Ocean County Officials Look To Finish Census Collection Strong

BARNEGAT, NJ — As Ocean County officials begin to wind down efforts to collect Census information in coming days, they will continue attempts to make sure as many residents as possible are counted by offering mobile questionnaire assistance centers at various locations around the county.

Employees will be available on at the Barnegat farmer’s market at 111 Birdsall St. from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Thursday and again from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday to provide assistance to area residents who have not yet completed the Census process, officials said.

Census information collecting efforts will continue through Sept. 30. Ocean County Freeholder Director Joseph H. Vicari said in a news release that although the county has exceeded its expected response rate, it is imperative that the work to log information continues through the end of the month.

Census data affects the allocation of more than $45 billion, or about $5,160 per New Jersey resident, in annual federal funding, county officials said in the news release. Communities receive funds for programs and services relating to health, education, housing, infrastructure and much more based on Census data.

“I cannot stress enough how important it is for all of us to be a part of this secure and confidential process,” Vicari said in the news release. “If you want day care for your children, well maintained infrastructures, a clean environment, good schools, senior assistance, and the list goes on, it all goes back to being counted in the census.

“We don’t have a lot of time left but it’s still enough time for people to do the right thing and fill out the forms.”

Census information collection has been on-going in Ocean County for more than a year, Vicari said. But county officials have ramped up efforts in recent weeks as they attempt to finish strong in making sure that as many local residents have their information logged into the system before the deadline for Census operations concludes next week.

Efforts in Ocean County to increase participation has included municipal and organizational outreach, social media, websites, and public events throughout the County such as a Census billboard truck, a Census enumeration event at the Blue Claws stadium that drew thousands of residents, and even free ice cream distribution events.

In addition, the branches of the Ocean County Library have trained staff to assist the public with completing their 2020 Census on dedicated laptops or their paper questionnaires. All events scheduled to have Census staff available, as well as other information on the Census, can be found on the Ocean County 2020 Census website, http://www.co.ocean.nj.us/OC/2020Census/.

Anyone who still has not completed their Census can still self-respond by going to my2020census.gov, calling the hotline in English at 844-330-2020 or Spanish at 844-468-2020.