02/01/2020
Here are the minutes from the Census meeting in January...
Date and Location: January 23, 2020 at Ramona Elementary School
The RNA meeting started at 7:00 P.M.
NEW BUSINESS
Guest Speaker Linda Marshall-Smith:
She is a Partnership Specialist in the U.S. Census Bureau. She works in the Los Angeles Regional Census Center. The U.S. Census Bureau is the federal government’s largest
statistical agency.
The U.S. Constitution requires that the Census Bureau counts America’s population each decade.
They provide current facts and figures about America’s people, places, and the economy. All answers are kept confidential and safe which is required by the privacy laws.
These facts and figures are used to determine the distribution of $675 billion in federal funds, grants and support to the states and counties. This money is spent on schools, hospitals, roads, public works and other community programs.
The census data are used in determining how many seats each state gets in the House of Representatives. After each decade’s census, state officials redraw the boundaries of the congressional and state legislative districts in their states to account for population shifts.
2020 Census Schedule
Every household will have the option of responding online, by mail, or by telephone.
March 12 – March 20: Everyone will be invited to respond online to the Census.
March 16 – March 24: Every household will get a reminder letter.
March 26 – April 3: The households that have not answered the census will get a reminder postcard.
April 8 – April 16: The households that have not answered the census will get a reminder letter and paper questionnaire.
April 20- April 27: The households that have still not answered the census will get a final Reminder postcard and paper questionnaire before they follow up in person.
2020 Census Questions
1. The Census Bureau asks for the name of each person in the household. This way each person is included in the total population count.
2. They ask for the s*x of each person to create statistics about men and women. These statistics are used in planning and funding government programs. They are also used to enforce laws, regulations, and policies against discrimination in government programs and in society.
3. They ask about each person’s age and date of birth in order to determine and allocate money for programs for specific age groups.
4. They ask each person if they are of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin to have statistics about this ethnic group. The data collected from these answers are needed by federal agencies to monitor compliance with antidiscrimination provisions in the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act.
5. The Census Bureau ask about each person’s race to create statistics about each racial group in the country. This data is also used by the federal agencies to monitor compliance with the antidiscrimination laws. State governments use the data to determine the congressional, state, and local voting districts.
6. They ask about the relationship of each person in a household to one central person to create estimates about families, households and other groups. Relationship data are used in planning and funding government programs that provide funds and service to families, people living or raising children alone, grandparents living with grandchildren or other households that qualify for additional assistance.
For further information, please go to their website which is 2020census.gov or call Linda Marshall-Smith at 747-270-9908.
The meeting ended at 8:00 P.M.
