Next month, the U.S. Census Bureau will dispatch field staff to households in Providence County looking for residents who haven’t filled out the March survey.
The Bureau has already sent thousands of mailers to Rhode Island residents. Providence County is the only area in the country testing the newest census, before it goes nationwide in 2020.
“They’re basically just asking the very same questions that are on that census form online,” said Jeff Behler, the regional director overseeing census operations in Rhode Island. “And I do want to stress when we start that operation on May 9th, that doesn’t mean people can’t still go online and fill out their form. So we’ll be able to continue to do that.”
However, a new citizenship question for 2020 is already proving controversial. Critics say the question will scare immigrant groups and skew the numbers. Rhode Island is one of more than a dozen states suing the federal government over the inclusion of the citizenship question.
Behler said he’s relying on community leaders to allay fears among residents, and assure them that census information remains private.
“We need to be able to work with our partners,” said Behler. “They are our trusted voices. To get the word out about the census is so important. This is the money for schools for infrastructure, for emergency planning.”
The national headcount is also used to allocate federal representatives for each state. Some elected officials have raised concerns that Rhode Island could lose a member of Congress if immigrants are too afraid to take part, because that could push down the state’s population count.
