To: Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): County Administrator’s Office
Staff Name and Phone Number: Melissa Hernandez 707-565-1789
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): All
Title:
Title
2020 Census Gold Resolution
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Recommended Actions:
Recommended action
Adopt a Gold Resolution recognizing the importance of the 2020 census and encouraging Sonoma County residents to get counted in order to ensure a complete, fair, and accurate count of all California residents. (Majority Vote Required) (Countywide)
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Executive Summary:
On January 29, 2019, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors approved a resolution to opt in and receive $100,000 in grant funding from the State, and consequently entered into agreement #CCC -18-20038 with the California Complete Count Office to support Census 2020 outreach efforts targeting the Hard to Count (HTC) Communities in Sonoma County. Per this agreement, the County has developed a strategic plan detailing its outreach approach and activity timeline to raise awareness and educate Sonoma County’s hard to count communities about Census 2020.
The County and United Way of the Wine Country, the Administrative Community Based Organization for region 2, are currently working with the California Complete Count Office and the US Census Bureau to co-create the Sonoma County Complete Count Committee (SCCC). As an outreach forum, the SCCC will channel, align and optimize outreach efforts and activities to educate about the 2020 census, and motivate Sonoma County residents to get counted and contribute to a full and accurate count in California.
Discussion:
The U.S. Constitution mandates that a headcount occur every ten years, of everyone residing in: the 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the Island Areas of the United States. It includes people of all ages, races, ethnic groups, citizens, and noncitizens. The goal of the census is to count everyone once, only once, and in the right place. The next decennial census will take place on April 1, 2020. For the first time online responses will be allowed, in addition to phone and mail.
The U.S. Census Bureau is required to submit state population totals to the President of the United States by December 31, 2020.
The population totals from this census will determine the number of seats each state has in the House of Representatives (House), and possible redrawing of state legislative districts. The data collected through the census help inform decision makers how their community is changing. The totals also affect funding; approximately $675 billion in federal funding is distributed to states and communities each year based on census data. The U.S. Census Bureau further states that approximately $20,000 is lost by states and local governments for every person not counted in the census. About forty-two percent of Sonoma County’s budget (FY 2018-2019) comes from state, federal & other government revenues.
In addition to determining seats in the House, census data is used by the federal government to allocate funds in several areas such as:
• Title I grant funding to educational agencies (school districts)
• Head Start programs
• Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program
• Public transportation (Programs affected by census data include: the Active Transportation Program (ATP), the Transportation Development Act (TDA), and the Highway Users Tax (HUTA))
• Road rehabilitation and construction
• Programs for the elderly
• Emergency food and shelter
2020 Census Timeline and Key Dates
The following represents the operational timeline <https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/visualizations/2017/comm/2016-census-day.jpg> for 2020 Census activity:
• May 2019: Sonoma Complete Count Committee (SCCC) launched
• June-December 2019: SCCC convenes and refines outreach efforts
• January 2020: Local outreach officially begins
• March 23, 2020: Self-response online access begins
• April 1, 2020: Census Day
• May 2020: follow-up of non-responses by U.S. Census staff begins
• December 31, 2020: Apportionment counts submitted to the President
• March 31, 2021: Redistricting summary submitted to the States
• April-Oct. 2021: The boundaries of the supervisorial districts shall be adjusted by the Board of Supervisors before the first day of November of the year following the year in which each decennial federal census is taken.
California Complete Count Committee (CCC) and Local Complete Count Committees (LCCC)
California’s Complete Count Committee is leading a statewide outreach and awareness campaign designed to encourage and support full participation by all Californians in the upcoming 2020 Census. The state is devoting significant resources to the campaign because California, with its very diverse communities has the highest risk in the nation of being undercounted, and faces several barriers to ensure an accurate count and therefore receiving its fair share of federal funding and Congressional representation. The state seeks to reach its more than 12.5 million total households to raise awareness of the 2020 census and motivate the hardest to count residents to respond.
The state is focusing its communication and outreach efforts on the areas of greatest need: communities historically undercounted in the census. These populations, called “hard to count” (HTC), are least likely to respond to the census questionnaire without specialized outreach and assistance. The state’s goal is to meet or exceed the U.S. Census Bureau’s nationwide target to achieve a 60.5% self-response rate from people in all communities.
Hard to Count census tracts are defined by the U.S. Census Bureau based on a range of housing, demographic, and socioeconomic variables that correlate with undercounts. They include population density, and percentage of the following demographic variables:
|
HTC variables |
% Specific to Sonoma County |
|
Immigrants and foreign born |
16.6% of Sonoma County residents |
|
Linguistically isolated people |
10.4 % of Sonoma County residents speak English “less than very well” |
|
Persons who are not high school graduates |
12.3% of Sonoma County residents |
|
Persons who are unemployed |
3.8% of Sonoma County residents |
|
Number of vacant housing units in an area |
8.6% of housing units are vacant in Sonoma County |
|
Specific ethnic and minority populations |
26.4% of Sonoma County residents are Hispanic or Latino of any race. Other races account for 6.9% of total population. |
|
Renters and children |
5.2% of Sonoma County residents are children under 5 years old. 39.7% of housing units in Sonoma County are renter occupied. |
|
Densely populated communities with multi-unit housing, public assistance characteristics |
14.1% of Sonoma County households have receive supplemental security income, cash public assistance and/or food stamp benefits for over 12 months |
|
Native Americans living on tribal lands |
1.1% of Sonoma County residents belong to a tribal community |
It is anticipated that the Sonoma Count Complete Count Committee (SCCC) will include cross-sector local stakeholders representing the hard to count communities (HTC) in Sonoma County. These may include, but are not limited to, cities, businesses, education, health and faith community representatives, as well as Community Based Organizations (CBOs) working with specific minorities, or ethnic groups such as immigrants and native Americans belonging to tribal groups. These representatives, with their knowledge of the specific HTC communities will help inform the SCCC of successful grassroots outreach strategies and activities.
Prior Board Actions:
01-29-2019 Board authorization to enter Outreach Funding Agreement with the California Complete Count Office.
Fiscal Summary
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Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
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Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
N/A
Attachments:
Gold Resolution
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None