How to Support Historically Undercounted Communities
You are probably already aware that there are certain groups that are at higher risk of being undercounted in any census. And you may be aware of some of the groups in your own community.
But what can you do to help each person in your community be counted?
First, and perhaps most important, if you are not from the group you are seeking to support then collaborate with leaders and groups that are. They are going to be able to connect with people in an authentic way because they may have similar misgivings and values.
Second, you can seek to understand why certain groups are less likely to complete their questionnaire.
If you represent a group that is less likely to respond, you may have an intimate understanding of why. But we each have multiple identities, and different groups have different reasons. So it helps to be familiar with the variety of perspectives the groups you’re working with may come from.
Third, you can learn about the messaging that resonates most with that group. Research has been conducted about the kinds of messages that work best for specific kinds of groups.
Take for example Arab Americans. In this interesting webinar (the slides can be found here), The Arab American Institute presented research from some focus groups that found several historical reasons for mistrust:
The “aggressive national security surveillance programs post-9/11.”
An approach by U.S. national security that “treats Arabs as suspect or security threats.”
In 2004, the U.S. Census Bureau shared data that listed where Arab Americans lived by city and ZIP code with the Department of Homeland Security. (This article provides a background of this situation, documents obtained about this situation via FOIA request, and this page provides information about the penalties for anyone at the Census Bureau who shares protected data).
Whether you agree with these reasons or not, these are in Arab Americans’ mind when thinking about filling out their questionnaire.
Based on this understanding, the messaging that resonated most and that resulted in a higher likelihood to participate was when the benefits of the census were shared.
Messages about the “importance to the future and for children,” focusing on convenience of the online form, and also talking about the “importance of the Census to the family” were found to be the best kind of messages for Arab Americans.
This website by Funders’ Committee for Civic Participation has presentations focused on the reasons for mistrust and research on messaging for Native American communities, Latinx communities, children, and more.
Another excellent resource is this one created by the New Hampshire Office of Strategic Initiatives. This page shares information and resources to help you better reach rural communities, older adults and people with disabilities, families with young children, the LGBTQ community and more.
If you’d like to understand more about who is at risk of being undercounted, this article or this interactive tool (both by the Urban Institute) could be useful.
Have you found any resources that have been particularly helpful in either understanding the perspective of those who are less likely to respond to the census, or ideas for how to help them be counted? Email us at info@ctdata.org to share your resources, and we’ll share them with our Census 2020 Newsletter list.