2020 Census - Nonsubstantive Change for July 2020

OMB Nonsubstantive Change Request

Department: Commerce

Agency: U.S. Census Bureau

Title: 2020 Census – July 2020 Update

OMB Control Number: 0607-1006

Expiration Date: 11/30/2021

Request:

This nonsubstantive change request is to document and inform the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) of where the 2020 Census program is today and changes that will be made because of the COVID-19 outbreak. In order to maximize flexibility to adapt quickly in face of the COVID-19 outbreak, the U.S. Census Bureau will make operational changes as needed and will communicate regularly with OMB about the changes. As plans are finalized, the Census Bureau will document the changes in nonsubstantive change requests monthly for the affected time period.

The changes that were made to the 2020 Census in March and April 2020 were submitted to OMB on April 30, 2020, and approved by OMB on May 11, 2020. The changes made to the 2020 Census in May were submitted to OMB on June 3, 2020 and approved by OMB on June 30, 2020. This nonsubstantive change request contains the changes to the program during the month of June.

On June 12, 2020 the U.S. Census Bureau announced that it is reaching out to colleges and universities with significant off-campus student populations to help ensure they are counted in the right place in the 2020 Census. The full news release is located here: https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2020/2020-college-students.html.

On June 12, 2020, the Census Bureau also announced the new schedule for counting people experiencing homelessness in the 2020 Census. This enumeration was originally scheduled for March 30, March 31 and April 1, but health and safety concerns with COVID-19 forced the Census Bureau to delay these activities.

Between September 22 and 24, the Census Bureau now plans to send specially trained census takers to count people at shelters, soup kitchens, regularly scheduled mobile food vans, and locations previously identified by the Census Bureau where people are known to sleep outdoors (such as under bridges) and at all-night businesses (such as transit stations and 24-hour laundromats). People experiencing homelessness will be counted where they are staying when census takers visit between September 22 and 24. The full news release is located here: https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2020/homelessness.html.

Also on June 12, 2020, the Census Bureau announced updates to the 2020 Census operations including the following:

• The Census Bureau will resume the Update Enumerate operation on June 14, 2020.

• The Census Bureau will begin a soft launch to the Nonresponse Followup operation in mid-July, 2020.

• The Census Bureau will extend the Remote Alaska operation into August 2020.

• The Census Bureau will count people living in transitory locations in September 2020.

• The Census Bureau’s Community Partnership and Engagement Program (CPEP) has resumed in-person events.

• The Census Bureau’s Mobile Questionnaire Assistance (MQA) program is being modified to reflect the current environment. 

• The Census Bureau will continue its communications campaign through October 2020 — the end of 2020 Census data collection operations.

In particular, current planning includes a soft launch of MQA the week of July 6 and a rollout to additional low responding areas the week of July 13. MQA will target places where people visit when leaving home (as opposed to public events), such as grocery stores, pharmacies, faith-based organizations, food pantries, libraries (if they have reopened), and city offices. Additionally, MQA staff will engage in activities that drive people to respond in the lowest responding neighborhoods.

All in-person activities will adhere to local health guidelines. This includes Update Enumerate, Remote Alaska, the count of people at transitory locations, Nonresponse Followup, CPEP, and the MQA program.

The full news release for this set of updates is located here: https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2020/update-census-operations.html.

Because of the scale of the Nonresponse Followup operation, the Census Bureau will begin the work in a few areas before operations begin in earnest across the country.

Starting July 16, census takers will begin interviewing households that have yet to respond to the 2020 Census in areas managed by the following area census offices:

• Beckley, WV

• Boise, ID

• Gardiner, ME

• Kansas City, MO

• New Orleans, LA

• Oklahoma County, OK

Between July 1 and July 2 several Census Field Supervisors will make contact with about 80 households in a limited geography—Boise, ID and Nashville, TN—to ensure readiness of systems and processes for the soft launch which is scheduled for July 16.

In subsequent weeks the Census Bureau will announce additional census offices as it builds to beginning enumeration activities nationwide. The majority of census offices across the country will begin follow-up work on August 11. This initial launch was announced in a Press Release on July 1, 2020.

https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2020/nonresponding-households.html

In addition, there is a new version of the Maritime Vessel Enumeration (MVE) reminder letter for military vessels (D-L8-MIL).

Maritime Vessel Enumeration sends two rounds of reminder letter mailings when ship operators do not complete and return vessel questionnaires in a timely manner. The D-L8-MV/MIL’s are the 2^nd and final round of reminder letters mailings. This letter requests that the operator provide updated information about the vessel within the enclosed “D-R-MV” (maritime) or “D-R-MIL”(military) and administrative records for people on board.  The original plan was to send both maritime and military vessels the D-L8-MV. However, it was determined that a variation of the already approved reminder letter (D-L8-MV) should be created to suit military vessels. Edits to the D-L8-MV to create a D-L8-MIL include:

1. The military letter references a different military-specific form for vessel information, and the letter addresses “...people aboard or assigned to U.S. Navy or U.S. Coast Guard vessels.”

2. This version also eliminates a sentence about identifying vessels that are not operational, as this instruction does not apply to military vessels.

3. The word “immediately” was also added as a call action. ("Please mail the above information") does not include a time period or deadline. 

4. Changes the name of the reference document and the enclosure from "D-R-MV" to "D-R-MIL”.

Attachments are located in the Self-Response Operations and Group Quarters Information Collections.

Attachment A: College and University Off-Campus Housing Emails

Attachment B: College and University Off-Campus Housing Calling Scripts

Attachment C: Maritime Vessel Enumeration Reminder Letter (D-L8-MIL)

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