In March 2020, households will receive a letter with details on how to fill out the census online. Several additional reminders will be mailed. In April 2020, households that have not responded will be sent a paper census. In May 2020, home visits will begin for households not yet counted.
Out of the 16 biggest programs with funding tied to census results, eight are in education; the largest of these is Title I funding. 21st Century Community Learning Centers funding, Child Care Development Block Grant funding, and Title I funding levels are determined by the census results.
There will be many ways to support the Census, but for now, please help encourage members of your community, including youth 18 or older, to apply to be paid census takers. Applications are available NOW (https://2020census.gov/en/jobs/how-to-apply.html).
You can also go to the Census Toolkit for the Afterschool Community at (http://afterschoolalliance.org/census2020.cfm) – this page has great information on more ways your program can promote the Census and get your families and neighborhoods counted. PLEASE take a moment to read over it. You can also help by advocating online using the social media materials found at (https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1UE2AK0aFXNY548cvgkdeaTv9Ng-IGhU0).
For more information about the census and its importance to afterschool programs, click here for a fact sheet (http://www.afterschoolalliance.org/documents/Census2020.pdf).