The 2020 Census is coming and adult educators have the opportunity to provide support and resources to help learners and their families prepare for the survey.
Why It’s Important/ Dispelling Myths
The goal of the census is to count every living person in the 50 states, District of Columbia and five U.S. territories. Adult educators are in a unique position to inform their students about the importance of the effort (it is required by law), how to participate and how it will benefit them and their families.
By April 1, 2020 each home will receive an invitation to respond to a questionnaire—online, by phone or email. The 2020 Census will be the first year that responses will be accepted online and this is more reason why there are increased efforts to help people avoid scams and frauds.
You can help students become more comfortable with the census and what it will ask by sharing the actual set of questions available here: https://2020census.gov/en/about-questions.html
The questionnaire is confidential and the data is federally protected. Students will not be asked about their citizenship status and responses will not be used to identify individual homes or residents living in those homes.
Supporting Adult Learners
We do recognize that the Census collection process can be intimidating for learners, especially those with lower literacy skills.
The National Coalition for Literacy has created a webpage dedicated to providing Census 2020 resources that address some of the unique concerns of GED and English Language instructors. The webpage has links to a number of guides, program toolkits and related news.
Instructors can also incorporate Census data in classroom lessons by using available fact sheets and infographics. This may help students become more comfortable with how their responses will be used.
Census Jobs for Students
The Census Bureau is hiring thousands of people across the country to help with the collection efforts. This is a great opportunity for adult learners to earn extra income through a temporary job with flexible hours.
Recruitment has started and is expected to continue through February 2020. Census takers make up the greatest number of available positions with some availability with clerical jobs and supervisory and outreach positions.
The Census Bureau website has detailed information including qualifications for positions, pay rate by state and county, the application to apply and other frequently asked questions.