It’s time to make Kansas count! This week Kansans were encouraged to promote self-response to the 2020 Census by calling on neighbors, friends and family to make sure they take part in the critically important, once-a-decade population count.

The Census campaign’s goal is to encourage every household and community in Kansas to be counted in the 2020 Census once, only once, and in the right place. Only 65.5% of Barton County had responded as of June 23.

As explained by Census news releases, Census data is used to determine every state’s representation in Congress. It is also used to determine how billions of dollars in federal funding will be dispersed. That money is used by communities across Kansas for emergency services, schools, roads, health-care facilities and more.

By now, every Kansas household should have received an invitation to complete the 2020 Census. The time to respond is now. Households can respond online at my2020census.gov, by calling 844-330-2020 or by mail.

If someone was staying in your home on April 1 and had no usual home elsewhere, you should count them in your response to the 2020 Census. If someone such as a college student was just living with you temporarily due to the COVID-19 situation, they should be counted where they ordinarily would have been living on April 1. 

By law, the Census Bureau cannot release any identifiable information about you, your home or your business, even to law enforcement agencies. But Census workers WILL come to your house if you ignore the request to be counted. Starting in mid-August, Census enumerators will visit households that have not yet responded.

For more information on the 2020 Census, visit www.2020census.gov/ (English) or 2020census.gov/es (Spanish).

There are benefits to our community if everyone is counted.

— Susan Thacker