April 24, 2020
As of today, over 56.4% Ohioans have been counted in the 2020 Census. In fact, Governor DeWine has issued a friendly challenge to the state of Michigan (58.8%) to see which state can achieve a more complete Census count. At this moment, 67 of Ohio’s 88 counties have exceeded 50% response rates – which is encouraging, in fact here’s a snapshot of today’s (4/24/2020) total responses in some of Ohio’s counties where we identified challenges in achieving a complete count:
Cuyahoga County (Cleveland): 53.7%
Franklin County (Columbus): 54.0%
Hamilton County (Cincinnati): 54.8%
Lucas County (Toledo): 52.2%
Mahoning County (Youngstown): 55.7%
Montgomery County (Dayton): 56.1%
However, in the age of COVID-19, the 2020 Census will face challenges that upends many of the traditional outreach and engagement plans to reach Ohio’s hard-to-count communities. As reported recently, the U.S. Census Bureau has delayed field operations until June 1. While we don’t have all the details of the changes and what this will mean for our outreach and there is much that still needs to be decided, we will continue to provide updates as they become available.
In the interim, CDF-Ohio and the Ohio Census Advocacy Coalition is working with partners to learn how their work will need to change as a result of COVID-19. We are interested in what innovative approaches besides face-to-face outreach we can do and want to learn from each other, from other partners around the state, and groups across the country. In the meantime – here’s your reminder – Complete the Census! You count, you matter!