By John Finefrock
Staff Writer
The U.S. Census Bureau has suspended 2020 Census field operations and is encouraging residents nationwide to use 2020Census.gov or the telephone to submit information, according to local census representatives.
“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,” a Saturday press release from the U.S. Census Bureau reads.
In an email, Archuleta County Complete Count Committee co-chair Mary Jo Coulehan wrote about the importance of local residents completing the census.
“With the current pandemic situation, people should realize how important it is for them to register. Census funding affects the programs that all our counties are tapping into at a federal and state level, so EVERY person counts. Most of us are at home, so take a few minutes and fill out the Census!” Coulehan’s email states.
Coulehan wrote in a subsequent email that while citizens can respond by phone, mail or online, the census prefers online and phone.
2020Census.gov includes a map that details response rates across the country.
As of Wednesday morning, the national “self-response rate” was 36.2 percent, Colorado’s response rate was 38 percent and Archuleta County’s was 16.2 percent. Neighboring La Plata County’s response rate was listed at 27 percent.
Detailed instructions about how to respond to the 2020 Census can be found at https://2020census.gov/en/ways-to-respond.html
