Census Takers to Begin Outreach Next Week in Fort Hall

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 23, 2020 

Census Takers to Begin Outreach Next Week in Fort Hall

Fort Hall – Next week, July 27th, census takers in the Fort Hall area will begin to follow up with households that have not yet responded to the 2020 Census. 

The current self-response rate on the Fort Hall Reservation is 37.2% and Idaho is at 65.9%. The Census Bureau will need to visit the remaining reservation addresses to collect responses in person. 

Households can still respond now by completing and mailing back the paper questionnaire they received in the mail, by responding online at 2020census.gov, or by phone at 844-330-2020. Households can also respond online or by phone in one of 13 languages and find assistance in many more. Those that respond will not need to be visited to obtain their census response.

What Households Can Expect

Census takers will follow local and tribal public health guidelines when they visit your home. Face masks are mandated and census takers will be required to wear them. Census takers must complete a virtual COVID-19 training on social distancing protocols and other health and safety guidance before beginning their work in the community.

Census takers are hired from local communities and some are from the Fort Hall Reservation. All census takers speak English, and many are bilingual. If a census taker does not speak the householder’s language, the household may request a return visit from a census taker who does. Census takers will also have materials on hand to help identify the household’s language. 

If no one is home when the census taker visits, the census taker will leave a notice of their visit with information about how to respond online, by phone or by mail. People are encouraged to cooperate with census takers and ensure that everyone who was living in their household as of April 1, 2020, is counted. 

How to Identify Census Takers 

Census takers can be easily identified by a valid government ID badge with their photograph, a U.S. Department of Commerce watermark, and an expiration date on the badge. To confirm a census taker’s identity, the public may contact their regional census center to speak with a Census Bureau representative.

About the 2020 Census

The U.S. Constitution mandates a census of the population every 10 years. The goal of the 2020 Census is to count everyone who lives in the United States on April 1, 2020 (Census Day). Census statistics are used to determine the number of seats each state holds in the U.S. House of Representatives and informs how billions of dollars in federal funds will be allocated by state, local and federal lawmakers annually for the next 10 years.  

For more information, visit 2020census.gov.  To contact your local Tribal Census representative, call Denell Broncho at 208-478-3847 (Monday-Friday, 8-5PM).

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