2020 Census Part A_Final Updates_Nov2021

Department of Commerce

United States Census Bureau

Paperwork Reduction Act Program

Information Collection Request

2020 Census – Program Updates

OMB Control Number 0607-1006

Department of Commerce

United States Census Bureau

OMB Information Collection Request

2020 Census

OMB Control Number 0607-1006

Part A. Justification

1. Necessity of the Information Collection

The Census Bureau requests authorization from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to collect information from the public for the 2020 Census.

The taking of a decennial census is mandated by Article 1, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution. Title 13, United States Code (U.S.C), Section 141 directs the Secretary to take a decennial census of population and housing, determining its form and content, and further authorizes the collection of such other census information in relation to the decennial census, as necessary. These authorities are delegated to the Director of the Census Bureau under Department of Commerce Organization Order 35-2A. The Census Bureau is required to conduct the 2020 Census to collect the person and housing data that will be used for reapportionment, redistricting, and various statistical data products, under Title 13, U.S. Code. Additionally, the Census Bureau is authorized under Title 13 Section 193 to conduct surveys and collect information before, during, and after the decennial census to assist in the conduct of the decennial census.

In addition to the reapportionment of the U.S. Congress, census data are used to draw legislative district boundaries within states. Census data also are used by numerous agencies to determine funding allocations for the distribution of an estimated $675 billion of federal funds each year, as of Fiscal Year 2015. This estimate includes decennial census data, American Community Survey data, and geographic program data, as well as data that use any one of these data sources as a critical input. The current distribution of funds estimate includes federal programs that distribute funds for one of the following: selection and/or restriction of recipients of funds, award or allocation of funds, and monitoring and assessment of program performance.

The Census Bureau conducted the most automated, modern, and dynamic decennial census in U.S. history. Compared to the 2010 Census, the 2020 Census includes design changes in four key areas, discussed below:

1. New methodologies to conduct the Address Canvassing operation.

2. Innovative ways of optimizing self-response.

3. The use of adminis­trative records and third-party data to reduce the Nonresponse Followup (NRFU) operation workload.

4. The use of technology to reduce the manual effort and improve the productivity of field operations, while decreasing the amount of physical space required to perform the field operations.

These innovations have been developed throughout the decade, using insight from 2010 Census lessons learned, stakeholder input, and ongoing technological development. Multiple tests have been performed throughout the decade to provide data for decisions and refine ongoing operational planning. These tests and the OMB control numbers that apply are:

Generic Clearance for Questionnaire Pretesting Research: 0607-0725

Generic Clearance for Census Bureau Field Tests and Evaluations: 0607-0971

Federal Statistical System Public Opinion Survey: 0607-0969

2012 National Census Test: 0607-0970

2013 National Census Contact Test: 0607-0972

2013 Census Test: 0607-0975

2014 Census Test: 0607-0979

Address Validation Test: 0607-0809

2015 Optimizing Self-Response Test and 2015 Census Test: 0607-0981

2015 National Content Test: 0607-0985

2015 Group Quarters Electronic Capability Test Survey: 0607-0725

2016 Census Test: 0607-0989

Address Canvassing Testing: 0607-0992

2016 Service-Based Enumeration Census Test: 0607-0971

2017 Census Test: 0607-0996

2017 eResponse Data Transfer Test: 0607-0971

2018 End-to-End Census Test Address Canvassing Operation: 0607-0997

2018 End-to-End Census Test – Peak Operations: 0607-0999

2019 Census Test (ACS Methods Panel Test): 0607-0936

Census Barriers, Attitudes, Motivators Study (Generic Clearance for Internet Nonprobability Panel Pretesting): 0607-0978

(1) Reengineering Address Canvassing

An accurate address list is the corner­stone of a successful census. In order to manage the work for decennial census operations, the Census Bureau uses the address and physical location of each place where someone is, or could be, living. The Census Bureau maintains this address list and spatial data for the United States and Puerto Rico in its Master Address File (MAF)/Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (TIGER) System database.

This database was created using the address files from the 1990 Census and has been subsequently and regularly updated using:

• Information collected from decennial census operation updates, including address and spatial updates.

• The Delivery Sequence File of addresses from the United States Postal Service (USPS).

• Input from tribal, state, and local governments and third parties, including address and boundary updates from various programs conducted over the decade, such as the Local Update of Census Addresses operation (OMB control #0607-0994) and Geographic Partnership Programs (OMB control #0607-0795).

• Information collected in other Census Bureau programs, such as the American Community Survey (OMB control #0607-0836).

The purpose of Address Canvassing is (1) to deliver a complete and accurate address list and spatial database for enumeration and tabulation, and (2) to determine the type and address characteristics for each living quarter.

Prior to the 2020 Census field Address Canvassing data collection, the Census Bureau delineated the entire land area of the United States, Puerto Rico, and Island Areas into Type of Enumeration Areas (TEAs) that indicate a combination of address list updating and enumeration strategies. In the 2020 Census, approximately 95 percent of the stateside United States living quarters were delineated into the self-response area, where the address list is updated before the census, census materials are provided in the mail, and self-response is supported and promoted. Other areas are designated for Update Leave, Update Enumerate, Remote Alaska, or Island Areas Enumeration.

For the 2020 Census there was a full Address Canvassing of the country, but the major design change from the 2010 Census is that Address Canvassing consisted of In-Office Address Canvassing complemented with In-Field Address Canvassing instead of full in-field address canvassing. In-Office Address Canvassing is the process of using empirical geographic evidence (e.g., imagery, comparison of the Census Bureau’s address list to partner-provided lists) to assess the current address list and make changes where necessary. This component also detects and captures areas of change from high-quality administrative records and third-party data. Advancements in technology have enabled continual address and spatial updates to occur throughout the decade as part of the In-Office Address Canvassing effort, which began in 2015 and ended March 29, 2019. Also address list updates have been provided by the United States Postal Service and address and map updates provided by geographic program partners. Since 2015, satellite imagery has been used in the address frame development process for the identification of areas where there are changes in living quarters. Where the necessary updates can be captured from electronic sources and are deemed to be sufficiently accurate, In-Office Address Canvassing completed the update process prior to the census. Otherwise, the block became eligible to be sent to In-Field Address Canvassing for updating on the ground by field staff.

In-Field Address Canvassing covered approximately 35 percent of the housing units in the United States. Additional details about these processes are provided in the 2020 Census Address Canvassing Detailed Operational Plan. History of the address list development process begins on page 34 of the detailed operational plan.

(2) Optimizing Self-Response

The goal of this innovation area is to make it as easy and efficient as possible for people to respond to the 2020 Census by offering new response options through the internet and telephone, in addition to the traditional mailback paper questionnaire option. Self-response reduces the need to conduct in-person follow-up operations to complete the enumeration, by far the most expensive method of data collection. To that end, the Census Bureau will motivate people to respond. In addition, the Census Bureau plans to make it easy for people to respond, from any location at any time, even if they do not have the Census Bureau’s preassigned ID for the address.

The importance of responding to the 2020 Census will be communicated in a variety of ways, including through mailings, questionnaire delivery, advertising, and partnership efforts. In particular, the Integrated Partnership and Communications operation is responsible for communicating the importance of responding to the 2020 Census. Reports on the preparatory work for this operation are available at the links below:

https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/2020/program-management/final-analysis-reports/2020-report-cbams-focus-group.pdf

https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/2020/program-management/final-analysis-reports/2020-report-cbams-study-survey.pdf

Internet response represents a substantial innovation for the Census Bureau’s use in a decennial census. The internet was not a response option in the 2010 Census. The internet response option has been included in multiple tests leading up to the 2020 Census: the 2014 Census Test; all three census tests performed in 2015; the 2016 Census Test; the 2017 Census Test; and the 2018 End-to-End Census Test. It has also been used in production for the American Community Survey since 2013.

