REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Adoption of a Resolution in Support of 2020 Census [Council Pillar: Community Engagement and Transparency]
Report
BACKGROUND
At a Council study session on Jan. 28, 2020, City Council received an informational briefing on the 2020 Census, including:
* An outline of the 2020 Census and what to expect,
* An update on current regional activities, and
* An overview of activities and outreach in Santa Clara.
During that meeting, City Council requested that staff return with a draft resolution in support of the 2020 Census. However, in March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic became an inescapable reality, and the City Council adjusted its focus to emergency response and essential services.
As the pandemic continued, the U.S. Census Bureau took steps to ensure the completeness and accuracy of the 2020 Census by requesting an additional 120 calendar days to deliver the final apportionment counts. This change, among others, was approved (Attachment 1), and the response deadline for participation in the 2020 Census has been extended to October 31, 2020.
DISCUSSION
In addition to the update provided in January 2020, the City has continued to promote the Census through its regular informational channels, including social media, the City Manager's Biweekly Report, utility mailing inserts and more. Census Day was April 1, 2020 and the Santa Clara Library hosted several online, Census-themed activities, including story times and Census-taking for kids, etc.
As of the writing of this report, the self-response rate for Santa Clara was 70%. Though the average self-response rate is 70%, there are census tracts in Santa Clara with lower rates - the lowest response rate in Santa Clara is 58.7% (Attachment 2). Please note that the response rate does not represent each individual response, only the percentage of households that have responded. Response rates are updated regularly and can be found at https://2020census.gov/en/response-rates.html.
Sta...
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