Census Maryland 2020 Newsletter, October 9, 2020

Maryland Department of Planning sent this bulletin at 10/09/2020 04:12 PM EDT

Census Maryland 2020 Newsletter

October 9, 2020

Homelessness is Historically Undercounted in the Census. Can a Count During Coronavirus Get it Right? [Secretary McCord Quoted]

It had been six months since her last volunteer shift educating D.C. residents on the importance of filling out the 2020 Census and Arnesia Davis had yet to complete it herself. It’s not that she didn’t want to, Davis said recently as she shaved her hair beneath the L Street Bridge. But she had sparse Internet access and felt wary of answering questions about a permanent address or phone number — neither of which she had.

The U.S. Census Bureau is supposed to make it easy for homeless people like Davis to be enumerated. This year, however, calculated plans to count people without conventional housing were upended by the pandemic, leaving experts and advocates alike concerned that the 2020 Census would pass over a vulnerable population hit especially hard by the dual health and economic crises.

But over the past six months, as the filing deadline has been repeatedly moved back, local leaders who have partnered with the U.S. Census Bureau have been hard at work to fill in the gaps in enumeration created by the pandemic. Census workers, local leaders and advocates hope that their creativity and drive will produce a more comprehensive count of people experiencing homelessness.

“This year is going to go down in the history books in a year that is unlike any decennial Census because of COVID,” said Maryland Secretary of Planning Robert McCord, who has worked with the bureau to disseminate the Census in Maryland. “But the challenges have in some ways brought us closer together.”

Read Full Article at the Washington Post

Homelessness is Historically Undercounted in the Census. Can a Count During Coronavirus Get it Right?

Jump to: In This Issue

Census Counting Extended Through October 31

Following an extension last week by the U.S. Census Bureau to continue counting households through October 5 as part of the 2020 Census, the bureau announced that self-response and field operations will continue through October 31. “With this extra time, our goal remains the same — we will continue to support efforts to get all Marylanders counted,” said Planning Secretary Rob McCord. “We thank everyone that took their time to fill out their 2020 Census and we will continue our work with our local complete count committees to reach as many households as possible.”

Read Full Article at the Kent County News

Jump to: In This Issue

Census Deadline is October 31st

Per the U.S. Census Bureau, data collection operations for the 2020 U.S. Census will continue through October 31, 2020. Click here to take the Census now.

Jump to: In This Issue

Congratulations to our Census Champions!

Five Named Maryland Census Champions - Each Help Make a Difference in Our Complete Count

Our champions this week are:

Daniel Jones, U.S. Census Bureau
Patrick J. Lally, Governor's Coordinating Offices
Montgomery College Complete Count Committee
Don Rowe, Carroll County
Sandra Shephard, Prince George's County

A Maryland Census Champion is a person or group that has gone above and beyond in spreading the Census message in their community. Census Champions have devised innovative ways to get their community engaged in completing the 2020 Census. The individual or group being nominated could be a member of a local complete count committee, a faith leader, a business leader/owner, or even someone in the community making a difference. Recipients of the Census Champion will be highlighted in this newsletter, on social media, and on the Maryland 2020 Census Champions web page.

Download the Census Champion Nomination form and nominate a champion in your community today.

Daniel Jones

Daniel Jones, Partnership Specialist with the U.S Census Bureau, supported complete count efforts in several Maryland counties that have historically under-counted communities. He has appeared as a guest on social media live panels to discuss the importance of the Census in both English and Spanish. Daniel has made himself available whenever local complete count committees (CCC) call for assistance to answer questions from residents about completing their Census. He has participated in food distribution events sponsored by a number of nonprofit organizations throughout Maryland to circulate information about the Census to the families that attended. Daniel has consistently attended local CCC meetings to ensure that community leaders have been informed of the U.S. Census Bureau’s operations. Daniel’s efforts in supporting local leaders on the front lines has been invaluable. He has joined these leaders, directly communicating with community members at virtual and in-person events. While these are his job responsibilities, Daniel has taken his commitment to this role to the next level by participating in countless weekly and monthly meetings and to get all of Maryland counted!

Patrick J. Lally

Patrick J. Lally, Senior Executive Director for the Governor’s Coordinating Offices, has spearheaded, and consistently motivates, the 150 employees from the Coordinating Offices to support and amplify all Census communications. Patrick motivates all senior leadership to communicate across appropriate channels regarding the Census. In addition, he ensured a consistent drumbeat to share this messaging both with staff and across office external communication channels. These efforts included collaborating with Planning Secretary Rob McCord and the Office of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Director Kelby Brick to produce a video that helped explain the process to fill out the Census for 1.2 million deaf and hard of hearing Marylanders. Patrick detailed Lorena Rivera from the Governor’s Office of Community Initiatives to the Maryland Department of Planning to temporarily direct the daily Census effort. Patrick's ability to create meaningful collaboration, along with his strategic thinking and strong desire to be part of the solution, has earned him the title Mr. Census at the Governor's Coordinating Offices.

