HARTFORD, CT)- Lieutenant Governor Susan Bysiewicz is reminding Connecticut residents to check their mailboxes for an invitation to complete the 2020 Census. Beginning tomorrow, March 12, 2020, initial invitations to respond to the census online and by phone will be delivered by the U.S. Postal Service to households across the state. Areas that are less likely to respond online will receive a paper questionnaire along with the invitation to respond online or over the phone.
This is the beginning of the self-response operation. Residents should complete the census questionnaire as soon as they receive their letter invitations in the mail. Each invitation will include a unique 12-digit number used to access the questionnaire online or by phone to answer basic questions about the size and type of their residence along with the name, age, gender and ethnicity of everyone living in the home.
“Communities across Connecticut have been preparing for the 2020 Census through the work of over 156 local complete count committees and I am confident that we are ready for the count,” Lt. Governor Bysiewicz said. “Each household will receive an invitation to complete the census by March 20th and I highly encourage those who can complete the 2020 Census online to do so as soon as they recieve it. Nearly $11 billion in federal funding for Connecticut will be determined by the data collected by the census so it’s important that we get it right.
“I also want to emphasize that the census is protected by Title 13 and any personal information given to the U.S. Census Bureau cannot be shared with any federal, state, or local entity. Census employees take a life-long oath to protect your data and face strict penalties including a federal prison sentence of up to five years, a fine of up to $250,000, or both, if they break that oath.”
The U.S. Census Bureau released informational copies of the invitation letters that will be mailed this week in an effort to give people an idea of what to expect and to help them avoid scams. Bilingual invitations will be sent to neighborhoods where at least one-fifth of residents speak Spanish. The letters in English and Spanish can be viewed by clicking here.
The U.S. Census Bureau is also providing the Internet Self-Response Instrument and Census Questionnaire Assistance in 12 non-English languages; enumerator instrument, bilingual paper questionnaire, bilingual mailing, and field enumeration materials in Spanish; and language guides, language glossaries, and language identification card in 59 non-English languages.
A reminder letter and paper questionnaire will be mailed to households that do not immediately self-respond to the initial invitation letter. The U.S. Census Bureau will follow up in-person with all households that do not respond.
Lt. Governor Bysiewicz serves as chair of the Connecticut Complete Count Committee, an advisory panel of community leaders who represent diverse populations from across the state including elected officials, faith leaders, community health centers, chambers of commerce, community activists and heads of housing authorities. The members of the committee have been working closely with the U.S. Census Bureau over the last year to analyze previous census undercounts and create strategies to ensure a full count in Connecticut, including the formation of over 156 local complete count committees throughout the state.
The 2020 Census will be used as the foundation to determine nearly $11 billion of federal funding allocations to Connecticut for federal programs such as Medicaid, SNAP, WIC, federal school lunch program, community block grants, transportation and highway projects, and so many other programs that families across the state rely on every day.
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