The response deadline for the 2020 census has been shortened by a month, and now all field activity and self-responses are due Sept. 30. This will result in a dramatic undercount of Black and Latino communities and other hard-to-count census populations, including those in rural areas and high-poverty neighborhoods. This undercount means fewer federal dollars coming back to our state for essential programs for our most vulnerable Kansans – many of whom you serve, which could result in greater demands on your programs.

We currently have less than 15 days until the Sept. 30 deadline, and nearly 20 percent of Kansans have not responded to the census – in some areas, the response rate is worse! We urgently need your help.

We have been working with the League of Kansas Municipalities, the U.S. Census Bureau, and a range of state and local partners to help increase awareness of the importance and value of an accurate census count to Kansas. We are now reaching out to organizations that work with those most at-risk of being undercounted, and this is where we need your help!

Here’s our ask: Please take a few minutes to help raise the awareness of the 2020 census and its importance for community health efforts, safety, infrastructure, and even how it might impact your organization. Some simple ways to help, include:

• Posting messages on your organization’s social media accounts, or sharing census messages from KHF or Kansas Counts through Sept. 30 (KHF on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram; Kansas Counts on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram)
• Place a poster or message at your organization’s door or distribute flyers to your clients (KHF can provide census materials at no charge)
• Encourage your employees to respond to the census at this link or by phone
• Create and send a “text” or “email” message to friends, families and clients to remind them of the importance of the census and the new deadline (Sept. 30).
• Work with your community partners to hold social-distanced census sign-ups at churches, grocery stores, food distribution sites, etc.

We appreciate anything you can do with your connections, meetings and platforms to help us get more Kansans counted in the 2020 census. Please find ready-to-use social media messages on the Kansas Counts website here. If you need materials or have other questions, please contact info@khf.org.

Thank you again for helping us build healthier, stronger communities!

DOWNLOADABLE HANDOUTS/FLYERS

In English:

• Census 101
• “Why We Ask” handout
• Sample Census Questionnaire
• Census Confidentiality
• “Stop The Knock” flyer

In Spanish:

• Información básica sobre el censo
• Muestra del cuesntionario del Censo del 2020
• Trabajadores Migrantes
• Por Qué Hacemos Ciertas Preguntas
• Evite que ee toquien en su puerta