We’re
so happy that you’re committed to starting a Complete Count Committee (CCC). We
want you to know that we’re here for you every step of the way to offer tips
and keep you informed about the activities of the statewide CCC and regional CCCs
throughout Minnesota.
Below
is a list of benchmarks we’d like you to reach by the end of 2018.
Schedule your
first meeting.
By November/December 2018, you should be holding your first CCC meeting. Figure
out who’s in your CCC (See “Make the ask” below), pick a date, choose an accessible
location, and plan on spending up to two hours for the first meeting.
Make the ask. Invite
stakeholders and those in the community you have a strong relationship with to
attend the first meeting.
Preparing for the
meeting: Create the why. Why is the census important to your area? Create a
presentation or handout for your first meeting to help educate others on why the
2020 Census matters. Feel free to use slides from this PowerPoint in your presentation.
At the meeting: Assess.
If
your CCC is large, consider creating subcommittees. These can be formed by
geographic boundaries or topic areas (for example: business, faith-based,
education, local government, etc.)
Reach out. Take time at the
meeting to brainstorm who is not at the table, especially those who work with traditionally
undercounted communities. What are some ways you can reach those people
and organizations? One idea: Asking everyone who attends your CCC to
invite another community stakeholder with whom they have a relationship to your
next CCC meeting.
Know your
strategy: Consider a 2020 Census outreach event. The bulk of your
first CCC meeting should be focused on strategy (How and where will you reach
out to your communities?), defining responsibilities for each committee member,
determining how often and where you’ll meet. As you decide the scope of the
committee’s activities, consider the benefits of attending a community event
where you can do outreach around the importance of a complete count. And, we
strongly recommend that each CCC host and promote an event on April 1, 2019, to mark
the one year lead-up to Census Day 2020.
We’d
love to know how you’re doing with these benchmarks and how we can help you.
Please send us your questions, too. We are here
for you!
Contact Director of
Census Operations and Engagement Andrew
Virden, (651) 201-2507.
CCC co-chairs at the first statewide CCC on July 25. Seated, left to right: Kathy Annette, Sharon Sayles-Belton, Jonathan Weinhagen and Matt Massman. At the podium, State Demographer Susan Brower.
A
diverse group of more than 60 people attended Minnesota’s first-ever statewide
Complete Count Committee (CCC) at the Sunrise Bank Headquarters in St. Paul on
July 25.
Minnesota’s
statewide CCC is made up of a broad spectrum of government and community
leaders from education, business, community organizations and geographic
regions. Governor
Mark Dayton established the statewide CCC and appointed the co-chairs. Together, CCC members commit
to developing and implementing a 2020 Census awareness campaign based upon
their knowledge of their communities and constituents.
“Statewide
CCCs bring trusted voices with large networks together in one room to work on a
census outreach strategy that’s best for Minnesota,” explained Brower.
The
meeting was hosted by the statewide CCC co-chairs who were appointed by Dayton
to lead the committee’s efforts. The co-chairs are: Matt Massman, commissioner of the Minnesota
Department of Administration, Kathy Annette, president and CEO of the
Blandin Foundation, Sharon Sayles Belton, vice president for Government
Affairs & Community Relations for Thomson Reuters, and Jonathan Weinhagen,
CEO of the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce.
After
short welcome statements and introductions from the co-chairs, attendees
learned about the role of a complete count committee and the importance of the
2020 Census from Brower and Director of Census Operations and Engagement Andrew Virden. Later, committee members
broke into smaller groups to further brainstorm how they could support the
state’s efforts to make sure everyone in their community gets counted.
Brower
said she was pleased by the turnout and the great energy committee members brought
to the meeting.
“Everyone
here has in-depth knowledge about how to best reach Minnesotans and help them
understand why it’s important to participate in the 2020 Census,” said Brower.
Next
steps for the statewide CCC include connecting with each other through
subcommittees, planning for census outreach events in their communities and
organizations, and attending the next statewide CCC meeting, which will be held
on Wednesday, February 13, at a location to be determined.
View the statewide CCC
presentation here, and if you have questions, please email Andrew Virden or give him a call at 651-201-2507.
This
month, the State Demographic Center will offer two opportunities to learn more
about the 2020 Census and how to form a complete count committee.
Thursday, Sept. 20:
Monthly CCC conference calls begin
Join
us for the first in a series of monthly conference calls dedicated to answering
your questions about forming and managing a Complete Count Committee (CCC).
Every
third Thursday of the month, Andrew
Virden, director of census operations and engagement for the Minnesota
State Demographic Center, will be on hand from noon to 1 p.m. to provide guidance, share what other local CCCs are
doing, and update you with the latest 2020 Census news from the Census Bureau
and the State of Minnesota.
Date: Third Thursdays
of every month, starting Sept. 20 Time: noon to 1 p.m. Dial-in number: (888) 742-5095 Conference Code:
5972753363
RSVPs for the call are encouraged! To let us know you’ll be
joining the call on Sept. 20, please email Andrew Virden or
call him at 651-201-2507.
