There may be a simple explanation for why some rural areas are lagging behind in returning 2020 Census forms, officials with the U.S. Census Bureau said recently.
“There could be several reasons,” Michelle Archer, assistant regional census manager said.
Locally, census form return rates are primarily in the 60 percent range in the Buffalo Trace ADD with Robertson County behind at 43.2 percent and the city of Mount Olivet at a meager 13.9 percent. The reason could be because the city has no residential mail delivery and the Census Bureau does not deliver census forms to post office boxes, Archer said, because there is no way to attach that census information to an address.
There could also be issues with computer access, Archer said. In Robertson County, according to information from the Census Bureau, 66.3 percent of households have computers compared to the state where more than 84 percent of people have computer access.
Residents who don’t have home computers can usually get access at the public library. But because of the coronavirus shutdown, libraries are not an option currently, she said.
Census forms were placed on doorways in February, Archer said, with a plan to follow up with in-person visits from enumerators. But the COVID-19 pandemic meant a change in schedule, she said. Enumerators are now expected to begin home visits in mid-June, she said.
Forms that were dropped on doorsteps or porches in February are geo coded to the specific address where they were left, Archer said. Residents can follow the directions at www.2020Census.gov and use that code when filling out the form.
Robertson County Judge-Executive Stephanie Bogucki said the county had initially partnered with the Robertson County School District to promote the 2020 Census to county residents, but again COVID-19 put a halt to the process.
She also said many people in the county did not receive forms either in the mail or at home. And, she said, many people do not have computers and many who have computers do not have broadband internet access.
Federal and state funding directed to the county is primarily linked to information obtained during the census and that is why getting as many people to respond as possible is important, the judge-executive said.
Bogucki said she plans to reach out to Census Bureau officials to discuss how to increase the county’s response rate.
In the meantime, Archer said Robertson County will be counted.
“We will get there,” she said. “We won’t start working again until the CDC and the government make sure people are safe.”
In addition to submitting online, Census forms can also be completed by phone or by mail.
For more information visit www.2020Census.gov, or call 844-330-2020.
Archer said the Census Bureau is still hiring and anyone interested should go to www.2020Census.gov/job.
