FAR WEST TEXAS — The U.S. Census Bureau began visiting households that have not responded to the 2020 Census On Tuesday, August 11 as part of its Nonresponse Followup (NRFU) operation. To ensure a complete and accurate count, census takers will visit households through September 30 and will enter information on their Census Bureau-issued smartphone to ensure information is safe and secure.
Households can continue to self-respond online at 2020census.gov or by phone 844-330-2020 for English or 844-468-2020 for Spanish. Self-responding online, by phone, or by mail reduces the likelihood a census taker will visit a person’s home.
The Census Bureau and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) are working together to protect the health and safety of the public and our employees. Participation in 2020 Census interviews should present a low risk of transmission of COVID-19.
Census takers are trained to rigorously and universally follow these CDC recommendations to mitigate the risk of transmission: Wearing face masks, maintaining social distance of 6 feet or more, practicing hand hygiene, not entering homes and conducting interviews outside as much as possible or practical.
Household members encountered by census staff are encouraged to maintain social distances during interviews and practice the CDC’s other recommendations as much as possible.
Census takers are hired from local communities, all speak English, and many are bilingual. If a census taker does not speak the householder’s language, the household may request a return visit from a census taker who does. Census takers will also have materials on hand to help identify the household’s language.
If no one is home when the census taker visits, the census taker will leave a notice of their visit with information about how to respond online, by phone or by mail. People are encouraged to cooperate with census takers and ensure that everyone who was living in their household as of April 1, 2020 is counted.
Census takers can be easily identified by a valid government ID badge with their photograph, a U.S. Department of Commerce watermark and an expiration date on the badge. To confirm a census taker’s identity, the public may contact the Denver/Dallas Regional Census Center at 972-510-1800 to speak with a Census Bureau representative.
The U.S. Constitution mandates a census of the population every 10 years. The goal of the 2020 Census is to count everyone who lived in the United States on April 1, 2020 (Census Day). Census statistics are used to determine the number of seats each state holds in the U.S. House of Representatives and determines how billions of dollars in federal funds will be allocated by state, local and federal lawmakers annually for the next 10 years.