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Time is winding down to participate in the 2020 United States Census.
According to Jennifer Hillmann, U.S. Census Bureau Representative for Wyoming, data collection will end on September 30.
“The U.S. Census Bureau is encouraging everyone in Wyoming who has put off self-responding to respond between now and the final deadline of September 30,” Hillmann said. “Currently, the State of Wyoming has a 79.2 percent total response rate.”
That response rate includes self-response and census takers in the field gathering 2020 Census responses, Hillmann said.
“Census takers are actively working in Wyoming and visiting households that have not yet responded to the 2020 Census,” Hillmann said. “In most cases, census workers will make multiple attempts at each housing unit to count residents in that household. Census takers will be wearing masks and are trained in social distancing protocols and other health and safety guidance. If no one is home at the time of the visit, the census taker will leave a notice of [their] visit, which includes information on how the household can self-respond to the census.”
In addition to census takers in the field, the Census Bureau is using additional ways to collect responses to the 2020 Census, Hillmann explained.
“Census takers have been trained to call some households that have not yet responded and leave a voicemail if no one answers,” she said. “The Census Bureau has also sent out a seventh mailing, which includes an additional paper questionnaire to households that receive mail at a physical address.”
The Census Bureau’s Mobile Questionnaire Assistance program is “also visiting locations across Wyoming to encourage and assist people to self-respond to the 2020 Census.
“Mobile Questionnaire Assistance representatives have visited grocery stores, food banks, libraries, unemployment offices, back-to-school events, and houses of worship,” Hillmann said. “The goal is to reach people at locations where they naturally congregate to assist with completing questionnaires and answer questions that the public may have.”
Wyoming households can also still utilize the self-response option for the 2020 Census.
Wyoming residents can self respond online at 2020census.gov, by phone at 844-330-2020, or by mailing back the paper form that was delivered to the household.