Response by telephone is also being encouraged for the first time in the decennial census. Telephone response was available but not encouraged in both Census 2000 and the 2010 Census. This decade the telephone response option was included in the 2012 National Census Test, the 2014 Census Test, the 2015 Census Test, the 2015 National Content Test, the 2015 Optimizing Self-Response Test, the 2016 Census Test, the 2017 Census Test, and the 2018 End-to-End Census Test. The telephone response option will be operationalized through Census Questionnaire Assistance.

(3) Utilizing Administrative Records and Third-Party Data

For the 2020 Census, “administrative records” and “third-party data” are terms used to describe microdata records contained in files collected and maintained by federal, state, and local government agencies (“administrative records”) and commercial entities (“third-party data”) for administering programs and providing services. For many decades, the Census Bureau has successfully and securely used administrative records and third-party data for statistical purposes. For the 2020 Census, the Census Bureau used administrative records from both internal sources, such as data from previous decennial censuses and the American Community Survey, and from a range of other federal agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Social Security Administration, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Indian Health Service, the Selective Service, and the U.S. Postal Service. The Census Bureau also used state government administrative records from enrollment in federal block grant programs, such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, when they were provided.

Throughout the decade, the Census Bureau continuously conducted analyses and assessments to verify that the proposed uses of administrative records and third-party data sources in the 2020 Census were appropriate in each instance. Based on the research, testing, and analyses, the Census Bureau announced its plans in November 2015 to utilize administrative records and third-party data in the 2020 Census. The 2020 Census Operational Plan calls for employing this information for the following purposes:

1. Consistent with previous decennial censuses, the Census Bureau utilizes administrative records from federal and state government agencies and third-party data to refine contact strategies and build and update the residential address list.

2. Also consistent with previous decennial censuses, the Census Bureau utilizes federal and state administrative records to edit or impute invalid, inconsistent, or missing responses to the decennial census.

3. The new use of administrative records for the 2020 Census is to use data exclusively from federal administrative records to improve the accuracy and efficiency of the NRFU operation by:

   1. Reducing follow-up on vacant housing units and nonresidential addresses, as designated by administrative records.

   2. Enumerating households that do not self-respond and whom we were unable to contact after six mailings and one in-person field visit.

For each of the purposes listed in items II, III.a., and III.b., the Census Bureau uses administrative data only when it can confirm empirically across multiple sources that the data are consistent, of high quality, and can be accurately applied to the addresses and households in question. The Census Bureau plans to enumerate households utilizing administrative records only from federal government agencies, such as the IRS. Each of the nonresponding addresses will be evaluated under a strict set of Census Bureau rules throughout the process to ensure completeness and accuracy.

The Census Bureau is providing some results for this innovation area with this updated document. Federal administrative records were used to enumerate just under seven million households, of the approximately 53 million addresses that were ultimately resolved by NRFU enumeration for the 2020 Census. These seven million households represent slightly more than 4.6 percent of the approximately 151.8 million addresses in the Census Bureau’s census address file. Where the Census Bureau does not have confidence in the administrative data, such as when the data are inconsistent or missing in the federal administrative records, the household will remain in the NRFU workload for further in-person efforts to collect the information.

In addition, the Census Bureau has assembled documentation of the various uses of administrative records within the 2020 Census. This documentation appears on the 2020 Census website in the 2020 Census Memo Series. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade/2020/planning-management/plan/memo-series.All.List_212023259.html

Memorandum 2021.15: Administrative Data Used in the 2020 Census outlines the following production uses of administrative records data:

• Frame Development: Develop and update the address frame, including group quarters, and spatial data that serve as the universe for 2020 Census enumeration activities.

• Respondent Motivation:

o Support the initial contact strategy (appropriate delivery of census invitations and questionnaires).

o Develop and execute the microtargeted advertising campaign.

• Self-Response:

o Augment respondent-provided address data to enhance matching of non-ID responses to the updated enumeration address list: the addresses for responses that are returned without the preassigned census identification number and do not easily match to the Master Address File (MAF) will be compared with administrative record information in order to obtain missing address information, or correct errors, such as misspelling. By improving the address, another attempt can be made to associate the response data to a household in the enumeration universe so that no further effort is required to obtain a response, such as follow-up mailings or fieldwork.

o Quality assurance in the Paper Data Capture operation: Optical Character Recognition (OCR) capture of written-in names is compared to existing administrative data to ensure quality of the OCR process.

o Enumerate or supplement field enumeration of nontraditional or unique living arrangements, such as group quarters, military installations, and federally affiliated people overseas.

• Nonresponse Followup (NRFU):

o Reduce contacts for cases in the NRFU workload through identification of vacant housing units and deletes (units that do not meet the Census Bureau’s definition of a housing unit).

o Enumerate nonresponding, occupied housing units with quality, reliable information.

o Model the “best time to contact” occupied, nonresponding housing units (modeled as intended, but feature disabled during fielding).

o Provide additional phone contact information to cases in the NRFU workload.

• Response Data Verification:

o Self-Response Quality Assurance: Corroborate respondent-provided information to detect potentially suspicious responses.

o Enumerator Quality Control: Validate enumerator-provided information to ensure reporting accuracy and more efficiently target reinterview efforts.

• Post-Response Processing:

o Additional Unduplication of People in Housing Units: Determine in which household to keep people with resolved duplicate links

o Count Imputation

▪ Housing Unit: Determine final occupied/vacant/nonexistent status for unresolved cases and impute the household count for those addresses determined to be occupied but without a specified number of occupants.

▪ Group Quarters: Impute final count for unresolved, occupied facilities.

o Characteristic Imputation: Impute household and person characteristics where they are missing from the response.

• Publishing Data:

o Create the Citizen Voting Age Population special tabulation (intended but subsequently cancelled).

o Resolve Count Question Resolution challenges.

• Coverage Evaluation:

o Improve matching and characteristic imputation in the Post-Enumeration Survey (PES).

o Create independent estimates through Demographic Analysis.

(4) Reengineering Field Operations

The final innovation area, “Reengineering Field Operations,” has a goal of using technology to manage the 2020 Census fieldwork efficiently and effectively, and as a result, reduce the staffing, infrastructure, and brick and mortar footprint for the 2020 Census. The Census Bureau provides most listers and enumerators with the capability to work completely remotely and perform all administrative and data collection tasks directly from a mobile device. Supervisors will also be able to work remotely from the field and communicate with their staff through these devices. These enhanced capabilities significantly reduce the number of offices required to support 2020 Census fieldwork. In the 2010 Census, the Census Bureau established 12 regional census centers and nearly 500 area census offices. The agency hired more than 516,000 enumerators to conduct NRFU activities. The new design for the 2020 Census field operations includes six regional census centers with 248 area census offices.

In addition, automation enables significant changes to how cases are assigned and the supervision of field staff. By making it easier for supervisors to monitor and manage their workers, the ratio of workers to supervisor can be increased, reducing the number of supervisors required. This streamlines the staffing structure. Other design changes include optimized case assignment and routing.

All administrative functions associated with most field staff are automated, including recruiting, hiring, training, time and attendance, and payroll. Finally, the new capabilities allow for quality to be infused into the process through alerts to supervisors when there is an anomaly in an enumerator’s performance and real-time edits on data collection. Accordingly, the quality assurance process used in the 2010 Census has been reengineered to account for changes in technology.

Supporting Documents about the 2020 Census Design and the 2020 Census Objectives

The Census Bureau is submitting with this package links to a number of official Census Bureau documents that provide background on the plans for the 2020 Census. This list includes in particular the 2020 Census Operational Plan, which documents at a high level the major findings of the census tests performed this decade. Moreover, the Operational Plan shows the final design of the 2020 Census as of October 2021. Test objectives and high-level outcomes are discussed in Chapter 4. Key design components for the 2020 Census for every operation are discussed in Chapter 5. The final version of the 2020 Census Operational Plan (v5.0) will contain details about the as-performed state of operations, including changes made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Appendix B of the Operational Plan describes the various efforts to enumerate the population considered to be Hard-to-Count. Appendix B of this document provides a graphic of all the operations included in the 2020 Census organized by a standard Work Breakdown Structure, as represented in the 2020 Census Operational Plan.

