The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
City’s fed funding relies on robust census participation
Officials urging people to file early to ensure city eligible for support of critical services
MIDDLETOWN — A hoped-for full participation in the U.S. Census by Connecticut residents will determine whether the state can access a portion of $11 billion in federal funding available for programs essential to families.
Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz joined Mayor Ben Florsheim, Superintendent of Schools Michael Conner and Wilbert Snow School Principal Colleen Fitzpatrick Thursday to stress the importance of filling out paperwork.
This is the first year the survey can be completed online, although mail-ins and phone submissions also are bing accepted. By Thursday, 39.3 percent of the 43 percent of Connecticut residents who submitted their data did so online, Bysiewicz said.
In all, 43 percent of Connecticut residents have completed their census, just above the national average of 41.3 percent. In Middletown, participation so far is 41.4 percent.
The 2010 census counted approximately 309 million people, according to Census.gov. As of April 2, the Worldometer web site reports 330.5 million people live in the United States.
Florsheim took to Facebook Wednesday to encourage residents to complete their forms.
Wednesday, April 1, was Census Day across the country, traditionally the kickoff for the count being mailed out. Notices were sent out early to encourage families and individuals, many of which are confined to their homes due to the coronavirus pandemic, to get theirs in early.
“We are ahead of the game, but we have quite a challenge ahead of us,” said Bysiewicz, who is spearheading census efforts in Connecticut. By April 2, 2010, the date of the last census’ launch, hardly anyone had completed their questionnaires, she said.
Snow School was selected for the press conference because a good deal of programs rely on accurate counts, as they will determine the amount of federal funding for school meals, hospitals, state disaster relief and Medicare and Medicaid eligibility.
That also includes access to energy assistance, Pell and Community Development Block grants, road and highway projects, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children and other programs upon which families rely.
The coronavirus crisis has put the census’ importance in sharp relief, Bysewicz said. “Every person, regardless of citizenship status, should fill it out.”
The submission deadline has been moved to Aug. 28, a month later than in past years.
Earlier this year, the mayor created a Complete Count Committee, which is tasked with ensuring the count is as thorough as possible.
Ensuring city schools receive necessary funding is dependent upon full participation, according to Fitzpatrick. “By filling out your
census form, you not only support our community during a time of crisis, you support our community for the next 10 years, ensuring we know how many are in our community, so students receive the best level of education they possibly can.”
Adequate federal funding for meal assistance to schools and other important services available to Connecticut residents all depend on robust participation. Just a single uncounted child translates to a $2,900 annual loss in funding for the school system, or $29,000 over the course of the next decade, Bysiewicz said.
“This is very critical, especially from the education sense. It’s imperative,” Conner said. “In the context of closing the achievement gap, this is going to provide Middletown as well as other districts necessary resources to continue our efforts: feeding our students, specifically among academic and operational programming, to deepen and strengthen our efforts to address and close the equity gaps we see in our country.”
Florsheim said it took him five minutes to complete the census online. Conner has also submitted his family’s information.
“We are doing well in Middletown, but we need to do even better,” Conner said. He pledged to place census fliers
on a weekly basis in every meal picked up by families at food sites throughout the city.
The district is dispensing approximately 1,600 meals per day. Weekend meals also are being sent home with families every Friday. So far, 4,000 have been distributed, Conner said.
The Census Bureau suspended its hiring of 21,000 part-time workers across Connecticut during the pandemic. Census takers usually go door to door to promote participation, but the practice was pushed off until May 28 in hopes restrictions connected with the pandemic are lifted.
“We intend to continue to hire and deploy people once it’s safe to do so,” Bysiewicz said.
The lieutenant governor also cautioned people about scams, people emailing, calling or showing up on doorsteps asking for personal information, such as Social Security numbers and access to bank accounts.
These scammers are also hoping to steal federal stimulus funds expected to be sent out within the next two weeks, Bysiewicz added.
Disaster relief funding is also tied to census participation, critical support during emergencies such as the pandemic, the mayor said. “We have a lot of work to making sure these systems are better prepared for crises such as this,” Florsheim explained.
For information, visit https://2020census.gov.