3 billion) Revised FY18 funding request: +$187 million … still not enough? At risk: census operations specifically designed to reach hard‐to‐count communities Complex new IT system already over budget and behind schedule First high‐tech census : cyber security threats, real and perceived; digital divide Climate of fear : threatens participation in many communities Legislative threat : proposals to add citizenship & legal status questions to 2020 Census Leadership vacuum : Unexpected resignation of Census Director; no nominee in sight
Why Now? The 2020 Census is Starting… In 27 months … 2020 Census counting begins. In three months … ‘dress rehearsal’ starts in Providence Co., RI (2018 End‐to‐End Census Test) Six Regional Census Centers will open next spring (Atlanta; Chicago; Dallas – for Denver region; Los Angeles; New York; Philadelphia) On‐line forms and telephone assistance (CQA) available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Russian, Arabic, and Tagalog; paper forms available in English and Spanish (more languages for 2020) What’s missing? Testing in rural/remote communities and on American Indian reservation; no advertising campaign or Partnership Program in dry‐run Reminder: April 1 st is Census Day (by law) – a reference point. Census operations start well before, and households can respond before that day. • In 2018 … finish In‐Office Address Canvassing; prepare for In‐Field Address Canvassing in Spring 2019
Why Now? (Continued) By April 1, 2018 … Census Bureau must submit census questions to Congress ̶ Major revisions could include: Combined race and ethnicity question New Middle Eastern/North African (MENA) category New same‐sex partner and spouse categories (household relationship question) OMB will issue final revisions (if any) to federal policy on race and ethnicity data (the “Standards”) by 12/1/17, paving way for revised 2020 Census/ACS questions • By December 15, 2017 … state, local, & tribal governments register for Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA) program February−May/June 2018 , review/verify/update address lists (sent on flow basis); 120 days to return For other key address list building milestones, see Funders Census Initiative 2020 Key 2020 Census Milestones fact sheet
Time to Act Support policy work, as final design and operational decisions are made Rapid response capacity needed through 2020 Start grantee education and planning for GOTC (Get Out the Count) campaigns NOW! Grantmaking in 2018 Contribute to collaborative funding efforts (national/state): Informational materials, such as digital interactive HTC map, analysis of census‐guided program allocations, messaging research Messaging research and development (targeting HTC) Organize state/regional campaigns
Get Involved Join FCCP’s Funders Census Initiative (FCI) 2020 https://funderscommittee.org/working‐group/4/ Keely Monroe (kmonroe@funderscommittee.org) Coordinate with & contribute to Democracy Funders Collaborative Census Subgroup Gary Bass, Bauman Foundation (gbass@baumanfoundation.org) Karen Narasaki, Consultant to Bauman (karen@narasakijustice.com) United Philanthropy Forum https://www.givingforum.org/search?keys=2020%20Census Spread the word through philanthropic‐serving organization (PSO) meetings and conferences (national, regional, and state focused groups)
̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ Resources Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights https://civilrights.org/census/ 2020 Census Hard‐to‐Count digital map (CUNY Mapping Service) http://www.censushardtocountmaps2020.us “Counting for Dollars: The Role of the Decennial Census in the Geographic Distribution of Federal Funds” by Andrew Reamer http://civilrightsdocs.info/pdf/census/CountingForDollars‐Intro.pdf The Census Project https://thecensusproject.org NALEO Educational Fund http://www.naleo.org/census2020 FCCP’S Funders Census Initiative (FCI) 2020 (Key2020 Census Milestones fact sheet) https://funderscommittee.org/resource/key‐2020‐census‐milestones/
State & Local Government’s Role Daranee Petsod, President, Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR) www.unitedphil forum .org
Crucial Role of Local & State Governments • Funding and participating in the LUCA program • Funding and promoting outreach and GOTC efforts • Convening Complete Count Committees to guide the development and implementation of outreach strategies
Connect with State & Local Governments • The point agency will depend on the state and municipality • Tap your existing relationships with an agency and/or elected official • Focus on mutual goal: equitable allocation of federal dollars www.unitedphil forum .org
What States Government Can Do • Promote and fund LUCA • Ensure effectiveness of the CCC • Include expertise on HTC communities • Facilitate statewide coordination and partnerships • Invest in planning and outreach • Develop effective partnerships with local governments • Advocate with the U.S. Census Bureau to ensure effective canvassing (2019) and enumeration (2020) in HTC tracts • Advocate for additional federal resources for and attention to areas hit by natural disasters • Fund training of linguistically and culturally competent individuals to help them qualify for Census canvassing and enumeration jobs
What Local Governments Can Do • Contract with linguistically and culturally competent CBOs to: • Do address canvassing in HTC geographic areas • Conduct outreach efforts in HTC communities www.unitedphil forum .org
What Funders Can Do to Ensure State & Local Gov’t Engagement • LUCA: Educate local governments and support public‐private partnerships and pilot programs • Fund monitoring of state and local planning processes • Support advocacy to increase state and local public funding for Census
What Else Funders Can Do • Commission research to call attention to HTC populations and regions • Directly support outreach and education to HTC communities www.unitedphil forum .org
Resources GCIR ʼ s 2020 Census Resource Page: https://www.gcir.org/initiatives/census‐2020
Partnering with Nonprofits Joan Bowman, External Affairs Officer, Michigan Nonprofit Association Debra McKeon, Senior Vice President, Council of Michigan Foundations www.unitedphil forum .org
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