2018-033 2020 Census Complete Count CommitteeDate: March 23, 2018 Report No. 2018-033
INFORMAL STAFF REPORT
TO MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
SUBJECT:
Overview of the 2020 Census and creation of a Complete Count Committee (CCC).
OVERVIEW:
Mayor Watts requested information on the 2020 Census as a concluding item during the March 20
City Council meeting. The purpose of this informal staff report is to provide an overview of the
information provided the Census Bureau, background on the CCC’s, and next steps in the process.
The Census Bureau has asked that municipalities begin creating CCC’s. A CCC is a community
based group that helps the federal initiative by coming up with ways to promote the Census,
especially in hard to count areas. The Census Bureau’s goal is to equip CCC leaders to form and
manage CCC’s.
The Census Bureau has identified four unique phases of the process of completing the Census with
the actual Census count taking place in April 2020:
1. Education Phase (Present- December 2019)
During this period, key community and municipal leaders receive training, informational
materials, and one-on-one meetings with the US Census Bureau partnership staff about the
importance of the census and the need for local support to ensure a successful count. Also,
CCC leadership develops a mission on how to bring awareness to the community.
2. Awareness Phase (January 2020- March 2020)
This phase includes participation in actives that are meant to highlight the message that the
2020 Census is easy, important, and safe.
3. Motivation Phase (March 2020- April 2020)
During this phase, CCC’s implement activities of the work plan to guarantee that every
person encounters the message of the census.
4. Census Phase (April 2020)
The focus here is that every household takes ownership of the census, make a conscious
decision to participate, know where to go for assistance in answering the census, and be
poised and ready to answer questions on April 1, 2020.
Low Response Areas
The US Census Bureau have asked that the CCC’s make a targeted effort in the areas of low
response based on their research. Attachment 1 provides a map of the City of Denton highlighting
areas of lower response in the dark blue with the highest response rate in yellow. More information
on the non-response predictions can be found by visiting the Response Outreach Area Mapper
(ROAM) created by the Census Bureau to assist in identifying low response areas. This tool allows
the user to research specific low response areas, learn more about the demographics of that area,
and create a targeted marketing strategy based on those demographics.
Work Plans
Creating a work plan will help inform the committee of the goals, objectives, and structure of how
to operate. Components of a work plan have been provided by the Census Bureau as listed below:
1. Overview - Define goals and objectives of the CCC.
Date: March 23, 2018 Report No. 2018-033
2. Committee Structure - Determine a structure including naming the committee, committee
meeting frequency, and appointing subcommittees.
3. Reporting - Create subcommittee reports of activities, strategies, and best practices.
4. Thank you - Include strategies for thanking committee members, the community, and
others who provided support throughout the Census campaign.
5. Final Report - Prepare a final report of the CCC to report activities and success back to
the Census Bureau to guide future committees.
A list of promotional activities found useful by the CCC’s in the prior census are listed below:
1. Public Service Announcements
2. Advertising Campaigns
3. Promotional Materials
4. Local Media Coverage
Funding
The Census Bureau will have a partnership specialist in the region that will serve as the primary
resource for CCC’s and also act as a technical advisor to assist in identifying the activities that
would be most effective in increasing Census participation. The partnership specialist will be
available to provide training and assistance in starting the CCC as the City begins this process.
The Census encourages CCC’s to leverage local funding, free and existing communications, social
media, existing events, as well as reaching out to local philanthropic organizations and businesses
to gather funding for items like promotional materials, training space, etc. The Census count helps
determine how over $600 billion funding from the government will be apportioned. The Census
Bureau estimates that for every person that is underreported through the census the State loses
approximately $1,574 per year in funding.
NEXT STEPS:
Recommended next steps provided by the Census Bureau are listed below:
1. Officially sanction the CCC by ordinance or resolution
2. Appoint CCC members and chair
3. Coordinate training for CCC members
4. Create committee rules and procedures
5. Develop work plan and strategies to target low response areas
Staff will work on a recommendation to City Council on the composition of a CCC that is reflective
of the population of our community and will assist in the goal of reaching low response areas. Staff
will plan to bring forward a resolution to create a CCC in approximately the next 2-3 months.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. ROAM Map
STAFF CONTACT:
Sarah Kuechler
Director of Public Affairs/IGR
(940) 349-8356
sarah.kuechler@cityofdenton.com