For most of the 2020 Census operations, the Census Bureau is developing a detailed operational plan to document objectives and procedures of the operation, major tasks involved in implementation, the overall workflow, and the overall resources required. See Appendix C of this document for a list of the detailed operational plans and links to these plans and post-census plan updates within the 2020 Census Memorandum Series.

Only the operations scoped for the 2020 Census that involve direct contact with the public to collect data, are involved in collecting and processing the collected data, or represent content that the population will see or experience will be discussed in this document. The geographic areas discussed below will refer only to the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, unless otherwise noted. The 2020 Census also includes the Island Areas (U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands). The operational plan and detailed operational plans can be referenced for more details about the tasks performed in each operation.

Documentation about the 2020 Census has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget in phases. The first phase entailed approval of only the Address Canvassing operation and creation of the OMB number for the entire 2020 Census. The results from Address Canvassing are used to create the address frame for the entire enumeration phase of the census. As such, this operation occurred earlier than enumeration operations and required earlier clearance. OMB concluded on the 2020 Census Address Canvassing submission on November 30, 2018. The second phase of approval encompassed the operations where all enumeration data are collected and processed. OMB concluded on the second phase – Enumeration Operations – on July 12, 2019. The third phase of approval encompassed the Evaluations and Experiments, as well as provided a number of program and operation updates. OMB concluded on the Evaluations and Experiments phase on February 13, 2020. During the 2020 Census, Nonsubstantive Changes were submitted to provide updated plans for completion, in particular in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This final version provides an as-performed description of the operations of the 2020 Census, including all notable changes.

Type of Enumeration Areas

Prior to the census, it is necessary to delineate all geographic areas into Type of Enumeration Areas (TEAs), which describe what methodology will be used for census material delivery and household enumeration in order to achieve maximum accuracy and completeness using the most cost-effective enumeration approach. The TEA designations also identify what methodology will be used for updating the address frame. For the United States and Puerto Rico, TEAs are delineated at the block level based on the address and spatial data in the MAF/TIGER database. The MAF/TIGER database does not contain data for the Island Areas, so a separate TEA is designated for these areas.

The TEAs designated for the 2020 Census are:

* TEA 1 = Self-Response.

* TEA 2 = Update Enumerate.

* TEA 3 = Island Areas.

* TEA 4 = Remote Alaska.

* TEA 6 = Update Leave.

The most common enumeration method by percentage of households is self-response (TEA 1), where materials are delivered to each address through the mail, and enumeration data is expected to be returned or submitted by a respondent. Self-response can occur when households mail back a 2020 Census paper questionnaire, submit the data on the 2020 Census internet questionnaire, or call the telephone number for Census Questionnaire Assistance and submit the data during the phone call. After the initial self-response phase, nonresponding households are enumerated in the NRFU operation. In Update Enumerate (TEA 2), Census Bureau enumerators visit an address, update the address list, and attempt household enumeration at the same time. This TEA is used for a very small portion of the addresses in the country, such as those with access problems or minimal mail service. The Island Areas are not currently included in MAF/TIGER. With no existing address list for these areas, the address list is created and enumeration attempted at or around the same time. Remote Alaska uses the Update Enumerate methodology but in remote areas of Alaska. These areas have unique challenges associated with the accessibility to communities where the population ranges from several hundred people to just a few people. Communities are widely scattered and rarely linked by roads. Most are accessible only by small-engine airplane, snowmobile, four-wheel-drive vehicles, dogsled, or some combination thereof. This operation occurs earlier than other enumeration operations (starting in January) due to seasonal availability of the population, who disperse when warmer weather arrives. During Update Leave (TEA 6), Census Bureau field staff visit an address, update the address list, and leave a questionnaire package at each individual housing unit. The household is expected to return the questionnaire by mail or submit their data online or by telephone. Puerto Rico is designated as entirely Update Leave in order to create a current address list at the time of the census, in response to changes that may have occurred due to recent natural disasters. Nonresponding units in Update Leave areas are included in the NRFU workload.

Operations that contribute to the respondent experience of the 2020 Census will be described in detail below. The 2020 Census Operational Plan and detailed operational plans, available at https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade/2020/planning-management/plan/memo-series.html, provide additional design details about these operations.

A. Content and Forms Design

The Content and Forms Design (CFD) operation is responsible for identifying and finalizing the content and design of questionnaires and associated nonquestionnaire materials. To support the 2020 Census, the CFD operation ensures content consistency across data collection modes and operations, as question wording varies depending on mode of data collection. The CFD operation is responsible for creating, refining, and finalizing instrument specifications for all data collection modes—internet, phone, paper, and field enumeration. This is a significant departure from the 2010 Census, which relied on paper for virtually all data collection. In addition, CFD provides informational materials online about questionnaire content.

As required by law (Title 13, United States Code) the subjects planned for the 2020 Census were submitted to Congress on March 28, 2017, and the questions planned for the 2020 Census were submitted to Congress on March 29, 2018.

The questions that appear on the 2020 Census questionnaire are name, age, Hispanic origin, race, relationship, sex, and tenure, plus a request for household population count and telephone number for quality improvement activities.

B. Language Services

The Language Services operation provides questionnaires and related materials in non-English materials for respondents of Limited English Proficiency. For the 2020 Census, the internet instrument and Census Questionnaire Assistance will be available in 13 languages: Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Russian, Arabic, Tagalog, Polish, French, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, and Japanese, in addition to English. The bilingual paper questionnaire, enumerator instrument, and field enumeration materials will be available in Spanish. In addition, language guides and language identification cards will be available in the following 59 languages: Albanian, Amharic, Arabic, Armenian, Bengali, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Burmese, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Dutch, Farsi, French, German, Gujarati, Greek, Haitian Creole, Hebrew, Hindi, Hmong, Hungarian, Igbo, Ilocano, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Lao, Lithuanian, Malayalam, Marathi, Navajo, Nepali, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Sinhala, Slovak, Somali, Spanish, Swahili, Tagalog, Tamil, Telugu, Thai, Tigrinya, Turkish, Twi, Ukrainian, Urdu, Vietnamese, Yiddish, and Yoruba.

Languages were selected using the American Community Survey data and definition of a “limited-English-speaking household” to identify the languages used in households where no member 14 years old and over speaks only English or speaks a language other than English at home and speaks English “very well.” More details about this process are available at the following link:

https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/2020/program-management/memo-series/2020-memo-2018_06.pdf

C. Address Canvassing

Address Canvassing, as described above, consists of two major components: In-Office Address Canvassing and In-Field Address Canvassing. In-Office Address Canvassing is the process of using empirical geographic evidence (e.g., imagery, comparison of the Census Bureau’s address list to partner-provided lists) to assess the current address list and make changes where necessary. This component detects and captures areas of change from high-quality administrative records and third-party data. Advancements in technology have enabled continual address and spatial updates to occur throughout the decade as part of the In-Office Address Canvassing effort.

Areas not resolved by In-Office Address Canvassing became the universe of geographic areas potentially worked during In-Field Address Canvassing, and some other areas to be resolved in other field operations. Only the In-Field component of Address Canvassing involved in-person collection of information from residents at their living quarters. This process and other significant details are described in the Address Canvassing Detailed Operational Plan.

For In-Field Address Canvassing, an extract of addresses from the MAF was created, and this address list was verified and updated in the field, as needed. In addition, living quarters were classified as housing units or group quarters. Group quarters are living quarters where people who are typically unrelated have group living arrangements and frequently are receiving some type of service. College/university student housing and nursing/skilled-nursing facilities are examples of group quarters. Entire households will be enumerated at housing units. Residents of group quarters will be enumerated individually.

The MAF also has geographic data for transitory locations, which include recreational vehicle parks, campgrounds, racetracks, circuses, carnivals, marinas, hotels, and motels. People residing at transitory locations during the census are recorded as living in housing units located at transitory locations.