Montgomery College Complete Count Committee

Montgomery College’s (MC) Office of Community Engagement and Student Life’s Service-Learning Program partnered to create the Montgomery College Complete Count Committee. Led by Karla Silvestre and Nik Sushka, the committee worked tirelessly to promote participation in the Census to members of the college community and Montgomery County residents as a whole. For example, the committee leveraged a $15,000 grant from the Greater Washington Community Foundation and additional Montgomery College Foundation funds to launch an MC Counts Student Ambassador program. The program supported 20 student employees who hosted 67 census participation events last spring, reaching 4,466 people. The committee, working with students, created innovative programming and events that promoted the Census even during the outbreak of the pandemic. Programs included in-person outreach and virtual activities, such as a Virtual Census Festival. Students also participated in digital challenges like “Each One Reach Ten” where they posted messages to neighborhood listservs and presented to the Student Senates and Student Councils, classes, faith groups, and more. The service-learning program also hosted a winter 2020 faculty workshop to help faculty integrate Census 2020 projects into their courses. Post-event surveys showed that 65 percent of students reported that the committee’s efforts had significant impact (45 percent) or some impact (20 percent) on their successful completion of the 2020 Census. The remaining students said they had already completed or planned to complete the Census. This fall, Student Life continued to coordinate presentations to virtual classes and hosted a workshop in September with the President’s Advisory Committee for Equity and Inclusion entitled “The 2020 Census Final Countdown: 14 Things YOU Can Do to Make Sure Everyone Counts.”

Montgomery College Complete Count Committee members include: Ermias Adebabay, Sharon Bland, Gloria Bonilla, Phillip Bonner, Keith Foster, Carolina Galeano, Carlos Iglesias, Grace Karambiri, Kim Kelley, Stephanie Krasnoff, Margaret Latimer, Kim McGettigan, Katie Nguyen, Melissa Pace, George Payne, Jeanette Rojas, Yanira Rodriguez, Emily Schmidt, Karla Silvestre, Brad Stewart, Hannah Stocks, Nik Sushka, Hamrawit Tefsa, Mintesnot (Minte) Weldemariam, and Emma Wilson.

Don Rowe

Don Rowe, Executive Director of the Arc of Carroll County, has been a true leader for the Carroll County Census effort. As Chair of the Carroll Count Committee, Don reached out to all committee members for involvement. He has been the face and voice of the U.S. Census count in Carroll County. The local paper, the Carroll County Times, has interviewed him for several articles over the course of the Census effort and he has personally written and submitted columns to the paper. Don testified before the Carroll County Commissioners on several occasions. He appeared on Carroll Helping Carroll, a local television program, to answer questions about the Census. Don is a veteran of the Census having served on the Carroll Count Committee during the 2010 Census.

Sandra Shephard

Sandra Shephard serves the youth in Prince George’s County in multiple capacities. As the managing Director of the Latin American Youth Center, Sandra coordinated food distributions and workforce development programs that incorporated Census materials and information. She was featured as a panelist on the “Count Me In” series segment hosted by the University of Maryland’s Office of Community Engagement where she conveyed how a complete Census count positively impacts younger generations. In her role as a member of the Prince George’s County Board of Education, she oversaw a Census video contest in which K-12 students submitted brief, creative videos designed to inform and excite peers about the 2020 Census. For many years, Sandra has been at the forefront of supporting Prince George’s County communities and doing everything in her power to secure vital resources.

Champion 6

Profile

Follow Maryland Census 2020 on Twitter and Facebook – Follow @MdCensus2020 and like @MdCensus2020 – to stay in touch with Maryland's Census 2020 complete count efforts. Join the conversation by using hashtag #2020MDCensus on Facebook and on Twitter.

In This Issue

Homelessness is Historically Undercounted in the Census. Can a Count During Coronavirus Get it Right? [Secretary McCord Quoted]
Census Counting Extended Through October 31
Five Named Maryland Census Champions Making a Difference in Our Complete Count
As of October 9, Maryland Self-Response Rate at 71.0 Percent
Press Release: U.S. Census Bureau Extends 2020 Census Self-Response and Field Operations through October 31
Congratulations to These Counties that Exceeded Their 2010 Response Rate in the 2020 Census This Week
Secretary Rob McCord Joins the City of Riverdale Park for Prince George's County Latino Census Day Celebration
Prince George's County Police Department Holds Produce Giveaway
Salisbury-Wicomico 2020 Census Present the Census Shuffle
Global Diversity Awareness Month: October
October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month
Census Maryland 2020 Social Media

Note: If the bookmark links to the articles above do not work, check that your pop-up blocker is turned off. Otherwise, scroll down in the newsletter to see the articles.

