It’s that time again.

Every 10 years, the Census Bureau sends out a questionnaire that needs to be filled out. Every home across the country receives invitations to complete the 2020 Census in March. The goal is to count every person who lives in each house across America where they live and sleep most of the time as of April 1, 2020.

That includes roommates, young children, newborns and renters, too. According to the 2020census.gov website, “If someone is staying in your home on April 1 and has no usual home elsewhere, you should count them in your response to the 2020 Census. If someone such as a college student is just living with you temporarily due to the Covid19 situation, they should be counted where they ordinarily would be living on April 1, 2020.”

Students who went home because of COVID-19 should be counted where they live while at school. Some residents should be counted at a healthcare facility if they were living there on April 1, including people who do not have a home, people living in psychiatric hospitals or psychiatric units for long-term, non-acute care, and people living in nursing facilities. The community is encouraged to fill out the census even if the April 1 deadline has passed.

Recently, the League of Women Voters hosted speakers from the Census Bureau to talk at their meeting about the census. Carol Cappuccino, the census staff representative from Norfolk County met on a Zoom call reminding the participants why an accurate count of people is necessary.

The Constitution requires a census every 10 years since 1790. The Census informs leaders in funding decisions in the community such as schools, emergency response teams, equipment for health clinics, hospitals, fire departments, and even roads and highways. The census is basically a questionnaire asking how many people live in your home including children.

Filling out the questionnaire accurately shapes the future of our country because each community needs to know if they have sufficient supplies, equipment, and services to best serve its community.

The 2020 census can be filled out online, by phone, by mailing it in on paper, or one can also receive assistance by personally being visited by a census employee to assist in filling out the form. The census is important so that each community gets the correct representation. There is a direct correlation to the amount of funding a community receives based on the population of each community. If there are more people living in a community, they would need more funding, jobs, school projects, etc. There are 435 seats in the House of Representatives. States with smaller populations get at least one seat and larger populated states get more seats. The 2020 Census will help allocate each community in these ways.

The Census Bureau will never ask for bank information, credit card information, one’s social security number, money, ask for donations, nor ask for one’s political affiliation and bank information. If these questions are asked, this is a good indication that the census is not legitimate.

There are also 2020 census jobs that are available. This is a good opportunity to make extra money. There are part time and full time paying jobs at $27.50 an hour. One can work close from home and 54,000 people need to be recruited at this time. The Census Bureau is also willing to work with schools, faith communities, and communities that need translators in order to get an accurate count. They are looking for trusted voices in each community.