Marin County Readies For 2020 Pre-Census With $100K Grant

MARIN COUNTY, CA – Marin County has received a $100,000 state grant for pre-2020 census outreach activities.

The county plans to establish a Complete Count Committee comprised of a broad spectrum of residents to create localized messages about the impending nationwide count that is required every 10 years.

The count determines the number of Congressional representatives each state receives and how federal money is allocated.

The 2020 census is the first that will emphasize responding online to census questions rather than by mail, Marin County Community Development Agency senior planner Kristin Drumm said.

A preliminary nationwide study by the U.S. Census Bureau indicated two-thirds of respondents said they were extremely or very likely to fill out a census form.

But the Census Barriers, Attitudes and Motivators Study indicated there were several barriers that could prevent people from responding to the census. They include data privacy and confidentiality concerns, fear of repercussions, distrust in all levels of government, ambivalence about being
counted and not seeing any personal benefit to responding.

The study also identified "hard to count" populations comprised of racial and ethnic minorities, people who speak languages other than English, people with low internet proficiency, young people who move frequently or plan to move soon and rural residents.

The Marin County Community Development Agency evaluated data from the 2010 census to identify Marin County residents who were least likely to respond or hard to count. They lived mostly in San Rafael, Marin City and West Marin.

Marin County's Complete Count Committee is scheduled to hold its first meeting March 8. Contact Kristin Drumm at (415) 473-6290 for more information.

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