Upcoming Meetings and Events

For further details, go to the Maryland Census 2020 Events page

Wicomico County CCC Meeting - Virtual	Oct. 12	3:00 p.m.
Baltimore City CCC Meeting - Virtual	Oct. 15	10:00 a.m.
Baltimore City CCC Meeting - Virtual	Oct. 22	10:00 a.m.
Baltimore City CCC Meeting - Virtual	Oct. 29	10:00 a.m.

News and Events

As of October 9, Maryland Self-Response Rate at 71.0 Percent

As of October 9, Maryland’s self-response rate for the 2020 Census is
71.0 percent, while the national average is 66.8 percent. Maryland is in 9th place in the U.S. for self-response. Maryland remains 2nd in the region, behind only Virginia at 71.3 percent. Maryland is ahead of Pennsylvania (69.4 percent), Delaware (64.7 percent), the District of Columbia (63.5 percent), and West Virginia (56.1 percent).

Carroll (81.5 percent and tied for number 24 in the entire U.S. out of 3,200+ counties), Howard (80.6 percent, tied for 33), Harford (78.4 percent) and Frederick (78.3 percent) counties are leading the state. Twenty-three Maryland counties/jurisdictions have achieved self-response rates of over 50 percent and 14 counties' rates exceed the national average. Anne Arundel, Baltimore (new this week), Calvert, Caroline, Carroll, Charles, Dorchester, Frederick, Garrett, Harford, Howard, Kent, Montgomery, Prince George's, Queen Anne's (new this week), St. Mary's, Talbot, Washington, and Worcester (new this week) counties have all exceeded their 2010 self-response rates.

View Maryland County and Municipality Response Rates at the MDP's Census 2020 Response Rate At-A-Glance Dashboard

The Maryland Department of Planning's
Census Response at a Glance by County

U.S. Census Bureau Extends 2020 Census Self-Response and Field Operations through
October 31

Following an extension last week by the U.S. Census Bureau to continue counting households through October 5 as part of the 2020 Census, the U.S. Census Bureau announced that self-response and field operations will continue through October 31.

This additional extension will allow local governments, local Census Complete Count Committees and their partners in Maryland, as well as the U.S. Census Bureau enumerators, to target the remaining Maryland households that have yet to complete their 2020 Census.

Read Full Maryland Department of Planning Press Release

Congratulations to These Counties that Exceeded Their 2010 Response Rate in the 2020 Census This Week

Baltimore, Queen Anne's, and Worcester Counties

Baltimore-County-Surpasses-2010-Response-Rate

Queen-Annes-County-Surpasses-2010-Response-Rate

Worcester-County-Surpasses-2010-Response-Rate

Secretary Rob McCord Joins the City of Riverdale Park for Prince George's County Latino Census Day Celebration

On September 29th, the City of Riverdale Park, the U.S. Census Bureau, Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, the Maryland National Capitol Park and Planning Commission, and the Riverdale Park Police Department sponsored the Latino Census Celebration Day at Tanglewood Park. Planning Secretary Rob McCord was on hand to distribute hot meals to approximately 95 families. This effort resulted in 22 households completing their Census forms.

Prince George's County Police Department Holds Produce Giveaway

On October 3rd, Associate Director of the Maryland Census Randall Nixon attended a produce giveaway event sponsored by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Prince George’s County Police Department (PGPD) at the Wayne Curry Executive Office Building in Largo. Hundreds of boxes of produce were distributed to more than 800 families and Census messaging was shared. The event was managed by PGPD police officers and cadets.

Salisbury-Wicomico 2020 Census Present the Census Shuffle

The Salisbury-Wicomico Complete Count Committee (CCC) and outreach team has been working tirelessly for months to get everyone counted in Wicomico County. To celebrate tying their 2010 Census response rate they created the "Census Shuffle" video. Delegate Charles Otto (District 38A, Somerset and Worcester counties), the CCC team, and community members make appearances in this video!

Watch the Salisbury-Wicomico Census Shuffle video

Salisbury-Wicomico 2020 Census Present the Census Shuffle

Global Diversity Awareness Month: October

Diversity is all of the ways in which we differ: race, gender, age, ethnicity, marital status, sexual orientation, parental status, educational background, etc.

View Key Stats at the U.S. Census Bureau

Global Diversity Awareness Month: October 2020

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month

The 2019 American Community Survey estimated that among noninstitutionalized civilians with a disability in the U.S., 7.9 million are employed and 0.9 million are unemployed.

View Key Stats at the U.S. Census Bureau