I’ll be honest with you. Until recently, I didn’t really understand why the Census really mattered all that much. For example, did you know that U.S. Census Bureau data helps communities respond to natural disasters and secure funding for hospitals and fire departments? I didn’t. And I also didn’t understand the direct relationship between counting people in a given area and then providing services and supports for people with disabilities based on those numbers. As a parent of a child with a disability, this is HUGE!
I reached out to a friend who knows more than me, and this is what I learned:
1. Every 10 years since 1790, the government tries to get an accurate count of everybody living in the US. The data is used to distribute federal funds for essential services such as Medicaid, Head Start, welfare and social security, and local needs such as support centers for families, youth centers and parks.
What this means to me: If my son has cerebral palsy and requires a wheelchair, our local playground could receive funds for accessible features- all based on census data. Or if my child relies on school lunch, I want to make sure they have counted all the children in my district who need it so our communities school lunch fund has enough to feed them all.
2. The Census data directly determines the number of representatives your county and state holds in congress.
What this means to me: My family’s needs are represented in state and US legislatures. For families with living with disabilities, we know how important it is to have advocates at the policy level.
3. Filling out the Census is easy and fast. It takes about five minutes to fill out. You can go to my2020census.gov to complete it. (It can be confusing to know how to count your family if you’ve relocated or you’re living with extended family—you can read more here: https://2020census.gov/en/who-to-count.html)
You may also have a census worker come to your house to collect the information. And good news— the deadline to fill out the census from home has been extended to October 31st. You still have time to do it today!
What this means: Filling out the census tells the government that you and your family count and that you deserve its services. You have five minutes for that. What are you waiting for? (here’s the link again, just to make it easier my2020census.gov)
It is important to note that the Census is safe. The Census is not allowed, by law, to share any of the info with any other Gov departments (even if you are undocumented).
As of August of this year, 2 million young children have not been counted (read more here: https://countallkids.org/ ). If these children are not counted, then the data collected in the census will not represent our most vulnerable. And that means the programs they need will not be fully supported. For each person counted in the census, your state can get thousands of dollars for programs like Medicaid, early childhood education and family support services. So if we miss counting our kids, our state will have less funding.
We Count Kids is an awesome book available for all families to read for free online (in 15 languages!). Check it out!: https://www.wecountkids.org/copy-of-read-we-count
