census questions

Everyone is asked about their information (for example, how many people are in the household) as of the same day, April 1, 2020. April 1st is not a deadline. Households began receiving invitations to respond to the 2020 Census between March 12-20. Additional reminders to respond are sent throughout the month. If a household does not respond, a census taker will follow up in person to collect their response between May-July. You are only “late” answering the Census in May. In this time of Covid19 concern, your early response means that a Census worker won’t be put at risk by having to ask for your answers in person.

Think of Pell Grants, highway planning and construction, the national school lunch program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), medical assistance programs, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), special education grants, Head Start, foster care programs, crime victim assistance programs, grants for prevention and treatment of substance abuse problems, career and technical education assistance, wildlife restoration, HIV emergency relief grants, adult education, rural water and waste disposal systems, assistance to firefighters, violence against women grants, and fire management assistance grants. Federal funds for all of these (and more!) are distributed based on the once-in-decade Census data. To see the full list of programs whose funding is based on Census data, go to https://2020census.gov/content/dam/2020census/materials/partners/2020-01/Uses-of-Census-Bureau-Data-in-Federal-Funds-Distribution.pdf