COMMON CENSUS MYTHS BUSTED
BY CAREY HEAD/PONCA CITY MONTHLY
Ponca City: Census Challenge Is Up to Us times 10.”
Kat Long makes a challenge to anyone who will listen: “Give me a topic -- any topic -- and I can relate it back to the Census.” Katherine Long, better known as Kat, is the Small Business and Information Coordinator for Ponca City Development Authority. It falls within her purview to help Kay County and Ponca City residents understand the importance of standing up to be counted for the United States 2020 Census. “Our economic development in Ponca City is assisted by accurate population counts for Ponca City and Kay County. For workforce attraction and retention, people want to be in a thriving community.” “Have kids? Do you drive on roads? Do you want to get older? Have you visited a park? All aspects of our community tie back to the census. Economic development, community development, education, health and human services, kids, seniors … every aspect of our lives can be tied back to the Census,” she explains. The U.S. Census is conducted every 10 years. The 2020 Census will be the 24th nationwide population count. This is Long’s third Census to help orchestrate. Participation in the Census is the law. It is mandated by the U.S. Constitution under Title 13 of the U.S. Code. Responding to the Census is more than the law; it makes dollars and cents for each resident in Ponca City and Kay County. Federal and state funding appropriations are informed by Census results. “We have over $9 BILLION in government funding for the state of Oklahoma. So that’s where they got the number that every person in Oklahoma is worth $1,671 a year for the next 10 years. That’s a huge number. For Ponca City, that equals out to be $43 million per year,” Long said, “and then multiply that
The 2010 Census determined Ponca City’s population was 25,387 people – a decline in population since the 2000 Census. In economic development-speak, our population was “trending down.” In the eyes of potential investors, this is not good. “We’re growing, not shrinking!” Long declares. “We used to be a company town. Now we are a town with companies in it. “We have a lot more regional and national (potential investors) looking at us than the public knows. People looking to open a business, invest in a community, can go and look online for information about that community. Census information is available 24/7. And we want it to be a good story. We want it to be trending UP for the next 10 years. So, a great 2020 Census will open so much more! Keep attracting new retail and restaurants, plus help small business grow and succeed.” Long’s goal is to have a 95% Census questionnaire response rate. The 10-question survey can be answered online (Ponca City Library has free computer access), by telephone or by mail. Because the Census is tied to addresses, not to names (P.O. Box renters will not receive a Census form in their box), those addresses shown as not having responded to reminder letters and postcards by April 27 will then trigger an in-person follow-up, also known as a Census Taker. Long’s goal is for Ponca City’s population count to be at least 26,000 according to the 2020 Census. “In 2010, 4% of Oklahoma’s children failed to be counted in the Census for a variety of reasons. If we just get all the kids counted, then we are golden,” she says. When the 2020 Census comes up with a new population total for our town, the millions of federal and state tax dollars coming back to Ponca City per year will be adjusted. Whether it goes up or down is up to us.
By Carey Head/Ponca City Monthly
KatLong,PoncaCityDevelopmentAuthority,isspearheadingthemarketing effort,“ICountforKayCounty”toeducateandencourageeveryKayCountyhouseholdtorespondtothe2020U.S.Census.Shesharesthecommonmythsshe’s encounteredsinceworkstartedlastsummer.Inadditiontoherresponses,information also is gathered from http://www.2020census.gov . Myth: This is a new thing. I’ve never heard of it before. Truth:The 2020 Census is the 24th Census to be conducted in the United States.“That’s240yearsoftradition,”saysLong.Thecountismandatedbythe Constitutionandcarriedoutbythenon-partisan,stand-alonegovernmentagency, the U.S. Census Bureau. Myth: The Census doesn’t affect me. Truth:The2020Censuswilldeterminecongressionalrepresentationandinformhundredsofbillionsofdollarsinfederalfundingeveryyear.Fromschool lunchandHeadStartprogramstoworkforcetraining,supportingfamiliesinneed anddeterminingservicesforseniorcitizens,the2020Censuswillprovidedata that will impact Kay County and its citizens every day for the next decade. Myth: You don’t have to fill out the Census form. Truth: By law, you do. The2020CensusisconductedundertheauthorityofTitle13,U.S.Code,Sections141,193and221.EveryonelivingintheUnitedStatesanditsfiveterritories is required by law to be counted in the 2020 Census. Therearethreewaystoanswerthe10-questionCensusbeforeaCensusTaker comestoyourhome:online,bytelephoneorbymail.It’sashortquestionnaire aboutyourselfandeveryonewhoisorwillbelivingwithyouonApril1,2020. Myth: Census information is tied to your name. Truth:Informationistiedtotheresidence,eitherahouseorapartment,accordingtoLong.TheCensusasksforpeople’snameslivinginyourhouseholdtoensurethateachhouseholdmemberiscountedonlyonce.Names,alongwithother informationinthequestionnaire,helpsCensusworkerstocorrecttherecordsifa person appears more than once in the count. Myth: Other agencies will be able to track you through this information. Truth:TheUnitedStatesCensusBureauisastand-alonefederalagencythat,by law,cannotshareinformationwithotheragencies.“Nocriminalsaretracked.No deportationshavehappenedduetoCensusinformation,”Longsaid.“Taxreturns? Maybe. But not Census.” TheU.S.CensusBureauisboundbyTitle13oftheU.S.Codetoprotectyour answersandkeepthemstrictlyconfidential.Bylaw,theCensusBureaucannot releaseanyidentifiableinformationaboutyou,yourhome,oryourbusiness,even tolawenforcementagencies.Yourprivatedataisprotectedandyouranswerscannotbeusedagainstyoubyanygovernmentagencyorcourt.ViolatingTitle13isa federalcrimepunishablebyimprisonmentand/orafineofupto$250,000. Everyemployeetakesanoathtoprotectyourpersonalinformationforlife. Longadds,“Censusinformationthatincludestheresident’snameisreleased after72years.In2022,theinformationfromthe1950Census,includingtheresidentnames(andotheridentifiableinformation),willbereleasedtothepublicfor the first time. It’s very exciting for genealogists.”
April 2020
9
