[NFBMT-Parents] Montana Census 2020

Sun Mar 22 13:01:16 UTC 2020

>From http://census.mt.gov 

It takes just 10 minutes to answer 9 simple questions that will shape your
community for the next 10 years. 

How to Take the Census

 <https://my2020census.gov/> FILL OUT YOUR 2020 CENSUS QUESTIONNAIRE HERE

A sample copy of the 2020 Census Questionnaire can be found
<https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/2020/technical-documentat
ion/questionnaires-and-instructions/questionnaires/2020-informational-questio
nnaire.pdf> HERE. 

Filling out the Census Is Quick Easy and Safe. In 2020, households will have
three options to respond. 

Online - Respond online using the internet or smartphone by going to
<https://my2020census.gov/> my2020census.gov.

Phone - Respond over the telephone by calling the census call center at
1-844-330-2020.

Mail - you can fill out the census questionnaire in English or Spanish and
mail the form, postage-free, back to the Census Bureau. If you need the form
in another language, forms are available on-line in seven different
languages. Additional paper questionnaires will not be available from the
U.S. Census Bureau. 

Beginning March 18, 2020 in support of slowing the spread of COVID-19, the
2020 Census field operations will be suspended for two weeks until April 1,
2020. The Census Bureau will continue to evaluate all 2020 Census operations
to decide if additional adjustments need to be made. For more information,
click
<https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2020/operational-update.html>
HERE. The 2020 Census will still be available to fill out online at
<https://my2020census.gov/> my2020census.gov or by phone at 1-844-330-2020
during this time. 

Households across Montana should begin receiving their initial invitation to
respond to the 2020 Census in the mail or left on their front door between
March 12-20, 2020. Depending on how likely your area is to respond online,
you'll receive either
<https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/2020/resources/mailings/I
nvitations/Invitation-Letter_D-LF1.pdf?> invitation letter encouraging you to
respond online or an invitation to respond online along with a paper
questionnaire. Households that have mail sent to a post office box (P.O box)
will not receive a mailing. Instead, a packet will be hung on the household
door.

Households include houses, apartments, cabins, mobile homes, and pretty much
any place where people live in Montana. In areas where most of housing units
do not have mail delivered to their physical location, census workers will
leave questionnaire packages at every identified housing unit. The census
process also includes special provisions to count people who are homeless and
those in other types of living quarters, such as college dorms, military
barracks, ships, prisons, nursing homes, and homeless shelters. Due to
COVID-19 the U.S. Census Bureau is currently contacting all group quarters
administrators and encouraging them to choose a way to count their residents
that requires less in person contact such as e-response, paper listing, or
self-enumeration by the facility. Students living away from home at school
should be counted at school, even if they are temporarily elsewhere due to
campus closures. Colleges and universities are being asked to contact their
students to remind them to respond. For more information, click
<https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2020/modifying-2020-operation
s-for-counting-college-students.html> HERE.

Every household that hasn't already responded will continue to receive
additional reminders from March 16- April 18. If a household does not
self-respond to the questionnaire, a U.S. Census Bureau employee will come to
the door to collect the household's 2020 response starting in early May. 

For the latest information on the U.S. Census Bureau's operation strategies,
click  <https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases.html> HERE. 

Why An Accurate Census Count Is Important For Montana

Funding

For every Montana resident counted, the Census estimates the state will
receive nearly $2,000 per person each year in federal funding. The $20,000
per person coming into the state over the next decade is used in every
Montana county for medical assistance, educational programs, need-based
support, infrastructure, highway planning and over 300 other programs.
Spending just a few minutes to complete your Census form will help ensure
Montana gets its fair share of federal funding. Filling out the form is
quick, easy, safe and important.

Apportionment and Redistricting

Census data is used to define legislative districts, establish school
districts and guide decision making in many other functional areas of
government. As mandated by the U.S. Constitution, the Census is used to
apportion seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Montana is one of the
states on the cusp of gaining an additional congressperson, so getting a
complete count is more important than ever.

Data

Census data is used to inform community decisions. Think of it like a
snapshot of who we are as a community every decade. Data for each area are
crucial to many planning decisions, such as where to provide services for
seniors, where to build new roads and schools and where to locate job
training centers. Census data is also used by organizations to obtain grant
funding for key programs helping Montanans.

<https://mtdoc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=96b2ffc6ac2249
48b4457c5ca6b5515b> 

EVERYONE Counts 

Click
<https://mtdoc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=96b2ffc6ac2249
48b4457c5ca6b5515b> HERE to view hundreds of locations where the Census can
be taken. From public libraries, to health centers, to foodbanks, and
businesses throughout the community there will be computers and internet
access available to fill out the form and be counted.

Becoming a "Be Counted" site is easy, there's just a few simple steps to
follow.

*         Have a building that the public and people with disabilities can
access such as a business, organization headquarters, community center or at
a public event.

*         Provide access to a computer, tablet, or phone from mid- March to
early May.

*         Have Internet that requires password protected wifi.

*         Make sure all software is current and internet browsers are up to
date.

*         Have someone available to help operate the computer. *Remember only
Census Bureau employees may collect responses from individuals since they are
sworn for life under the law to keep an individual's responses confidential.
Assistant should not enter a person's responses for them or watch them enter
their responses. 

For More Information and Guidelines Click
<https://census.mt.gov/Portals/222/Shared/Be%20Counted%20Site%20Guidelines%20
-%20FINAL_1.pdf> HERE

To Become a "Be Counted" Site Click
<https://census.mt.gov/Information/Be-Counted-Locations> HERE 

Due to COVID-19, for the health and safety of Montanans, we are temporarily
suspending "be counted) site access.

Please check back for updated site availability.

Joy Breslauer, First Vice President

National Federation of the Blind of Montana 

Web Site: http://www.nfbofmt.org <http://www.nfbofmt.org/> 

Live the life you want

The National Federation of the Blind is a community of members and friends
who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation's blind. Every day we work
together to help blind people live the lives they want. 

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