Stand Up and Be
Counted
2020! A new decade, time for a fresh start and time to be
counted in the upcoming census. The census is taken in the United States every
10 years since 1790. The 1790 census was conducted by marshals of the U.S.
judicial districts and was taken in the 13 original states, the districts of
Kentucky, Vermont, Maine and the Southwest Territory with a reported number of
3.9 million inhabitants. We have come a long way since that first census; the
2010 census reported 308.7 million inhabitants in the United States.
Census day is April 1, 2020, that means census responses
should be based on your household residents of that date. The Census Bureau
will mail out invitations March 12-20 to respond. You can respond by mail, by
phone or online. If you do not respond then reminder letters, postcards and a
paper form will be sent out. If you fail to respond to those, a census worker
may come to your home to get your information. Census workers will never ask
you for your Social Security number or information about your bank accounts or
credit cards. If you get calls asking those questions, please hang up
immediately. Never give out private information to strangers over the phone. If
a census worker comes to your home they will not ask to go inside, they will
also have a valid ID Badge with their picture, a U.S. Department of Commerce
watermark and an expiration date. If you are unsure or concerned you may call
800-392-8282 to speak with a local Census Bureau representative.
The Census information is safe, secure and protected. The
answers you provide are used only to produce statistics. You are kept
anonymous: The Census Bureau is not permitted to publicly release your
responses in any way that could identify you or anyone else in your home.
So please respond to the census when you receive the notice,
tell your friends and family how important this is and encourage them to
respond.
~ Submitted by Liz Yokley, BSW at Aging Matters
