Letter to Dr. Steven Dillingham, Director of the U.S. Census Bureau - Haaland, Democratic Leaders of Color Urge Action to Prevent Census Undercount

Letter

Dear Dr. Dillingham:

As leaders of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), Congressional
Hispanic Caucus (CHC), and Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) we write to you to express our
concerns that there may be a disproportionate undercount of communities of color in the 2020
Census. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, there was already widespread concern that
communities of color would be undercounted in the 2020 Census, as they have been in all past
decennial censuses. The pandemic has since then added unprecedented barriers to the
enumeration of all Americans and early analysis of the response rates of the 2020 Census show
that these barriers are disproportionally impacting communities of color and immigrant
communities.

These trends are concerning because the results of the 2020 Census have never been more
important. Available data suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic has created both a public health
and economic crisis that is disproportionately impacting communities of color. Well-informed
political, policy, and business decisions will be critical to helping communities of color recover
from the lingering impact of the crisis and ensuring that our communities have the resources they
need to build up resiliency against future pandemics. An undercount in the 2020 Census could
set our communities back for the decade to come.

Given these concerns, we respectfully request the Census Bureau do the following:
* Host a Member-level telebriefing within the next week on the status of 2020 Census
operations for Members of the Congressional Tri-Caucus and Congressional Native
American Caucus similar to the one that Members of the House Committee on Oversight
and Reform received on Friday April 24, 2020.
* Host separate Member-level meetings between the Census Bureau Director and each of
the aforementioned caucuses.
* Commit to hosting monthly Member-level meetings between the Census Bureau Director
and each caucus as we continue to monitor the COVID-19 pandemic and as Congress
evaluates providing statutory relief to the Bureau;
* Host a staff telebriefing within the next week on the status of the 2020 Census that is
open to all congressional staff.
* Commit to hosting bi-weekly telebriefings to keep all congressional staff routinely
informed on changes to census operations, including changes to the field program and
communications program, as we continue to monitor the COVID-19 pandemic and as
Congress evaluates providing statutory relief to the Bureau;
* Provide written responses to the questions and concerns outlined in letters from the
Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and Congressional Hispanic Caucus that
were sent on April 14th and April 3rd respectively.

Additionally, we request answers to the following questions by no later than May 22, 2020:

Request for Relief from the Statutory Reporting Deadlines
* The Bureau has stated that delays to data collection operations may affect the Bureau's
ability to provide quality data and meet statutorily required dates for delivering data to
the President and the states. How will the Bureau ensure quality of data products if not
provided statutory relief from the deadlines for reporting apportionment and redistricting
data?

Congressional Relations
* How does the Census Bureau plan on ensuring that Congressional offices are aware of
changes to the enumeration process while operations are adapted throughout the COVID19 pandemic?

Field Operations
* How will an anticipated second wave of COVID-19 cases in the Fall be factored into the
Bureau's operational plans for the Census?
* How will the Census Bureau ensure that areas where field operations begin later and are
cut short by a second wave of COVID-19 are not disproportionately undercounted?

Self-Response and the Communications Program
* The Bureau extended the self-response period and delayed its Nonresponse Followup
operation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. How will the Bureau maximize self-response
during delays in field operations?
* Has the Bureau considered additional mailings beyond the planned sixth mailing or
extending the period for paid advertising? Will local level extensions be made to either in
areas where Nonresponse Followup begins later?
* How will the Census Bureau ensure that information about operational changes to the
2020 Census due to the COVID-19 pandemic are made publicly available in a timely
manner?
* The Census Bureau recently announced that it plans to expand the communications
program to 40 languages. What languages will be included in this expansion? What forms
of media will this expansion apply to and how will this expansion be targeted to
individuals who speak those languages? Will in-language direct mail be a part of this
expansion?

Nonresponse Follow-up
* How will the Bureau manage Nonresponse Followup (NRFU) and data quality control
activities? Door-to-door visits for NRFU interviewing and quality control activities may
be less effective in a post-COVID-19 environment. What, if any, changes to collecting
data will be made?
* Is the Census Bureau planning for the possibility that NRFU may not be possible in parts
of the country during the enumeration period? If so, how will the Census Bureau ensure a
complete count in these areas?

Area Census Offices
* What steps is the Census Bureau taking to support teleworking by its management teams
in Area Census Offices (ACOs) during a possible second wave of COVID-19?
* How ready is the Bureau to adapt to circumstances where COVID-19 may be having very
different local impacts? The Bureau is likely to experience further disruptions due to the
resurgence of COVID-19 when field operations resume. How prepared is the Bureau for
further COVID-19 disruptions at ACOs? How will the Bureau adapt schedules, reporting
requirements, and performance metrics in areas of the country where COVID-19
resurges? How is the Bureau addressing lease modifications for ACOs and the Regional
Census Centers?
* How is the Bureau ensuring that it communicates information about evolving timelines,
field protocols, updates to training, and modified operations to ACO staff in timely, clear,
and consistent way?

Group Quarters and Service Based Enumeration
* What is the current status of the Group Quarters Enumeration?
* How is the Bureau adjusting plans for Service Based Enumeration? Often those counted
through this operation are more transitory. Recall bias, the ability to remember where one
was living on April 1, and the ability and infrastructure of facilities to provide data may
disproportionately affect individuals enumerated through these methods. How will the
Bureau ensure the quality of data collected for those people staying or living in group
quarters?

Mobile Questionnaire Assistance
* How is the Bureau adapting its Mobile Questionnaire Assistance (MQA) approach? The
MQA initiative was intended to provide staff at community events to help people
complete their questionnaire and answer questions in locations with low-self response.
With community events widely canceled, the Bureau stated that the operation needs
further review and coordination with partners. When can we expect to see a revised plan
for MQAs?

