Census workers urging communities to prepare now for 2020 count
A line of row-homes in Reading, Pennsylvania. (Matt Smith for Keystone Crossroads)
(Harrisburg) — The 2020 Census isn’t just an arbitrary headcount — billions of dollars are at stake for states.
Census workers are urging midstate communities to take steps now to ensure an accurate population count next year.
The federal government will use the new census data to allocate an estimated $800 billion to states for things like infrastructure, education, and Medicaid.
“Census data helps our communities create jobs, provide housing, prepare for emergencies, build schools, roads, and hospitals,” said Cindy Dwyer, a partnership specialist with the Census Bureau focusing on Cumberland County.
Governor Tom Wolf has created a commission to make sure all Pennsylvanians are counted.
But Dwyer is encouraging all levels of government to establish complete count panels.
She said it’s key to first understand what the playing field is.
“And address those hard-to-count populations by identifying those centers of influence that could help leverage their response and encourage them to self-respond,” Dwyer said.
Dwyer is working with elected and community leaders in an effort to reach historically hard-to-count populations, such as recent immigrants and low-income households.
If left uncounted, Pennsylvania could lose about $2,000 in federal funding per person, per year for the next decade.
The Census Bureau is hiring thousand of temporary employees to complete the count.
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