A Census 2020 undercount could put Connecticut children at risk
Read the entire article here at CT Mirror by Aseel Dabbagh, D.O., a resident physician at the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center and the University of Connecticut School of Graduate Medical Education.
A Census may seem insignificant when compared to the other events of the year, but the results of the Census are critically important and will affect our daily lives for the next 10 years. Everything from funding for schools to the state health insurance program to food assistance programs relies on the results of the Census for funding designation. The results of the 2020 Census will impact today’s children for the majority of their childhood.
During the 2010 Census, nearly a million children were not counted. That meant that for an entire decade, schools and programs that serve child health and well-being were underfunded. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that young children (between the ages of birth to 4 years) were most likely to be missed. Children living with caregivers other than biological parents, children in the foster care system and children living with multiple caregivers were also missed in high numbers. Children living in lower-income households, the same households that would benefit from program funding, were far more likely to be uncounted.
In a year where many things are beyond our control, completing the 2020 Census is one thing we can do to make our communities stronger for the future.