Addressing Misinformation and Disinformation
* Misinformation and disinformation spread through traditional media (e.g. newspapers) or
social media could impact both the self-response rate and the rate of response through
NRFU. What actions is the Bureau taking to monitor, manage, and react to
misinformation and disinformation incidents (including those relating to COVID-19 and
its impact on the 2020 Census) to ensure that incorrect information does not impact
response rates?

Hiring and Onboarding of Census Staff
* The effects of COVID-19 on hiring and retention remains uncertain. How will the Bureau
ensure adequate and timely hiring and onboarding and ensure that those hired are
reflective of the communities in which they are working?
* Will the Bureau reassess its anticipated workload and staff needs for NRFU? When it
resumes operations, will the Bureau be able to hire and onboard more field staff, if
needed? Please provide our Members with the Bureau's projected timelines for new
hiring and onboarding processes.
* When Census operations resume, the Bureau will face differing state and local public
health guidance and policies. What steps has the Bureau taken to ensure the health and
safety of Census workers as well as members of the general public? Please share the
Bureau's plan for putting into place appropriate protocols and procedures and ensuring
the availability of protective equipment and cleaning supplies.
* How will an anticipated second wave of COVID-19 cases be factored into the Bureau's
safety plans for its employees?

Language Access
* Aside from expanding the in-language communications program, what additional steps is
the Census Bureau taking to ensure that limited English proficient (LEP) individuals are
reached while social distancing measures are in place?

Partnership Program
* With the focus on self-response and constraints on face-to-face information sharing and
enumeration due to social distancing, the Bureau's National and Community Partnerships
are more important than ever. How is the Census Bureau coordinating with National and
Community Partners to ensure they are still able to support census efforts, especially
considering the adjusted operations and timeline?
* What effort is the Bureau making to coordinate partnership efforts with Area Census
Offices post- COVID-19? When operations resume, will there be changes to help ACO
staff coordinate with Partnerships Specialists?
* The Census Bureau has indicated that field operations will resume at different points in
time across the country. As the Census Bureau makes determinations on when it is
appropriate to resume operations, how will these changes be communicated to local
Census Partners? Will Census Partners be informed in advance if field operations are
likely to resume later in their area?

Census Questionnaire Assistance
* Adaptations made because of COVID-19 have made it harder to provide in-person
language assistance to Limited English Proficient (LEP) respondents. Is the Census
Bureau exploring expanding the in-language options at call centers as they work to
expand that program? If so, will South Asian languages be included in this expansion?
* The Census Bureau recently announced that it is taking steps to decrease wait times for
phone respondents by reinstating the callback option and making more employees
available to respond to requests. How much has capacity been increased at call centers,
and what is the increase per call center, per language option, and per language per call
center?
* If the Census Bureau is utilizing remote operators in its call centers, what has the increase
in remote operating capacity been, and how does this increase differ by language option?
What is the new average wait-time overall and per language option?

Disclosure Avoidance, Evaluation and Post-Enumeration Survey
* What actions is the Bureau taking to revise plans and schedules related to disclosure
avoidance activities? The Bureau had been developing near-term plans for activities
related to disclosure avoidance and differential privacy. These activities included
gathering additional feedback from data users, convening expert panels, and developing
training on differential privacy. Has the Bureau revised the plans and schedules for these
activities? How is the Census Bureau ensuring that the differential privacy policy impact
protects confidentiality without negatively impacting the availability of useful data for
smaller racial and ethnic groups?
* How has the Bureau revised its evaluation program in light of COVID-19? How will the
evaluation program consider the impact of COVID-19 on census data collection and
quality?
* What actions is the Bureau taking to ensure the reliability of the Post-Enumeration
Survey? Less effective door-to-door visits may also affect the reliability of the postenumeration survey's data and therefore its ability to assess the quality of the count.
What, if any, changes will be made to the survey?

Enumeration of the Territories
* What is the current status of the 2020 Census operations in the U.S. Territories including
Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, America Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin
Islands? Please provide a copy of the in-field operations and communications plans
originally planned for each of the territories before the COVID-19 outbreak, and updated
detailed information on how the Bureau is adjusting its operations and communications
plans. We ask that the following information be provided for each of the territories:
o Detailed adjusted timelines for each operation;
o A breakdown of the local territory governments that the Bureau is working with
to coordinate these new plans;
o Updated communications and media plans on how the Bureau plans to
communicate these updates to the public, including the languages in which they
are being communicated;
o Updated plans on how the Bureau plans to keep census employees in the
territories safe;
o Additional information on the Bureau's plans to restart the Update/Leave
Operations in Puerto Rico. We understand that while the Bureau is adjusting its
Update/Leave operation state-side, there is still a lack of clarity on next steps for
Puerto Rico.
o Additional updates on the operations for the remaining U.S. territories and how
they have been affected or adjusted. The four remaining U.S. territories are Guam,
the Northern Mariana Islands, America Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Information Technology Systems
* What actions is the Bureau taking to address IT systems testing and implementation risks
resulting from COVID-19 and its new operations schedule? Is there a sufficient number
of contractor staff available to perform additional systems testing needed for COVID-19-
related changes, such as the purchasing of additional handheld devices?
* What steps is the Bureau taking to assess and implement the IT contract changes needed
to support the new operations schedule? Has the Bureau reassessed the time frames for
reducing the IT servers, storage capacity, and software licenses supporting 2020 Census
operations?

We look forward to continuing to work together on achieving a complete and accurate count in
the 2020 Census.

Source