Monday, Sept. 24:
Census 101 training
This free workshop from the State Demographic Center will cover the basics of the 2020 Census, including what it is and why it's important.
In this session designed for Minnesota cities and counties, you’ll also learn the best strategies for reaching hard-to-count residents and walk away with the data tools, best practices and action plans for promoting a complete and accurate count in your community.
There will also be opportunities to share your ideas and coordinate efforts with neighboring communities.
Date: Monday, Sept. 24 Time: 8:30 a.m. to noon Location: Sunrise Bank
Headquarters 2525 Wabash, St. Paul, MN 55114
There is no cost for this training. Please
RSVP to Tasha
Holtman or call Andrew Virden with any questions 651-201-2507.
The
lawsuit filed by Minnesota and 16 other states challenging the addition of a
citizenship question to the 2020 Census will be allowed to continue in court.
In
July, Jesse Furman, the U.S. District Court judge for the Southern District of
New York, denied a request from the Trump administration to dismiss the lawsuit.
In his decision, Furman found the plaintiffs’ allegation plausible that Commerce
Secretary Wilbur Ross’s decision to reinstate the citizenship question could be
motivated by “discriminatory animus.”
The
lawsuit, State of New York, et al., vs.
United States Department of Commerce, et al., argues that the citizenship
question is unconstitutional, politically motivated and is meant to depress
responses in “blue states” so that redistricting will shift representatives
away from certain states, and those states will receive less than their fair
share of federal funding.
The state of Minnesota joined the lawsuit because concerns
have been raised that inclusion of the citizenship question could keep people in immigrant
communities from responding and could suppress response rates overall, which
would have detrimental effect on the distribution of resources and political
power in Minnesota.
Read more about
the citizenship question and its legal
challenges:
Judge allows
lawsuit against citizenship question on the 2020 census to proceed (ABC News)
Trump officials say they can't recall discussing census citizenship question (NPR)
A census question that could change how power is divided in America
(New York Times)
U.S. census
citizenship question panned by scientists, civil rights groups (Reuters)
By
Kathy Annette
Editor’s note:
Kathy Annette is President/CEO of the Blandin Foundation and a co-chair of the statewide
Complete Count Committee. Annette wrote this opinion piece to share with local
papers around the state to get the word out about the census. Please take
inspiration from Annette’s article and consider writing your own opinion piece and
sharing it with publications that serve your community.
America’s
decennial (every-10-year) census is intended to be a complete count of everyone
in the country, but people in rural places often are under-counted and, thus,
under-represented. Rural leaders can be getting ready now so that all people
are counted in April 2020.
Blandin
Foundation and I have increased our involvement in planning for the 2020 Census
because it can have big impacts on Minnesota’s rural communities, such as:
-
Allocation
of political power through reapportionment of seats in Congress and drawing of
new legislative districts (Minnesota is at real risk of losing a seat)
-
Distribution
of federal funds through funding formulas (thousands of dollars per person)
-
Civil
rights enforcement through fair housing laws, the Voting Rights Act, and other
legislation
-
Business
site selection when companies are deciding where to expand, where to bring
their jobs
- Community
planning for schools and hospitals
Historically
under-represented rural communities with high levels of poverty, as well as
Native Americans living on reservations, are traditionally undercounted, say
both the Minnesota Demographer’s Office and the U.S. Census Bureau. And these
are communities and people that would benefit most from being counted. We
can—and must—do better with the 2020 Census.
Here
are some ideas…
1.
Local groups—community volunteers to government officials—can get organized now
so that they are ready, because every person matters. Resources for forming a
local Complete Count Committee, a group of government and community leaders who
promote and encourage response to the 2020 Census in their communities, are
online here: mn.gov/admin/demography/census2020/ccc/
2.
For the first time, Governor Dayton has formed a state-wide Minnesota Complete
Count Committee and has asked that I participate as one of its founding
co-chairs. The work to oversee the state approach to the 2020 Census launched
in July, and I am honored to be one of its leaders. I invite your ideas and
concerns as the statewide Complete Count Committee does it work.
Feel
free to email me: kathy.annette@blandinfoundation.org.
|
Hi there, I'm Marisa Helms, and I'm excited to work with you in my new role as director of census communications for the Minnesota State Demographic Center’s 2020 Census outreach campaign.
As a former journalist, public
sector communications is a natural transition for me. I care deeply about
people having access to accurate information so they can make informed
decisions about their lives and their communities. It is therefore a privilege
for me to be tasked with communicating the importance of the 2020 Census so
that everyone in Minnesota makes an informed decision about being counted by
Census Day April 1, 2020.
Storytelling is at the heart of
what I do and I look forward to working with you to tell the stories of the
2020 Census and the importance of a complete count. Contact me any time with
article ideas for this newsletter or great stories we can pitch to the media.
Email me at marisa.helms@state.mn.us,
or give me a call at 651.201.2506.
|
|