Advocates: All Kids Need to Be Counted
Andrea Sears, Public News Service – PA
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Wednesday is Census Day, and despite the
coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. Census is still happening. But children’s
advocates fear kids will be undercounted.
The census is based on where you and your entire family live on April 1.
In 2010, the census missed more than 25,000 Pennsylvania children. That
meant a loss of nearly $44 million in federal funding for the state.
Children of color are most likely to be undercounted. And this year,
there is a particular concern among immigrants that participating in the
census could put them at risk. But Deborah Stein, network director at Partnership for America’s Children,
pointed out the census mandate is to count everyone living in the
United States, and it does not pose a threat to those who are
undocumented.
“You don’t have to identify people’s citizenship or immigration status,”
Stein said. “But we are still very concerned that we’ll miss a lot of
immigrant children.”
She added that information on individuals gathered by the census cannot
be released for 72 years, and there are stiff penalties for violation of
that privacy protection.
Will Gonzalez is executive director of the Philadelphia-based nonprofit Ceiba. His group has been doing census outreach in the immigrant community for a year, answering questions and addressing fears.
“When you engage in those discussions with immigrants, they understand
it and they recognize the value for the community and their children,”
Gonzalez said.
He said he believes many immigrants welcome the opportunity to
participate in the census because it promotes a sense of belonging and
an affirmation that this is home.
In a recent survey, 10% of families making less than $50,000 a year said
they would not count their infants, toddlers or preschoolers. Stein
emphasized that all funding for schools and other vital services depends
on getting a complete count.
“Make sure you count everybody from birth on in your household, whether
you’re related to them or not,” Stein said, “because the consequences of
missing a child lasts a decade and that’s most of their childhood.”
To ensure a complete count, the Census Bureau has extended the period
for self-response to the census questionnaire – by phone, mail or online
– to August 14.
More information is available at CountAllKids.org.