During In-Field Address Canvassing, listers knocked on doors at every structure in the assignment in an attempt to locate living quarters and classify each living quarter as a housing unit, group quarter, or transitory location. If someone answered, the lister provided a Confidentiality Notice and asked about the address in order to verify or update the information, as appropriate. The listers then asked if there are any additional living quarters in the structure or on the property. If there were additional living quarters, the listers collected or updated that information, as appropriate. In addition, there was a check on the quality of the address listing work. In the 2010 Census Address Canvassing, every Assignment Area (equivalent to a 2020 Basic Collection Unit) had a sample of units checked during Quality Control (QC). The Census Bureau selected an approximately 3 percent sample of the addresses in each Assignment Area, and a QC lister was sent to the Assignment Area to check it. The QC lister followed procedures similar to the production lister—adding, updating, or deleting the addresses as necessary—while the software on the device they used calculated and recorded errors committed by the lister. The software the QC lister used made a pass or fail decision when the sample was complete, and if the Assignment Area failed QC, the software directed the QC lister to rework the rest of the addresses in the Assignment Area. Additionally, the 2010 Census Address Canvassing QC included a delete verification, which required every address marked by the lister as a delete or duplicate to be checked by the QC lister. In addition, any addresses that the QC lister deleted that were not previously deleted by the lister were checked during a third visit by a different QC lister.

In the 2020 Census Address Canvassing, we still completed a field check as in 2010, but only on selected Basic Collection Units. After each Basic Collection Unit completed listing, we checked for characteristics that often indicate erroneous work. For example, added and deleted addresses are more likely to have mistakes, so Basic Collection Units with added and deleted addresses were more likely to go to the field check. Additionally, we checked the Global Positioning System coordinates recorded during the listing work to ascertain whether the lister appeared to be far from the addresses they were supposed to be listing; if they were, the Basic Collection Unit was more likely to go to the field check. Basic Collection Units with several of these characteristics are forced into the field check, while Basic Collection Units with fewer characteristics are sampled at lower rates.

When a Basic Collection Unit was sent to the field check, we checked about 6 percent of the addresses in each Basic Collection Unit, and we allowed fewer errors than we did in the 2010 Census Address Canvassing. As in the 2010 Census Address Canvassing, the QC lister added, updated, or deleted addresses as appropriate. The software recorded any errors committed by the lister and issued a pass or fail decision once the sample was complete. If the Basic Collection Unit failed QC, then QC lister reworked the remainder of the Basic Collection Unit. There was no delete verification in the 2020 Census Address Canvassing; instead, addresses that were deleted or marked as duplicate are included in the sample of addresses the QC lister was required to check.

The results of Address Canvassing were processed with MAF/TIGER and then used as input into the creation of the census address list for enumeration. This address list, in turn, was used in conjunction with the TEA delineation to determine which materials to print for use in the operation(s) designated for each area of the country.

Additional details are provided in the 2020 Census Address Canvassing Detailed Operational Plan.

D. Forms Printing and Distribution

The Forms Printing and Distribution operation prints and distributes paper forms to support the 2020 Census mailing strategy and enumeration of the population. The Forms Printing and Distribution operation is responsible for the printing and distribution of mailed internet invitations, reminder cards or letters, and questionnaire mail packages where materials are mailed, in multiple languages as determined by the Language Services operation. The letters, reminder cards, and questionnaires are delivered according to the mailing contact strategy, which is part of the Internet Self-Response operation (discussed below).

Every address record is identified by an assigned ID, which is printed on questionnaires and letters and used for tracking responses. Paper questionnaires and responses from field operations are linked to the ID in data capture. Internet and telephone respondents are requested but not required to provide the ID. When an ID is not provided, the response is considered a Non-ID response. The Non-ID Processing operation is discussed below. Questionnaire data captured through paper data capture of mailed forms, as well as electronic data from internet and telephone responses, are delivered to the Response Processing operation. The Paper Data Capture and Response Processing operations are described below.

The Forms Printing and Distribution operation was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in both the schedule and the workload. Production activities were impacted by reduced staffing resulting from social distancing requirements and restructuring of the production lines. Additional mailings were scheduled for the Self-Response TEA because of the delay in the follow-up operations.

E. Internet Self-Response

The Internet Self-Response (ISR) operation performs the following functions:

• Maximize online response to the 2020 Census through contact strategies and improved access for respondents, described below.

• Collect response data via the internet to reduce paper and the NRFU universe.

Contact Strategies for Mailing Materials

“Contact strategies for mailing materials” refers to attempts by the Census Bureau to make direct contact with individual households by mail. Types of contact strategies include invitation letters, postcards, and questionnaires mailed to households.

A primary objective of the 2020 Census was for a majority of self-respondents to complete their census questionnaire online. An approach called “Internet First,” in which the first mailing includes an invitation to respond to the census online, was developed for TEA 1 areas to encourage respondents to use the internet. Subsequent mailings are reminders to respond to the census online, until all remaining nonresponding households in the Internet First areas receive a paper questionnaire in the fourth mailing. In TEA 1 areas with low internet coverage or connectivity or other characteristics that may make it less likely the respondents will complete the census questionnaire online, the “Internet Choice” contact strategy was designated for use instead. This strategy includes both an invitation to complete the census online and a paper questionnaire as part of the first mailing. The areas in the self-response TEA (1) that the Census Bureau designated to receive the Internet Choice treatment contained an expected 22 percent of the households.

The 2020 Census mail strategy was updated to include two additional mailings. These additional mailings were because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant extension of census field operations. A sixth mailing was added to the contact strategy for those housing units that had not yet responded by mid-July. In mid-August, a seventh mailing, which included a letter and questionnaire, was sent to nonresponding housing units in the lowest responding areas in the Internet First panel universe.

The updated contact strategies for mailing materials in TEA 1 including mailing date are outlined in the table below:

Panel	Number of Cohorts	Mailing 1	Mailing 2	Mailing 3*	Mailing 4*	Mailing 5*	Mailing 6*	Mailing 7**
Internet First	4	Letter	Letter	Postcard	Letter + Questionnaire	"It’s not too late" Postcard	Postcard	Letter + Questionnaire
Internet Choice	N/A	Letter + Questionnaire	Letter	Postcard	Letter + Questionnaire	"It’s not too late" Postcard	Postcard	N/A

* Targeted only to nonrespondents.

** Targeted only to nonresponding households in lowest response areas

Internet Self-Response Instrument

The internet application and all related support systems were designed to handle the volume of responses expected to be received by internet in the 2020 Census. The internet application and other associated systems were developed to adhere to the highest standards of data security in order to ensure that all respondent data are secure and confidential. It was also imperative that the application and systems service the scale of the census in order to ensure that users did not experience delays while completing the questionnaire.

In 2019, the Census Bureau added a Mobile Questionnaire Assistance (MQA) component to this operation. The Mobile Response Initiative builds on and improves the model for the 2010 Census Questionnaire Assistance Centers. With the use of mobile technology, Mobile Questionnaire Assistance can be deployed in areas experiencing low response rates across the country, rather than in static locations. Under the original scope of the MQA, respondents could receive assistance from trained staff, and they could answer the 2020 Census using Census Bureau iPads to access the ISR instrument. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant absence of public gatherings and limited ability to share a Census Bureau iPad, the revised scope of the MQA became:

1. Staff MQA sites in places where people visit when leaving home, promoting and assisting with self-response.

2. Engage in activities that drive people to respond in the lowest responding neighborhoods.

From July to October, 2020, MQA sites were set up in high-traffic locations where the public went to obtain supplies or services. At those locations, MQA staff encouraged members of the public to use their own devices (e.g., phones) to access the internet self-response instrument and respond to the census. At some sites, MQA staff interviewed respondents using the self-response instrument on a Census Bureau-issued device. Additional details about this operation are provided in the Internet Self-Response Detailed Operational Plan and Update Document.

