TURNERS FALLS — The importance of the 2020 census will be the topic at hand when state Reps. Paul Mark and Natalie Blais, along with the Franklin Regional Council of Governments Complete Count Committee, head to the Gill-Montague Senior Center on Thursday, Jan. 23.
Data collected in the census will be relevant for a decade and will influence not only the redistricting of congressional districts, but federal and state funding, as well. Data collected in the census every 10 years informs where more than $675 billion in federal funding is allocated each year, including for things like Medicare Part B, special education, food stamps, substance abuse prevention and treatment grants, and water and waste disposal systems for rural communities.
Currently, the census, when it comes to Franklin County, is expected to show the area’s population has decreased by 0.5 percent since 2011, the representatives reported at a census kickoff event in Shelburne Falls in mid-December.
“We hope to prove (the anticipated decrease in population) wrong,” Blais, D-Sunderland, said at the time. “I can’t underscore enough the importance that each person is counted. Each person counted represents more money and resources in Massachusetts.”
The Jan. 23 kickoff at the Gill-Montague Senior Center, at 65 5th St. in Turners Falls, will be held from 3 to 4 p.m. It is free and open to the public.
For Mark, chair of the state’s House Committee on Redistricting, the census is particularly important because of its influence on drawing up congressional districts.
In 2011, for example, following the last census, Massachusetts lost a member in the U.S. House of Representatives due to redistricting. The district held then by John Olver, who retired, was dismantled, with its territory being absorbed by other districts.
Mark said it’s unlikely a similar scenario will happen following the 2020 census, but it still highlights the importance of accurately counting each person.
The census counts not only the number of people in the U.S., but also the number of households. Homeless people and people living in residential communities or nursing homes are included in the count. Data on individuals’ ages, races, ethnicities, relationship statuses and biological sex are also collected.
Responding to the census may happen by internet, phone or mail — about 95 percent of U.S. households will receive a census invitation in the mail between March 12-20. The last 5 percent will receive a census invitation dropped off during a census taker’s visit, or will be counted in person by census takers in remote areas.
The invitation will direct people to respond online, and some houses will receive paper questionnaires to respond by mail. Reminder letters will be sent through the end of April, when census takers will begin visiting any house that has not responded in person.
For more information about the census or to learn about becoming a census taker, visit: census.gov.
Reach Anita Fritz at 413-772-0261, ext. 269 or afritz@recorder.com.