Census lacks door knockers needed for 2020 count, watchdog says

[Miigwech]

Source: MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press and 2020 KVUE-TV.



ORLANDO, Fla — The U.S. Census Bureau is short by more than 25% of the door knockers needed for the 2020 census, according to its watchdog agency, and it's about to let go of its least productive census takers.

Both developments highlight persistent questions about whether the bureau has enough manpower to get a complete and accurate head count under an accelerated time frame preferred by the Trump administration. Bureau officials, though, say they are pleased with the progress made by census takers and are on pace to finish the job.

The Office of Inspector General's alert this week says it's concerned about the bureau’s ability to hire and retain workers, with six weeks left in the count that helps determine the distribution of $1.5 trillion in federal spending and how many congressional seats and Electoral College votes each state gets.

The bureau needed more than 300,000 census takers by the end of August but by mid-month, just 220,000 census takers were trained and ready to start knocking on the doors of households that haven’t yet responded to the census. Thirty-seven of the nation's 248 census offices aren’t even halfway toward reaching their hiring goals, the office said.

“Without taking timely action, the bureau is at risk of not conducting a complete and accurate 2020 Census,” the memorandum from the Office of Inspector General said.

RELATED: Cities, counties sue Census Bureau over ending 2020 head count early

RELATED: Census ending data collection for 2020 count a month early

The bureau acknowledges that more than a third of people hired to be census takers aren’t showing up for either training or their assignments.

Despite the greater-than-expected attrition, the bureau said it has increased productivity while aggressively training new workers to fill the slots of no-shows.

The statistical agency is still recruiting and hiring census takers to fill the jobs of people who have dropped out over coronavirus fears or other concerns, and it's giving cash awards to the most experienced census takers.

Census takers have been given face masks and hand sanitizers, and they're instructed to maintain at least six feet of distance while asking households in-person questions about their race, sex, Hispanic origin and relationships to each other.
Credit: AP
A briefcase of a census taker is seen as she knocks on the door of a residence Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020, in Winter Park, Fla.

“Our census takers are working more hours and completing more cases than we had planned,” the bureau said in statement.

The census taker shortfall is coming as the bureau's operational plan calls for it to let go of less productive door knockers and transfer their caseloads to higher performers so that the most experienced census takers can work on the hardest-to-reach households.


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Read more: https://www.kvue.com/article/news/nation-world/watchdog-census-lacks-door-knockers-needed-for-2020-count/507-3fce08ba-4b2a-48ac-9062-846be8787e1f

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At $21.00 per hr. could be good temp job for some who need something right now. They need 300,000 more workers.

[bucolic_frolic]

1. I kind of sensed something was up when I saw election style yard signs for census workers

back in January. And my 3 local post offices are now sharing 1 postmaster, open 2 hours a weekday, per location, and only one of them on Saturday. Posted sign blames 'personnel shortages'.

[LiberalArkie]

2. In my county seat (Perryville) they have a tent set up for people to fill out their census forms.

I have had a lady come by my house 2 times asking about neighbors, how many, children, etc.

[Tommymac]

3. It's not the manpower that is the problem - it is management

My wife was contacted in February and volunteered...

But they kept postponing training until end of July, by that time she was fed up and had procured other work.

Also, we have had 3 Census workers knock on our door in the last week - we gave what we knew to the first one about the previous tenants (as we have just moved here after 4/1). The other 2 never read the 1st workers notes until we pointed out we had already had a door knocker, and the 2 extra trips were a waste of time and resources.

It is all about how the damn bureau is being run.

[yellowdogintexas]

17. it can also be bad documentation on the part of the census taker

We are also now being required to attempt to obtain information about the residence from up to 3 sources the first time we visit if no one answers. This is because of the time crunch.

If I knock on a door, and no one answers I leave them a notice with the census ID number and instructions on filing the info. Normally we would go through this 3 times before we would start checking with the neighbors. Now if I don't get an answer, I am supposed to go ahead and knock on the doors of neighbors in an attempt to find out if anyone lived there and if so how many?

