Framingham Hosts 2020 Census Kick-off

FRAMINGHAM, MA — Nevins Hall was packed with elected officials from all over the state, non-profit workers and members of the public to kick-off the countdown to the 2020 census. While the countdown has begun, most houses won't see a letter from the U.S. Census Bureau until March of next year. Getting a complete count of the state was at the tip of everyone's tongue.

Some difficulties the upcoming census could face include getting an accurate count of the immigrant population in the state that has been historically undercounted. More than 25% of Framingham residents are foreign-born. Eva Millona, chairwoman of the Mass. Complete Count Committee and executive director of the Mass. Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, pointed out President Donald Trump's push for a citizenship question as a possible deterrent to immigrant populations. "If we miss immigrants, refugees, and other households because of fear, we could have a significant under-count," Millona said.

New methods are being rolled out this year to reach as many people as possible, including the first ever online census form. To get the word out about the online applications, postcards will be mailed to homes and if recipients do not respond, they will be mailed a paper form. People will also be able to call a toll free number and fill out the census over the phone.

Albert Fontenot, Jr., Associate Director for Decennial Census Programs, told the crowd that this year, the Census Bureau would make full use of social media and inform people of the census. The use of social media will also help debunk scams by alerting people to important facts including that that census will never ask for Social Security or banking information.

On a local level, Framingham is creating the Complete Count Committee to get a better grip on the city census. The committee will be comprised of local leaders in all aspects of Framingham life who can rally people to be counted for the census.

Getting an accurate census count helps the state's political clout. The last three census counts showed Massachusetts' population growing at a slower rate than other parts of the country and resulted in the state losing a congressional seat.

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