By: Christian M. Williams @mypublictweeter
The 2020 Decennial Census is right around the corner! April 1 will mark the one-year countdown before residents are asked to submit this very important information.
As part of these efforts, many municipalities and governments across the country have formed Complete Count Committees (CCC). These committees educate, engage with and motivate residents to participate in the Census. (See ELGL article: U.S. Census 2020 in Marin County)
On February 25, Goodyear’s Mayor formally signed a proclamation establishing our very own CCC. More than 20 residents applied to be on the committee and represent 15 geographically diverse neighborhoods across the city, including our hard-to-count communities (those with a low response rate in the 2010 Census).
During our first CCC meeting, held last week, committee members, Census employees and city staff met for introductions and to discuss the Census process, our city’s rapid growth, changes to the Census and what is at stake. We had a lot of great discussion about why people wanted to be involved; ideas that came up included getting our fair share, making sure their neighborhoods aren’t forgotten and a general excitement for volunteering. We also discussed some fears associated with taking the Census.
Many of our committee members are excited to bring a fun Census activity to our upcoming city Easter egg hunt! We are planning a fun game with jelly beans to show the significance of Census funding per person, per year.
In addition, at our next official committee meeting, in May, we will focus on any new Census updates (such as the citizenship question) and brainstorm engagement tactics.
What are your communities doing to prepare for the 2020 Census? #census2020