2020 Census: Who will be missing?
Did you know you play an important role in shaping your community? By taking about 10 minutes to answer the questions on the 2020 Census, you can help improve the quality of education, childcare, healthcare, and other services for Missouri communities. Mailings with instructions to respond to the census were mailed in mid-March. You can also check out the U.S. Census Bureau website to respond.
The U.S. Census Bureau conducts a census every 10 years to count everyone living in the country and to get a clearer picture of who we are by asking basic demographic questions. On the surface, counting the population seems simple enough, but delve deeper and it’s not that easy. There are several categories of people who historically fall into hard-to-count populations including racial and ethnic minorities, immigrants, children under five, and non-English speakers. Missouri state leaders are working hard to reach the hard-to-count population because federal funding for services is on the line.
The U.S. Census Bureau not only wants a complete count, but it also wants to know whether residents speak a language other than English. The information allows the agency to create statistics that help the government understand population complexity to plan programs for adults and children who speak limited English or don’t speak it at all.
In Missouri, nearly 94% of residents primarily speak English, while six percent primarily speak other languages in their home. Spanish speakers comprise the largest group of primarily non-English speakers in Missouri. If recent trends continue, the percent of children who speak limited English is anticipated to increase.
If you have non-English speaking friends, neighbors or relatives, please share this information and encourage them to respond to the census. Let them know the online form and the telephone number to answer are available in 13 languages: English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Russian, Arabic, Tagalog, Polish, French, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, and Japanese.
The Census Bureau will also help people respond in 59 non-English languages by providing video and print language guides and glossaries with translations for keywords related to the 2020 Census. Click the U.S. Census 2020 Language Support page to get started.
Notably, there are no questions about citizenship, social security numbers, banking or credit card numbers, or political affiliation. The responses are also confidential, and the information will never be shared with immigration agencies or law enforcement.
The point of the census is to include every adult, child, and newborn who live in the United States. So remember to lend someone a hand if they need it—no matter what language they speak– because we all benefit when we’re all counted.
May 1, 2020
