CENSUS Takers Coming Around
This is an FYI that, in the next few weeks, Census Takers will be in your community conducting Non-Response Follow-Up, where they will knock on people’s doors who have not filled out the Census. This week begins a test-run where we will see how social distancing protocols work.
Census takers will start visiting households that haven’t responded in 34 Oregon counties beginning Thursday, July 30. The remaining two counties, Multnomah and Clackamas, will begin on August 11. This operation, called Non-Response Follow Up (NRFU), is the largest operation of the decennial census and is scheduled to conclude no later than October 31.
What Households Can Expect
- The Census Bureau will provide face masks to census takers and requires that they wear a mask while conducting their work. They will follow CDC and local public health guidelines when they visit. Census takers must complete a virtual COVID-19 training on social distancing protocols and other health and safety guidance before beginning their work in neighborhoods.
- Census takers are hired from local communities. 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, they will leave a notice of their visit with information about how to respond online, by phone or by mail.
- 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.
For more information, see the attached fact sheet.
You can help achieve a complete and accurate count of your community by encouraging residents to cooperate with census takers when they come to their door. Note that during this operation residents may still respond online, by phone or by mail if they have not yet returned their census form.
Please let me know if you have any questions, and thank you for your help in counting everyone once, only once, and in the right place!
Dr. Michelle Maher
Partnership Specialist
U.S. Census Bureau