Group Quarters Enumeration

Group Quarters Enumeration is the U.S. Census Bureau's special processes for counting people who live or stay in group quarters during the 2020 Census. Because group quarters are owned or managed by a third party, the Census Bureau assists group quarters administrators in responding to the census on behalf of residents to ensure a complete and accurate census count.

Administrators:

Information on this page is intended for group quarters administrators and contains important information on the U.S. Census Bureau's process for counting residents at group facilities.

The Census Bureau has been closely monitoring the national situation with regard to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are encouraging administrators to choose an option for counting their residents that requires less in-person contact. In addition, we’ve noted and has noted that a number of colleges and universities have closed their campus housing temporarily.

Read the update for college / university student housing administrators

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Notice

As federal, state, and local governments issue new rules and guidance to slow the spread of the Coronavirus, we have made the below adjustments to the schedule and plans for the 2020 Census to ensure the safety of our staff and individuals residing in group quarters facilities. As the situation unfolds, the Census Bureau may make additional adjustments to operations which can be followed at here.

Because of temporary adjustments at two Census Bureau facilities in Jeffersonville, Indiana, the Census Bureau has not mailed letters with eResponse login credentials to group quarters facilities that selected eResponse as their enumeration method for the 2020 Census. Those credentials were scheduled to be sent on March 27, 2020
To prepare for this eventuality, on Monday, March 23, 2020, Census Bureau staff started calling group quarters facilities that selected eResponse as their preferred enumeration method to collect email addresses for those locations with no email address on record at the Bureau.
If your facility selected eResponse as its preferred enumeration method, and Census Bureau staff successfully obtained an email address, the identified point of contact we have on record for your facility should receive an official U. S. Census Bureau email from dcmd.group.quarters.eresponse@census.gov as early as March 31, 2020. This email will include your unique login credentials for the eResponse system, enabling you to submit 2020 Census data for each resident living or sleeping at your facility on Census Day, April 1, 2020.

Finally and most importantly, this message confirms to the public the legitimacy of the above phone calls that inquire about email addresses, as well as the official U. S. Census Bureau email address from which group quarters facilities will receive unique login credentials. Those credentials will allow you to access the eResponse system and provide your critical data for the 2020 Census.

Hundreds of millions of dollars annually are allocated based on 2020 census data, and it is important to enumerate individuals where they live and sleep most of the time. The Census Bureau has not changed its “residence criteria” – its rules on where individuals should be counted. These criteria can be found on our website.

Thank you for working with the Census Bureau to ensure an accurate count for our nation’s group quarters population, including those in medical facilities.

Your Role as a Group Quarters Administrator

In February 2020, the Census Bureau began contacting group quarters administrators to obtain important identifying information about their facilities to assist with the enumeration process. During this time, a date and time will be scheduled for the group quarters administrator to conduct the enumeration, and a preferred enumeration method will be selected, as appropriate.

Please visit Group Quarters Advance Contact for more detailed information.

Timing and Enumeration Methods

Group Quarters Enumeration for the 2020 Census will be conducted across the United States, including in Puerto Rico, from July 1 through August 26, 2020. Late Group Quarters Enumeration for the 2020 Census will be conducted September 23 through October 21, 2020.

The following enumeration methods are available to group quarters administrators. For Group Quarters Advance Contact, each group quarters administrator should select the enumeration method that is best suited for their facility.

Electronic Response Data Transfer (eResponse) – The group quarters administrator fills in a template with group quarters data and respondent level data for each person who is staying at the facility on Census Day (April 1, 2020). The group quarters administrator electronically sends the census response data to the Census Bureau. Please note: The eResponse option is not available for service-based administrators.
In-Person Interview – A census worker conducts a face-to-face in-person interview with each person who is served or staying at the facility on April 1, 2020.
Drop-Off/Pickup of Questionnaire – A census worker leaves census questionnaires to be completed by or for each person who is staying at the facility on April 1, 2020. The census worker then picks up the completed questionnaires at an agreed-upon time.
Paper Response Data Collection – A census worker meets with the administrator of the facility to obtain a paper listing of census response data for each person who is served or staying at the facility on April 1, 2020.
Facility Self-Enumeration – A census worker swears in and trains the group quarters facility administrator and then leaves behind census materials so that the administrator can conduct the enumeration for each person who is living or staying at the facility on April 1, 2020. A census worker then returns to pick up the completed questionnaires at an agreed-upon time. Only military installation group quarters, correctional facilities, and health care facilities can select this option.

What Questions Are Asked at Group Quarters?

The census response data that is collected for each person at your facility includes the following: name, sex, date of birth, age on April 1, 2020, race, whether they are of Hispanic origin, and an alternate address where they live or stay when not at a group quarters facility.

What Are Group Quarters?

Group quarters are places where people live or stay in a group living arrangement. These places are owned or managed by a third party that provides residents with housing and/or services.

A more detailed list of group quarters includes:

Nursing facilities and skilled nursing facilities
Hospitals with patients who have no usual home elsewhere
In-patient hospice facilities
College, university, and seminary student housing, including residence halls, apartments where students enter “by the bed” leases (i.e., single-liability leases), and fraternity and sorority housing recognized by the college or university
Military quarters (barracks and dormitories)
Military disciplinary barracks and jails
Military treatment centers
Maritime and military vessels
Federal and state prisons
Local jails, and other municipal confinement facilities
Correctional residential facilities
Convents, monasteries, abbeys, and other religious group living quarters
Residential treatment centers (non-correctional)
Psychiatric hospitals and psychiatric units in other hospitals that provide long-term, non-acute care
Group homes (non-correctional)
Workers’ group living quarters
Job Corps centers or vocational training facilities