F. Census Questionnaire Assistance

The Census Questionnaire Assistance (CQA) operation has three primary functions:

• Provide questionnaire assistance by answering questions about specific items on the census questionnaire or other frequently asked questions about the census.

• Provide an option for respondents to complete a census interview over the telephone.

• Provide outbound calling in support of Coverage Improvement (discussed in the NRFU section below).

Respondents using the internet instrument had the ability to contact CQA by telephone when web-based self-service help tools could answer their questions. Each of the 13 supported languages, including English, had its own toll-free number for callers. The CQA toll-free numbers were provided on mailing materials and on a variety of Integrated Partnership and Communications materials. Respondents calling the English and Spanish language lines were initially presented with a self-service Interactive Voice Response system, offering an assortment of automated responses to frequently asked questions. At any time, respondents may opt to transfer to a customer service representative, who is prepared to further assist and, if desired by the caller, enumerate them. All callers who need assistance in one of the 12 supported non-English languages were connected directly to an appropriately skilled customer service representative fluent in the language, based on the toll-free number called.

Additional details about this operation are provided in the Census Questionnaire Assistance Detailed Operational Plan and post-2020 Census CQA Operation update document. Changes for this operation include:

• New functionality was added to the operation. The first major change was to allow the functionality for Group Quarters (GQ) administrators to call the CQA line to receive help on completing GQ questionnaires. The second major change was related to the COVID-19 pandemic, where functionality for a Work-At-Home CQA solution was implemented to increase staffing levels, and thereby improve the customer experience. This allowed customers to request a callback when experiencing long wait times, and a customer service representative working from home would return the call.

• Other minor changes were implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including front-end messaging to improve the caller experience, COVID-19 office procedures and health checks, and the provision of personal protective equipment.

• CQA schedule dates were also affected, with the operation extended to support self-response and field operations through the end date in October 2021.

G. Update Leave

The Update Leave (UL) operation is designed for areas where the majority of housing units either do not have mail delivered to the physical location of the housing unit or the mail delivery information for the housing unit cannot be verified. Designated during TEA delineation using data present on the MAF/TIGER database, UL can occur in geographic areas that:

• Do not have city-style addresses, such as 123 Main Street.

• Do not receive mail through city-style addresses, such as when mail is delivered to a post office rather than at housing units.

• Receive mail at post office boxes.

• Have been affected by major disasters.

The purpose of the UL oper­ation is to update the address and feature data for the area assigned and to leave an Internet Choice ques­tionnaire package at every housing unit identified to allow the household to self-respond. Enumerators do not attempt to enumerate the household in person at this point.

Occupants can respond online, using the ID printed on the questionnaire, or they can fill out and mail back the paper questionnaire. If they have questions or wish to respond on the telephone, they can call the CQA number, which is provided in the package.

The UL operation includes mailing a reminder letter and a reminder postcard to addresses that are capable of receiving mail within the areas designated for UL. These mailed materials include the ID for the given address and the website address for the household to use in order to respond online. As in TEA 1, where all materials are mailed to housing units, any households that do not self-respond will be contacted during the NRFU operation. Finally, the UL operation performs a check on the quality of the address listing work (quality control [QC]) on approximately 10 percent of the production workload. Similar to Address Canvassing listing QC, UL listing QC is a three-phase process. The first two phases check a sample of each production enumerator’s work, and the third phase is the recanvassing of the entire block or basic collection unit. The third phase is only conducted if one of the previous phases fails. During the first phase, the QC enumerator is given a random location at which to start the QC. The QC enumerator then follows the normal listing rules— list to the right, for example—and updates the address list for each unit they encounter on the ground. The listing instrument instructs them to stop when the sample size, as specified during sampling, is reached. If the sample passes the first phase, it moves on to the second phase. If the sample fails the first phase, it moves directly to the third phase.

During the second phase (or delete check), the listing instrument instructs the QC enumerator to check a sample of deleted units in the block or basic collection unit, if there are deleted units. If the sample of deleted units is found to have errors, the listing instrument instructs the QC enumerator to conduct the third phase, and to recanvas the entire basic collection unit. If the sample passes the delete check, the QC enumerator is finished with the basic collection unit. If the QC sample fails to meet data quality standards, the QC enumerator will conduct the third phase and recanvas the entire basic collection unit.

In the 2010 Census the UL operation was conducted on paper, but the work was analogous to the 2010 Census Address Canvassing operation. Aside from the use of paper versus a handheld computer, the primary difference between the QC of the operations was that UL had a sample size of 5 percent, compared to 3 percent in Address Canvassing. In addition, UL did not have a delete verification, a universe that was created within the Address Canvassing automated instrument. Instead UL deletes were checked in the subsequent Nonresponse Followup operation. Since the operation was on paper, the QC listers had to record errors and calculate the pass or fail decision manually and rework the assignment if it had failed.

The 2020 Census UL QC is almost identical to the 2020 Census In-Field Address Canvassing QC, with the only difference being a number of minor errors that can result from the UL lister failing to drop off the forms correctly.

Additional details about this operation are provided in the Update Leave Detailed Operational Plan and Update Documents. The schedule for UL was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The field operation had begun when all field operations were ceased. Once field operations were restarted, there were new safety protocols, and refresher training took place online. In addition, the operation procedures were adapted for both the production and QC phases such that the address validation occurred only by observation, rather than by knocking on the door and attempting to talk with a householder. The schedule of mailings to Update Leave areas was also impacted. The plan for the 2020 Census UL areas was for there to be two mailings to all mailable addresses in the Update Leave areas – a reminder letter and a reminder post card. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic affecting staffing at the printing facility, the second mailing was delayed.

H. Update Enumerate

The Update Enumerate (UE) operation is designated for areas where the initial visit requires enumerating at the living quarters while updating the address list. The majority of the operation will occur in remote geographic areas that have unique challenges asso­ciated with accessibility. UE can occur in the following geographic areas:

• Remote Alaska.

• Areas that were a part of the 2010 Census Remote UE operation, such as northern parts of Maine and southeast Alaska.

• Select American Indian areas that request to be enumerated in person during the initial visit.

Some areas included in the 2010 Census Remote Update Enumerate operation ultimately were delineated into TEA 1 or TEA 6 for the 2020 Census, based on changes in address type or mailability. See the burden table for the estimated number of housing units in UE areas.

In the UE operation, field staff update the address and feature data and enumerate respondents in person. Some procedure updates were made as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, as discussed below. The address and feature data are updated on paper address registers and paper maps. The enumeration is collected on paper questionnaires. Field staff conducting UE follow a specific contact strategy for the remote locations and conduct any needed follow-up. The UE operation promotes the quality of the address work and of the enumeration data by having staff work in pairs and by supervisors reviewing all data collected for completion and any anomalies. Some updates to the quality processes were made as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, as discussed below. Supervisors rework an area when necessary to improve the quality of the collected data by recollecting geographic and/or enumeration data. The 2010 Census UE operation was conducted on paper. The listing portion of the UE operation was handled similarly to the 2010 Census Update Leave operation, while the reinterview portion was similar to the 2010 Census NRFU. As a result, the 2010 Census UE QC on the listing was similar to the 2010 Census UL QC, while the reinterview portion of the QC plan was similar to that of the 2010 Census NRFU QC. The 2020 Census UE operation is far smaller, but it is still conducted on paper. Due to the paper implementation and the fact that the work will be done by teams of enumerators, the Census Bureau is not implementing a formal QC. Instead, there will be a series of reviews of the collected data by the field supervisors and the office staff. In addition, when available, the local tribal leaders will review the listing data for accuracy, as well. Additional details about this operation are provided in the Update Enumerate Detailed Operational Plan and Update Document.

The schedule for UE was greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, Remote Alaska enumeration began in January 2020 and was halted in March 2020. Adapted procedures included requiring field staff to wear personal protective equipment, removing the requirement for enumerators to work in pairs except where deemed necessary, and allowing for self-enumeration in Remote Alaska villages through the use of a spreadsheet completed by a local point of contact and sent for transcription onto the appropriate questionnaire types.

