Laura Dean Bennett
Staff Writer
As we all know, it’s not only very important to our communities that everyone respond to the 2020 Census, it’s the law.
The information you give to the Census Bureau is strictly confidential and not shared with any other government agencies. It does not include your social security number or your bank or credit card numbers.
It does include your name, gender, race, birthdate, address, telephone number, is your house owned or rented, how many people are living in your home, and their ages.
Early in the process, we were told that we need not wait for a census taker to come to our home to get our information, but that we could respond over the phone or by mail.
In mid-March, homes across the country began receiving invitations to complete the 2020 Census. These letters are mailed to every physical address in each county.
The letter contains a 12 digit code – called “Your Census ID” – which identifies the address. This code is required when you try to complete the census online at the census website: 2020census.gov
If you haven’t yet received your census letter and are concerned that it may have gone awry, you may call 844-339-2020 from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. and complete the census by phone.
The Census Bureau recently issued the following statement which will affect those who have signed on to be census takers:
March 28, 2020 — Based on continuing assessments of guidance from federal, state and local health authorities, the U.S. Census Bureau is suspending 2020 Census field operations for two additional weeks to April 15, 2020.
The Census Bureau is taking this step to help protect the health and safety of the American public, Census Bureau employees, and everyone who will go through the hiring process for temporary census taker positions.
The Census Bureau continues to evaluate all 2020 Census field operations, and will communicate any further updates as soon as possible.
If you have received your census invitation form which includes your Census ID, you are encouraged to respond asap online at 2020 Census.gov, over the phone at 1-844-330-2020 or by paper through the mail.