19
#MAKE
MANATEE COUNT!
WORDS: Jessica Schubick
Census Team ��Left to Right���� ��aitlyn Stel��er, Wendy ��dwards, ��avier Colon, Debbie Deleon, Makayla Lindecamp, Mary Camp and Simone Peterson.
Special thanks to Manatee County Government
Neighborhood Connections staff for helping to gather this information.
You’ve probably heard that the U.S.
Census is being conducted this
year, but you may be wondering
what the Census is and why your
participation is important. We’ve put
together some information from the U.S.
Census Bureau and our local Manatee
County government officials to help
you navigate the Census process – and
understand the importance of an accurate
population count to our community.
So, what is the Census?
The federal government conducts a
population count of everyone in the
United States every 10 years. According
to the U.S. Census Bureau, data from the
Census is the basis for distributing more
than $675 billion in federal funds annually
to communities across the country to
support vital programs – impacting
housing, education, transportation,
employment, health care, and public
policy. They are also used to redraw the
boundaries of congressional and state
legislative districts.
In Manatee County, Census information
will be used by Federal officials to
fund services like ��re stations, schools,
clinics, and representation that affect our
community. In addition to government
use, Census data is used by nonpro��t
agencies to better understand local
demographics, by businesses to
create jobs, and even by students for
school projects. Understanding how
the population changes helps us shape
communities for the better.
How accurate is the Census?
According to the last U.S. Census
conducted in 2010, the United States
population was 308.7 million people.
While the Census Bureau is con��dent
that their accuracy has been increasing
over the past several decades, there
are some challenges that can impede
an accurate count. The main challenge
Census workers face is non-response.
People have a number of reasons for not
participating: they may feel the census
doesn’t have any impact on their life,
they may feel uncomfortable sharing
their information, they may have dif��culty
completing their forms, or may simply feel
they don’t have time to ��ll out their forms
as they inaccurately assume the Census
will be time consuming and cumbersome.