I. Non-ID Processing

For the 2020 Census, respondents were encouraged, but not required, to use the Census Bureau’s preassigned ID that will be displayed on the mailing materials for the living quarters. Within the internet instrument, and, consequently, within CQA, it was possible for respondents to submit their census response without the preassigned ID. Non-ID Processing is the effort to associate census responses that lack a Census ID with records included on the Census Bureau’s 2020 Census address frame. This processing can occur through automated or clerical procedures. With the ISR instrument collecting the response and address data, it was possible to perform automated processing to determine whether the address was already included on the address frame and extracted from the MAF. For those Non-ID responses not matched during automated processing, a clerical operation made a further attempt to match the address to the 2020 Census address frame and validate nonmatching addresses. Some of the clerical work could have required contacting the respondent to help determine a match or to verify the existence and location of the address; this is known as Non-ID Processing Phone Followup. Initial production work on contacting respondents found that this was less effective than having clerks work on other records, and this process was halted. Any nonmatching address whose existence and location could not be verified by the clerical Non-ID operation became a Field Verification assignment, handled as a component of the NRFU operation. Notably, Field Verification is only an address verification effort and does not include collection of the census questionnaire data.

Additional details about this operation are provided in the Non-ID Processing Detailed Operational Plan and Update Document.

J. Nonresponse Followup

The NRFU operation serves two primary purposes:

• Determines or resolves housing unit status for addresses included in the NRFU workload.

• Enumerates housing units that are determined to have a housing unit status of occupied.

The NRFU workload is comprised of addresses from a number of sources, including:

• Nonresponding addresses in TEAs 1 and 6.

• Blank mail returns or mail returns otherwise deemed to be insufficient.

• Addresses identified by the spring 2020 USPS Delivery Sequence File and other special efforts undertaken to identify new housing around the time of the census — New Construction and Housing Unit Count Review; addresses upheld in the Local Update of Census Addresses appeals process; and potentially other addresses determined to require follow-up after the initial enumeration universe is established.

• Addresses with a vacant status (reported as 0 occupants) from Internet Self-Response.

• Field Verification cases.

• Coverage Improvement cases.

• Self-Response Quality Assurance cases.

The 2020 Census NRFU operation was different from the NRFU operation conducted in the 2010 Census. The Census Bureau implemented a NRFU operational design that utilized a combina­tion of the following:

• Automation to facilitate data collection.

• Administrative records and third-party data usage to reduce the workload.

• Reengineering of staffing and management of field operations.

• A best-time-to-contact model to increase the likelihood of making contact attempts when an enumerator will find people at home (modeled as intended, but feature was disabled during fielding).

1. After giving the population in the United States and Puerto Rico an opportunity to self-respond to the 2020 Census, the Census Bureau used the most cost-effective strategy for contacting and counting people to ensure an accurate count.

During the NRFU operation, enumerators visited each housing unit designated for follow-up and determined whether the unit exists and then the occupancy status of the unit on April 1, 2020. If the unit existed, they attempted to complete an interview using an automated application on a smartphone. The devices used a secure Census Bureau-provided enumeration application solution for conducting the NRFU field data collection. Enumeration data and workload updates were transmitted between the NRFU instruments and response processing systems on a regular basis. Data were encrypted at all times, both at rest and in transmission. Various techniques were used during NRFU to make the data collection as efficient as possible. The number of allowed attempts to contact was controlled within the automated instrument. Every case in the NRFU workload initially had a maximum of six unique contact days. (During the Closeout phase of the operation, cases could have received additional attempts, as necessary, to resolve incomplete cases.) After a third attempt to contact a household does not yield a respondent, a case became proxy-eligible. A proxy is a neighbor, landlord, real estate agent, or other knowledgeable person who can provide information about the unit and the people who live there. An enumerator should attempt three proxies after each noninterview for a proxy-eligible case.

In addition to the initial in-person contact attempt, these addresses also received some additional mailing or mailings that encour­aged occupants to self-respond to the 2020 Census. If the initial in-person contact attempt was unsuccessful, the Census Bureau used administrative records for the unit status or as the household response data when it had high-quality administrative records from multiple trusted sources. Households in NRFU still have an opportunity to self-respond with a response that will be included in the downstream response processing. Undeliverable-As-Addressed information from the USPS served as the primary administrative records source for the identification of vacant addresses and addresses that do not exist. Examples of sources of administrative records used to enumerate occupied housing units include IRS Individual Tax Returns, IRS Information Returns, and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Statistics Medicare Enrollment Database.

Addresses were also removed from the workload throughout the course of the NRFU operation as self-responses were received.

Early NRFU

Early NRFU was planned to occur in areas where there are high concentrations of college students living in off-campus housing who are unlikely to be present during the scheduled dates for regular NRFU. The enumeration procedures for early NRFU are the same as regular NRFU but just conducted at an earlier time to accommodate the schedules of select colleges and universities. Any early NRFU addresses that are unresolved by the start of NRFU will receive additional field attempts during regular NRFU. This component of NRFU was ultimately descoped because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

NRFU Reinterview

The NRFU Reinterview program checks the quality of the work done by enumerators in NRFU. A sample of approximately 5 percent of NRFU interviews was selected for verification through NRFU Reinterview. The NRFU Reinterview program involves conducting an independent field reinterview for selected cases to verify that an enumerator conducted the interview and followed procedures. The NRFU Reinterview interviewer/enumerator always attempts to contact the respondent from the original interview, which may be a household member, neighbor, or some other proxy. If the original respondent confirms that he/she was contacted and an enumerator conducted the original interview, the NRFU Reinterview interviewer/enumerator collects roster names and ends the interview. If the respondent was not contacted or does not know if an enumerator conducted the original interview, the NRFU Reinterview interviewer/enumerator conducts a full interview with the respondent.

One component of NRFU that was planned but not implemented was for enumerators to conduct interviews with multiunit structure managers in the early weeks of NRFU to determine the occupancy status of nonresponding units within the multiunit structure. This Manager Visit (MV) would have allowed enumerators to identify units as vacants or deletes without having to attempt each unit individually. Delays in field operations because of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in grouped multiunit statuses not being assigned correctly, which negated the efficiency of the grouped contacts, and therefore, this part of the operation was canceled.

The NRFU universe also included cases from Non-ID Processing that were not able to be matched to the address frame. As discussed in the Non-ID section, these were Field Verification (FV) cases, where the enumerators attempted to locate the address in question and collect its Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates. A sample of the FV cases is selected for verification through FV QC. Since FV cases only require an enumerator to determine the existence of an address and do not require an interview with a respondent, the FV QC program consisted of an independent check of the production enumerators where the FV QC enumerator conducted the same procedures as the FV enumerator. FV cases, along with their QC component, have a maximum of one field contact day.

In the early stages of the NRFU operation, it was clear that some areas could not be contacted in person for many reasons, including state and local government restrictions for in-person contact because of the COVID-19 pandemic, expansive wildfires on the west coast, and an active hurricane season in gulf states. In an effort to gather as much data as possible, the NRFU operation prepared and implemented telephone follow-up as part of the contact strategy. Details about the telephone strategy are outlined below:

• Phone numbers were extracted from the Census Bureau’s Contact Frame, which links phone numbers to addresses in the Master Address File. Any phone number in the Contact Frame connected to an address of a case in the NRFU universe was attached to the NRFU case.

• Enumerators in areas with high COVID-19 rates, impacted by natural disasters, or with low completion rates were allowed to use telephone follow-up to resolve cases. Cases attempted by telephone were considered contact attempts for purposes of calculating proxy eligibility and use within the administrative records modeling criteria.

The telephone strategy was an unplanned contingency in 2020. Analysis will be conducted on its effectiveness and whether a telephone strategy should be a planned contingency in the future.