Getting this information can save an extra trip back to that house

[amuse bouche]

4. Where did you get the $21.00 an hour from?

[Miigwech]

5. Census is advertising that for census takers.

There is a pay range ...
https://2020census.gov/en/jobs/pay-and-locations/national-map.html

and don't forget overtime pay for which there is probably plenty right now. I did work for the last census and did enjoy it very much. I was a Field Supervisor at $20.00 per hr.

[yellowdogintexas]

13. I am making $22.50 per hour

I had given up on the job - then got the call in early August.

It is hot down here and I can't do a full 8 hour day (something to do with being 72 years old)
but I am enjoying it.

I like getting out and meeting people so that part was easy

Learning to use that iPhone to enter the data was something else again

[tgenerico]

6. Is there a lot of resistance to the census this time around? n/t

[Miigwech]

7. There was last time, from the "I hate the Gov types"

I can only imaging how bad it must be now with all the crazy "Q" cultists. But if trump people refuse to be counted so be it. I'll say one thing, the Census Dept does not give up on the count, they will go back as many times as it takes. However, if as trump says, they intend to cut the time frame for counting short, trump may be under counting plenty of his beloved idiots.

[yellowdogintexas]

18. what's depressing is the number of people who have no clue what it is

this one couple I had today started with me on the interview and we were about 2/3 of the way through when suddenly the wife balked and wanted to do it online because she wanted to know more about it. I had already explained the basics. I got the feeling that she was concerned about the information. So I had to completely reset my interview and give her the information for online.
It was really weird how she suddenly just dug in like a mule.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

8. I think the census will be "done" at the end of September.

Can the next administration declare it "incomplete" and re-open the counting?

We won't have good numbers by 9/30.

[yellowdogintexas]

16. we were supposed to have until 10/31 and then the last 30 days

was chopped off. There is no way we will be able to get everyone by Sept 30
I read that there is a court case on this to extend the enumeration period but that was a while ago, and I do not know if that got tossed by the wayside or not.

I would love to continue through October. With good weather we could kick some serious butt; right now it is so hot that it is really hard to stay out there much longer than 3 hours at a time. Not to mention that from 10 am until around 4:30 to 5 no one is home anyway

[forthemiddle]

9. We moved in April

Before we moved I filled out the census online, as my mailed postcard requested.
In the past three weeks we have had a mailer request, and two in person visits! Every time I tell them I already responded, yet they keep coming back!

[Miigwech]

11. Many Others have been on the move this Covid year.

Census has to count everyone at every address. You live at this address now so you should be counted where you live. The Census will sort it out later. If they get a double count from that old address or present address they will check dates.

[forthemiddle]

12. We only moved a few miles away.

We are in the same voting district, so I’m not going to allow myself to be counted twice.

[yellowdogintexas]

15. You should actually be counted where you lived on APril 1 2020

If you were censused at your old address, we can indicate that.
If you were not censused at your old address, we can do that
If you don't know anything about the prior resident, we take that information, and record that we spoke with the "in-mover" which is the person who moved in after April 1.

It is really all about April 1 which is Census Day and where everybody lived on that date.

We run into all sorts of odd things...houses that have been unoccupied for years; houses that are not finished yet; empty land; non residential property.

[yellowdogintexas]

14. If you lived in another house on April 1 the mailers you are are receiving

want the census information on the folks who were living at your current residence on April 1.

So let's say I knock on your door, and you tell me you already completed and sent it in. However this address is on my list because no information was returned for that property.

My first question: Were you living here April 1? If not, then we can indicate that you were censused at your prior address; if you were not we can do that, and document that your current address was either occupied by another person or unoccupied.

So go online and answer the census questions for the property where you now live. It will help us out a lot!

[Bernardo de La Paz]

10. It's on purpose of course. . . . nt

[yellowdogintexas]

19. most definitely. The objective is to undercount as much as possible

I am not sure why
Maybe it is to short the Latino and African American populations so that when the new Congressional map is drawn, it will be easier to keep those groups split up to destroy any clout they might have

If we had an accurate count, Texas could get 3 or 4 new districts. It is now looking as if we will be lucky to get 2