Michigan urging census participation amid COVID-19 crisis
(FOX 2) - Every Michigander counts - but your census needs to be filled out to make sure of it. And right now the State is at risk of falling short of a critical goal.
Michigan needs a 10-point surge in census participation by the end of the month to stay on pace for meeting the state's goal of an 82% statewide response rate.
Census response can help allocate COVID-19 relief funding
Right now Michigan is third in the nation in terms of response rates but we're at risk of falling short of our critical goal.
"These are federal tax dollars we've already paid to Washington, D.C. and one of the ways we can get 'em back in our communities is to be counted in the census," explained Kerry Ebersole Singh, the Michigan 2020 Statewide Census Director.
And that money is $3,000 per person, per year for 10 years.
"Imagine a family of four; that's $1.2 million into your community for a variety of programs," she said.
Programs like Medicaid, Medicare, school lunch programs, Meals on Wheels and student literacy programs. Not to also mention road and bridge projects, sewer repairs and broadband in rural areas.
"There is a long list that touches and is supported by these federal dollars."
Right now Michigan is third in the nation in terms of response rates. No one will knock on your door if you fill out the form online, over the phone or by mail.
The door-to-door operation is expected to pick back up June 1 with approval from public health officials.
The census has nine questions: name, age, gender, ethnicity, race, number of people in your household, anyone else staying in your house as of April 1st, if you own or rent your home and phone number.
Sixteen million dollars has been allocated in Michigan to help get everyone counted, and even with the COVID-19 crisis it seems to be working.
Detroit, notoriously difficult to count and often undercounted, is outpacing other large cities - but it needs citizens to fill out their census forms more than ever.
"My area particularly has been incredibly hard hit by the coronavirus and COVID-19, and the census data and the number will play an incredible role in how funding is allocated in how all of these things continue to happen," said State Sen. Adam Hollier from Detroit.
More than 4.3 million Michigan residents are expected to be hard to count this year. In 2010, 78% of the state's population completed the census.