In the 2010 Census, the NRFU operation was conducted on paper, and the interviews consisted solely of the household interview for households that did not respond to the Census by other methods. The 2010 Census NRFU QC cases were primarily selected for reinterview through random sampling techniques, although the Census Bureau also selected cases that appeared to be suspicious. After a case was selected for reinterview, a reinterviewer (from a separate staff of interviewers specifically working on reinterview cases) would attempt to contact the NRFU respondent again. If the reinterviewer was able to contact the respondent, the reinterview would ask whether they had been contacted by the first interviewer. If the respondent indicated they had been contacted, the reinterviewer collected limited roster information and completed the interview. If the respondent indicated he or she had not been contacted, the reinterviewer redid the entire NRFU interview with the respondent. After the reinterview was complete, the case was delivered to a system that compared the information collected during the original interview to the information collected during reinterview. If the information matched within a certain tolerance, the reinterview was considered a pass and the case was complete. If the reinterview information did not match well, the case was deferred to a clerical operation, which attempted to resolve the case based on the information given during the two interviewers. If the clerks were unable to resolve the case, the case was sent to the Local Census Office that employs the enumerator, and they would attempt to determine whether there was falsification, using online data sources or occasionally calling the respondent again. If an enumerator was determined to have falsified data, all of their work was put into reinterview, except cases that had already been reinterviewed.

In the 2020 Census NRFU reinterview, the random reinterview selection component is deemphasized in favor of selecting cases based on suspicious characteristics, based on collected data and paradata collected in the automated instrument. The more suspicious characteristics a case had, the more likely it was to fall into reinterview. The selected cases were then sent to interviewers in the field. Those interviews were not conducted by a separate staff; the same staff work on both NRFU and NRFU reinterview cases. However, reinterviewers cannot check a case that he or she completed, which is enforced in the case assignment software.

The 2010 Census NRFU reinterview questionnaire remains essentially unchanged for the 2020 Census NRFU reinterview. If the respondent indicates they were contacted, the reinterviewer collects only limited roster information; if the respondent indicates they were not contacted, the reinterviewer conducts the full 2020 Census NRFU interview. As in the 2010 Census NRFU, we then conduct computer matching, comparing the original interview data to the reinterview data. The matching algorithm and thresholds to pass a case are similar to those used in the 2010 Census NRFU reinterview.

In the clerical resolution, the clerks used resources similar to what was used in the 2010 Census NRFU reinterview to resolve the cases, with the exception of calling the respondents.

Any cases of suspected falsification were referred to the Regional Census Center for a final decision. As in the 2010 Census NRFU reinterview, if an enumerator was found to have falsified data, their remaining unchecked cases were placed into reinterview, and they were unable to work any further cases. The revised sampling algorithms we used for the 2020 Census NRFU reinterview were anticipated to increase our detection rate of enumerators that were falsifying data, compared to the 2010 Census NRFU reinterview.

Coverage Improvement resolved categories of erroneous enumerations (people counted in the wrong place or counted more than once) and omissions (people who were missed) identified through collected enumeration data. Coverage Improvement attempted to resolve these issues from both self-response and NRFU responses. All cases that were selected for Coverage Improvement with a valid phone number were subject to an interview attempt by a CQA Customer Service Representative. The workload identified for Coverage Improvement were responses where a household enumeration showed a difference between the answer for the number of people within the household and the number of people enumerated, and answers to coverage questions in the initial enumeration that reflected potential coverage errors. Automation and the internet self-response option were anticipated to reduce the prevalence of these types of respondent errors as compared to the 2010 Census, which was completed almost entirely on paper questionnaires.

Self-Response Quality Assurance cases were generated as part of the quality assurance efforts for self-response. This re-collection of the enumeration data was also worked within NRFU.

Additional details about this operation are provided in the Nonresponse Followup Detailed Operational Plan and Update Document. Updates to the schedule are represented in the full schedule in Section 16 below.

K. Group Quarters

The 2020 Census Group Quarters (GQ) operation enumerates people living or staying in GQs and provides an opportunity for people experiencing homelessness and receiving service at a ser­vice-based location, such as a soup kitchen, to be counted in the census. GQs are assigned different categories or type codes, and field procedures sometimes differ by categories or because of GQ facility privacy concerns. For example, procedures or data collections for colleges may differ from those for prisons or skilled nursing homes.

The 2020 Census GQ operation consists of the following components:

• GQ Frame Update.

• GQ Advance Contact.

• GQ Enumeration.

• Service-Based Enumeration.

• Military Enumeration.

• Maritime Vessel (Shipboard) Enumeration.

GQ Frame Update

The 2020 Census GQ Frame Update program supports the 2020 Census enumeration frame development for the 2020 Census Group Quarters Enumeration. Building from the 2010 Census, the GQ frame incorporates updates from the 2020 Census Local Update of Census Addresses, Address Canvassing, and New Construction operations, as well as the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. Local Update of Census Addresses is described in Federal Register Notice “Local Update of Census Addresses Operation,” November 7, 2016, (Vol. 81, No. 215, pp 78109-78110, FR Doc. 2016-26778), while New Construction is described in Federal Register Notice “2020 Census New Construction Program,” October 5, 2018, (Vol. 83, No. 194, pp 50332-50334, FR Doc. 2018-21698). The Address Canvassing operation is part of the 2020 Census package.

In addition, the Count Review operation contributes addresses to the frame in advance of and during the census. This operation does not create burden due to the relationship with the Federal-State Cooperative for Population Estimates representatives under which these updates are provided. It is mentioned in order to provide a complete picture of the frame development and enumeration activities for GQs.

GQ Advance Contact

The GQ Advance Contact has both in-office and in-field activities. The in-office GQ Advance Contact is an area census office activity through which Census Bureau staff call GQs identified in prior frame update phases to collect preferred contact dates, times, and methods of enumeration as well as expected population on Census Day. Census Bureau staff also discuss any special instructions from the GQ or concerns related to privacy, confidentiality, and security. For cases that staff are unable to contact or resolve during the in-office advance contact, field supervisors make an in-field visit to the GQs to collect this data.

GQ Enumeration

The GQ Enumeration covers all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. An additional late GQ enumeration phase allows for the stakeholder identification and enumeration of group quarters that may have been missed during the earlier time frame. The primary method of conducting in-person enumeration of people residing in group quarters is using the Individual Census Questionnaire as the paper data collection instrument. In-person interviewing is planned for all group quarter types that are part of the field enumeration workload. A follow-up to ensure quality of enumerations is conducted. Area census office management staff assign cases selected for reinterview to clerks. The clerks use a reinterview form for each case in their reinterview and telephone each GQ to confirm that the enumerator visited the correct facility at the correct address. The reinterview also determines if the enumerator obtained a population count within a pre-defined acceptable range of the count provided by the GQ contact during the reinterview.

Reinterview responses are then compared to the initial responses. If a response is satisfactory, no further work is required. If a response is unsatisfactory, management will conduct an investigation into the cause. Some outcomes may result in additional data collection. If errors occurred or if falsification by the enumerator occurred, the case may be sent out for rework. Also, if falsification occurred, all cases worked by that enumerator will be reinterviewed.

GQ Enumeration— eResponse Data Transfer

The GQ eResponse leverages electronic data transfers from GQ administrators to the Census Bureau. Client-level data from systems maintained by GQ administrators will be transferred to a standardized Census Bureau secured system that will accept electronically submitted data in a standardized template. These data will be accepted in lieu of use of the Individual Census Questionnaire if data are deemed to be of sufficiently high quality and completeness.

In both the 2010 Census Group Quarters Enumeration and the 2020 Census Group Quarters Enumeration, work is assigned to individual enumerators for completion. However, in 2020 Census Group Quarters Enumeration, a GQ can respond to the Census using eResponse Data Transfer, which does not involve enumerators actually collecting the data. In the 2010 Census we selected 10 percent of the cases eligible for reinterview, and the reinterviews were completed by telephone from the local offices. If falsification was discovered, the case would be reworked by a different enumerator. The design for 2020 Census Group Quarters Enumeration QC is similar. The eligibility requirements have changed to exclude situations where an enumerator was not actually responsible for collecting the data, and the reinterview selection is now done by enumerator rather than by case. As in 2010, the reinterview will be conducted by telephone, and any cases of falsification will be reworked by a different enumerator.

