The Berrien Community Foundation is working to get the word out about the importance of taking part in the next U.S. Census. President Lisa Cripps-Downey tells WSJM News count day will be April 1 of next year. She says critical state and federal funding for communities is calculated based off population numbers obtained through the census.
“The state demographer estimates that every person counted is worth $1,800 per year in that state and federal funding,” Cripps-Downey said.
Cripps-Downey says that includes funding for things including roads, healthcare, child care, education, and more. Some people worry about filling out the census because they think the information they give could be used against them. Cripps-Downey says that information is kept strictly confidential.
“Individual Census data cannot be shared for 72 years. It can’t be shared with anyone, not with any government agency, court, law enforcement, immigration, FBI, not with ICE, even with your landlord.”
The census next year will be done primarily online. Cripps-Downey says you’ll get a form with a unique ID in the mail. Then you go online with that ID and answer nine simple questions. She hopes everyone will fill out their census, telling us Berrien County is at risk of an undercount as high as 30,000. The Berrien Community Foundation is working with other non-profits to make sure people understand the census and are able to fill it out.
