By Adam Sotak
A fair and accurate census is profoundly important to our communities and our children. NC Child is deeply concerned about a proposal under consideration that would add a citizenship question on the 2020 Census form. This untested and unnecessary question would undoubtedly increase the undercount of young children here in North Carolina for the 2020 Census, particularly Latinx children. Young children are already the most undercounted group. We missed an estimated 25,000 young children in NC during the 2010 Census.
To make matters worse, children in low-income households, children of color, and kids living in immigrant families stand to be disproportionately undercounted, while also having the most to lose as vital programs face census-related reductions in funding. Our state’s economy and our communities will ultimately suffer.
How to take action
We are asking individuals and organizations in the NC Child Advocacy Network to submit comments no later than August 7, 2018 to the US Department of Commerce urging them to remove the citizenship question from the 2020 Census form.
As child advocates, we urge you to mention the following point: Young children are the group most likely to be undercounted in the census. Inclusion of the citizenship question will make it even harder to count young children in immigrant households, as their parents or caregivers will be less likely to participate.
Use this portal to submit your comments and encourage others to do so as well. The portal includes sample comments, or you can check out this great public comments toolkit developed by our friends at The Leadership Conference Education Fund.
The NC Census Task Force has set a goal of getting at least 2020 comments submitted from North Carolinians. Nationally, our partners are aiming to get 100,000 comments submitted by the August deadline. Help us reach the goal!
You can learn more about the Census and its impact on families here:
Asking parents about citizenship threatens programs for millions of children
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