The Governor appointed Oregon Complete Count Committee (OCCC) has begun regular meetings to gear Oregon up for the 2020 Census.
Multnomah County Commissioner Lori Stegmann has taken a strong lead in ensuring Oregon reaches a complete count. Stegmann chairs the OCCC Regional & Local Government Subcommittee, charged with supporting local and regional government entities across the state with structuring their 2020 Census efforts to ensure an accurate and complete count. This subcommittee will work with local point persons to help the success of local plans.
Stegmann said of the count, “there’s a lot at stake. We’re talking about critical federal funding for programs like the National School Lunch Program, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), home loan and rental assistance, funding for rural programs, and more.” Nearly $900 billion of allocations is informed by the results of the census. Recognizing the significance of the count, Multnomah County started laying framework for their efforts last year. Stegmann commented on the efforts, “budgets are riding on these results. Oregon received $13.4 billion in federal assistance in FY16 as a result of data from the last census, but if we are able to get a more complete count, we could receive greater benefit over the next ten years. This is one of the rare opportunities where we can succeed together, uniting for our state and the social services our residents need. We’re all going to rise or fall together, so we have to get this right.”
The subcommittee is pulling together plans to ensure each county, city, and the state have a path for success and can share resources and tools that are effective across jurisdictional boundaries, especially where there are hard to count populations. Moving forward, the subcommittee will work to secure resources, develop tools, and define hard to count populations within Counties. Representatives include Association of Oregon Counties (AOC), League of Oregon Cities, the Oregon School Board Association, Oregon Cascades West Council of Government, tribal representatives, and local counties and cities across the state who are leading Complete Count efforts.
With a population of 4.2 million residents, many of whom have limited access to internet, census outreach is facing an uphill battle. The OCCC and Governor’s office are working on an ask of the Legislature for $7.5 million to target census collection in hard to count populations across the state.
Sarah Bushore, a partnership specialist from the U.S. Census Bureau will present on the 2020 Census at the upcoming June meeting of AOC’s legislative committee. Commissioner Stegmann, Multnomah County’s representative to the AOC Board of Directors, will join the presentation to discuss local government efforts. AOC Legal Counsel, Rob Bovett also serves on the full OCCC and subcommittee. Please contact Bovett with any questions about this process.
Contributed by: Megan Chuinard | Public Affairs Associate