he bottom line is that Kansans need to respond to the 2020 Census now. The most recent legal action extended the census deadline until the end of October; however, the Census Bureau issued a statement on Sept. 29 indicating that self-response to the census will end on Monday.

With these changing deadlines one message is clear, if you want to respond to the 2020 Census you need to complete the form today or you may have to wait until 2030 to be counted.

With time running out to complete the 2020 Census, representation, funding, and community services are at stake. For every 1% of the Kansas population uncounted in the 2020 Census, the state of Kansas could miss receiving approximately $603,990,400. And more than 30% of Kansans have not self-responded. Critical services like affordable housing, community centers, fire stations, health clinics, job training, literacy programs, parks, roads, schools, and veterans’ programs are at risk of being underfunded if our communities are undercounted.

Completing the 2020 Census is simple and only takes about five minutes to complete. Households can respond online at https://my2020census.gov/ or by calling 844-330-2020. The census impacts every life, every day and you can support your community by completing the form.

To find out more about the 2020 Census and what is at stake for Kansas, visit www.KansasCounts.org or follow Kansas Counts on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.