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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
Fact Sheet for the GQE operation.
Fact Sheet explaining what Group Quarters are.
Informational brochure for the GQE operation.
Letter for the Group Quarters Advance Contact operation sent to facilities December-January 2020.
Letter providing information for facility managers about the eResponse enumeration procedures.
Letter providing information about the 2020 Census for facility managers.
Letter providing information about the 2020 Census for student housing administrators.
Letter providing information about the 2020 Census for health care facility managers.
Informational listing page for the eResponse enumeration method.
Sample template for the Paper Response Data Collection enumeration method.
Informational copies of the 2020 Group Quarters Individual Census Questionnaires used for enumeration.
Outlines Group Quarters definitiions and type codes used in the 2020 Census.