Census 2020 Update: The Latest News from Connecticut’s Complete Count Committees

With 111 days until Census Day 2020 (April 1, 2020), the clock is ticking and communities must be ready to count everyone. That was the message that reverberated throughout the room during the December 10th Connecticut Complete Count Committee meeting, held at the State Capitol. This meeting brought together state leadership, Local Complete Count Committee (LCCC) representatives, service organizations, funders, and Census Bureau staff to brainstorm how to reach hard-to-count populations such as young children, those living in group quarters, and immigrant communities.

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Online vs. Paper: New Census Tool Reveals How Communities Will Receive 2020 Census

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to census communications. Each community will require its own nuanced plan, and although the online census form is making its debut in 2020, it’s imperative to consider inequities in access to technology and the potential barriers to census completion that this presents. For example, not all Connecticut households have access to the internet—in fact, around 200,000 households still do not have Internet access or have dial-up only. When strategizing about community outreach, it’s important to inform people about how the Census will reach out to them to help different populations complete the form easily and accurately.

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Collaborations Essential for a Complete Census Count in 2020

Having a complete and accurate count of Connecticut communities during the 2020 Census is not merely an ambition—it’s a necessity. The information collected will determine how federal funding is allocated to Connecticut and will also inform federal and state-level redistricting. In fact, the 2010 Census resulted in nearly $11 billion flowing annually into Connecticut for essential programs and services like schools, transportation, emergency preparedness, and health interventions.

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Connecticut Census Create-a-Thon

On Friday, November 8, Connecticut held its first-ever Census Create-A-Thon (#CreativesForTheCount). This event brought together Census Complete Count Committee representatives, municipal leaders, grassroots organizers, designers, content strategists, and media experts to create materials to reach hard-to-count communities across the state. During the four-hour event, teams developed over 20 communications materials such as posters, billboards, and public service announcements about the importance of Census 2020. CTData Collaborative Director of Community Impact, Elizabeth Grim, and Old Saybrook Selectman, Carol Conklin, won second place and $250 for the best content for their design: “I’m Learning to Count: Count Me in 2020.” Thank you, Expressiones Cultural Center in New London, for graciously donating the award.

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We Have Some Big News on the Way

We took a little break, but CTData is back with another conference for data users from every sector and corner of the state. We can't tell you everything since we're still working our magic to make this the ultimate event for data people, but we can tell you to save the date for Wednesday, November 20th at the Omni Hotel in New Haven. Make sure to follow us on FacebookTwitter, and LinkedIn to be the first to hear the official announcement!

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State Data Plan Forum Recap: Education and Workforce Development

On Monday, August 19, 2019, the CTData Collaborative hosted over 30 partners for a data forum on education and workforce development with the state’s Chief Data Officer, Tyler Kleykamp. Attendees included data lovers and users across multiple sectors including nonprofits, state agencies, philanthropy, higher education, advocacy organizations, for-profits, and independent consultants. CTData Executive Director, Michelle Riordan-Nold, remarked, “The diverse group of stakeholders engaged in the forum demonstrates the complexity of the topic and the necessity to address educational and workforce needs in the state.”

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Recent Mothers with Higher Education More Likely to Be in the Labor Force

This is a landmark decade for women in the labor force. Women represent nearly half of the labor force both nationally (47.2%) and in the state of Connecticut (48.6%). In addition, according to the Wall Street Journal, 2019 marks “the first year that women make up the majority of the college-educated labor force, a milestone that is already altering benefits packages offered by companies.” These changes are insightful given that labor force participation is even higher when we look at women who have had a child in the past 12 months.

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What’s Changing with Census Data Availability? Differential Privacy: What is It and Why it Matters for Census 2020

CTData has traveled state to state on the conference circuit over the past few months. We recently attended the American Community Survey (ACS) Users Data Conference in Washington, DC; the National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership Meeting in Milwaukee, WI; the Census State Data Center Conference in Charlotte, NC; and the Association for Public Data Users Conference in Washington DC. One of the most pressing topics of discussion was the 2020 Census and its new differential privacy policies. To help you gain some clarity about these contested policies, we’ll provide background about the census, discuss existing privacy protections, and describe upcoming changes to Census 2020 under differential privacy.

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