Name: Census Advocates Have More Time For Outreach, But Their Funding Is Almost Gone
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Census Advocates Have More Time For Outreach, But Their Funding Is Almost Gone

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Support for LAist comes fromWe Explain L.A.Stay ConnectedLAist is part of Southern California Public Radio (SCPR), a member-supported public media network. Hear our news on-air at our partner site:Our top stories delivered weeknightsShare ThisStories like these are only possible with your help!You have the power to keep local news strong for the coming months. Your financial support today keeps our reporters ready to meet the needs of our city. Thank you for investing in your community.Sign up for How To LA, delivered weekday mornings.Our news is free on LAist. To make sure you get our coverage: . To support our non-profit public service journalism: Donate Now.Last month, a federal judge blocked the Trump Administration's attempt to end the 2020 Census early. The government with hopes it can be heard by the Supreme Court. But for now, the count is extended through Oct. 31. was a win for the City of Los Angeles and other nonprofits which filed the lawsuit, arguing that a rushed census would undercount hard-to-reach Angelenos, especially communities of color.Support for LAist comes fromWith an extra month for the count, local census advocates could keep raising participation in those neighborhoods with low response rates. The problem is, the money for their work has run out. "Yes, resources are fully spent and people are tired. They've been out there doing this a lot longer than ever anticipated," said Stephania Ramirez, Director of Strategic Initiatives for the , a Los Angeles-based philanthropic organization. California Community Foundation is responsible for distributing $11 million in state funding to community groups doing census outreach in the L.A. area. That's a portion of the total $187 million the state spent on the census -- the most money any state has ever spent on the count. By comparison, California only spent $2 million on the 2010 census.Despite the historic investment, many local nonprofits say they don't have resources left to continue outreach for the rest of the month. Others have already shifted their focus to promoting participation in the November election. Out of 115 community-based organizations that received state funding for census outreach in Los Angeles County, only about half will keep working in October, according to Ramirez. "It's a little sad," said Margarita Lopez-Pelayo with Pacoima Beautiful, one organization that's still working on census outreach this month. The Pacoima group is partnering with eloteros, paleteros and taquerias to spread the word about the count. They also have a campaign that entices people to complete the questionnaire with the promise of free tacos. Still, they're having to make some sacrifices."We had to cut our canvassing team in half," Lopez-Pelayo said. "We're stretching our dollars from the funding we did get and making it work."She acknowledges that many other nonprofits weren't able to save money. It leaves her and other organizers wondering: was $187 million enough?Support for LAist comes fromDitas Katague, Director of the California Census Office, gets that question a lot. She counters with a question of her own: what if the state didn't invest anything?"I just have to look at the states that didn't invest and see how far behind they actually are," Katague said. She points to Texas, have responded to the 2020 Census on their own. In California, 69% of the state has self-responded -- ."Because I'm kinda competitive, as long as we're doing better than Texas, Florida and North Carolina, I'm happy," Katague said.According to Katague, self-response rates in California's hard-to-count areas are higher than similar areas in other states. Still, , according to the U.S. Census Bureau, with only 64% of households self-responding. But at this point, Katague acknowledges that some parts of the census are out of her control. It was up to the federal government to determine the count's schedule. Once the count is officially over, it will be up to the Census Bureau to assure the quality of the data collected. What's at stake for Southern California in ? Billions of dollars in federal funding for programs like Medi-Cal, for public education, even disaster planning. Political representation in Sacramento and D.C. A census undercount could cut critical resources in L.A. County, home to the in the nation.READ MORE:

Support for LAist comes fromWe Explain L.A.Stay ConnectedLAist is part of Southern California Public Radio (SCPR), a member-supported public media network. Hear our news on-air at our partner site:Our top stories delivered weeknightsShare ThisStories like these are only possible with your help!You have the power to keep local news strong for the coming months. Your financial support today keeps our reporters ready to meet the needs of our city. Thank you for investing in your community.Sign up for How To LA, delivered weekday mornings.Our news is free on LAist. To make sure you get our...

Census Advocates Have More Time For Outreach, But Their Funding Is Almost Gone

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