Domestic Violence Shelters

Domestic violence shelters are facilities for those seeking safety from domestic violence. Domestic violence shelters are enumerated using special procedures and specially trained personnel. These special procedures include inviting members of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence state coalitions to participate in the 2020 Census Group Quarters Frame Update Program to create a comprehensive and current address listing for domestic violence shelters. In order to protect the integrity of these locations, it will be necessary to have individuals designated to be the recipient of this information and to personally implement the procedures. Due to the sensitive nature of these places, the Census Bureau has assured the service providers that we will not disclose name, address, or any other type of information about the facility or the persons staying there to anyone other than on a “need to know” basis. These special procedures are designed to protect the safety and security of respondents being enumerated at these locations.

Service-Based Enumeration

The Service-Based Enumeration is specifically designed to approach people using service facilities because they may be missed during the traditional enumeration at housing units and group quarters. These service locations and outdoor locations include the following:

• Shelters: shelters with sleeping facilities for people experiencing homelessness; shelters for children who are runaways, neglected, or experiencing homelessness.

• Soup kitchens.

• Regularly scheduled mobile food vans: stops where regularly scheduled mobile food vans distribute meals.

• Targeted non-sheltered outdoor locations.

For the 2020 Census, the Service-Based Enumeration operation will be conducted over the three-day period that ends on April 1, 2020, Census Day. Service providers for shelters, soup kitchens, and regularly scheduled mobile food vans will be given the flexibility for their facility to be enumerated on any one of the three days. Targeted non-sheltered outdoor locations will be enumerated April 1, 2020. Field partnership specialists with local knowledge will help to identify non-sheltered outdoor locations during the time of the census.

In both the 2010 Census and the 2020 Census, there is no formal QC on Service-Based Enumeration. The transient nature of the population enumerated would make a QC program unlikely to produce reliable results. In addition, since the enumeration is completed by a team of enumerators, the results are unlikely to be falsified.

Military Enumeration

Military installations are fenced, secured areas used for military purposes that include living quarters such as housing units and group quarters for military, civilian, and non-Department of Defense-affiliated personnel. Residents living in housing units on military installations will have the opportunity to respond to the census through the internet or by mail or telephone (just like residents who do not live on installations). The enumeration methodology at all military GQs (barracks, military treatment facilities with assigned patients, military disciplinary barracks and jails, and military vessels) will be implemented under the GQ operation. Residents living in GQs will be enumerated during the GQ enumeration, using the same set of enumeration options.

Maritime/Military Vessel Enumeration

A maritime vessel is defined as a United States-flagged vessel with people who live or stay aboard for extended periods of time and sail from or to a United States port. A military vessel is defined as a United States Navy or United States Coast Guard vessel assigned to a home port in the United States. Maritime and Military Vessel Enumeration is a mailout-mailback operation to enumerate people who live or stay aboard and will not have any other opportunity to respond in time to be included in the 2020 Census. The response burden for military installations and maritime and military vessels is included in the GQ enumeration count.

Group quarters were enumerated largely as designed, but the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a number of significant changes to the schedule and processes. In particular:

• The GQ operation sent emails with login credentials to GQ administrators using the eResponse data collection.

• The enumeration method options for the SBE were expanded to include those that minimized or eliminated face-to-face contact with residents.

• The GQE and SBE conducted a follow-up Group Quarters Advance Contact with GQ administrators who had selected in-person enumeration options during the February 2020 to March 2020 operation. The additional contact was to encourage GQ administrators to select enumeration methods with little to no in-person contact and to provide an updated appointment date. The GQE provided mail out/mail back for the Paper Response Data Collection template from the area census offices (ACOs).

• For Military Vessel Enumeration (MVE), the enumeration option was expanded to the use of an emailed Paper Response Data Collection template. MVE points of contact responded by email using secure encryption.

The schedule was also affected by the pandemic. The relevant updates are shown in the full schedule in Section 16 below.

L. Enumeration at Transitory Locations

The goal of the 2020 Census Enumeration at Transitory Locations (ETL) operation is to enumerate individuals in occupied units at transitory locations (TLs) who do not have a Usual Home Elsewhere. A TL is a location that is composed of living quarters where people are unlikely to live year-round, due to the transitory/temporary/impermanent nature of these living quarters. Transitory locations include recreational vehicle parks, campgrounds, racetracks, circuses, carnivals, marinas, hotels, and motels.

The 2020 Census ETL operation consists of the following components:

• TL Frame Update.

• TL Advance Contact.

• Enumeration.

TL Frame Update

The 2020 Census TL Frame Update was implemented to ensure that the 2020 Census enumeration frame is complete and to provide an opportunity for enumeration of people residing at transitory locations. Building from the 2010 Census, the TL frame incorporates updates from the Local Update of Census Addresses, Address Canvassing, and New Construction operations. The design of the program ensures that the 2020 Census enumeration frame is updated by using specialized procedures to update the addresses for the following types of locations:

• Carnival, circus, and fair locations.

• Hotels and motels.

Carnival and circus research is a telephone solicitation of carnival and circus operators. Scheduled dates and corresponding addresses for shows that will occur during ETL enumeration are collected. In addition, hotel and motel research is a telephone solicitation of hotels/motels to inquire if a hotel or motel has any rooms occupied by people who live or stay there most of the time or if that hotel/motel is used entirely to house people experiencing homelessness.

TL Advance Contact

The TL Advance Contact has both in-office and in-field activities. The in-office TL Advance Contact is an area census office activity in which TLs identified in frame update steps are called on the telephone. Address verification, TL type, number of spaces or units at the TL, and other advance information to support the ETL operation in the field are collected. For cases that staff are unable to contact or resolve during the in-office advance contact, field supervisors make an in-field visit to the GQs to collect this data.

Hotel units occupied by individuals on a daily/weekly/monthly basis or occupied as a shelter for people experiencing homelessness are constantly changing. Hotels that were classified as TLs or group quarters in the 2010 Census could have changed their status by the time of the 2020 Census. Therefore, it was important to contact each hotel during the TL Advance Contact operation to determine if hotel units were housing units or group quarters. The 2020 Census used a third-party administrative record list of all the hotels and motels in the U.S. and Puerto Rico to create a universe from which a hotel/motel calling operation was devised to determine which hotels and motels to include in the TL and GQ frames for advance contact and enumeration.

TL Enumeration

The 2020 Census ETL operation covered all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Enumerators canvassed a TL in one visit to enumerate at occupied transitory units. Respondents at a TL who do not have a usual home elsewhere are counted where they are enumerated in ETL.

The Enumeration at Transitory Locations (ETL) operation was new for the 2010 Census, and the 2010 Census ETL QC was implemented primarily to assess the quality of the ETL operation. The Census Bureau selected 10 percent of eligible TLs and 10 percent of eligible Enumeration Questionnaires but did not rework any cases found to be in error. The reinterview was focused on whether the enumerator understood the concept of Usual Home Elsewhere while conducting ETL. In the 2020 Census ETL QC, we are not reinterviewing TLs, because they are completed during the Advance Contact and because the falsification rate found for these in 2010 Census was extremely low (0.04 percent). We will reinterview for 10 percent of eligible Enumerator Questionnaires, selected by enumerator, with no option to rework if errors are found. The reinterviews will be completed by phone from the Area Census Offices.

The ETL operation was significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, including schedule changes that resulted in changes to the operation. Specific changes include:

• The schedule for conducting Transitory Locations Advance Contact (TLAC) shortly before the ETL data collection was updated in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. While the initial TLAC was conducted as planned during the original planned dates of February 24, 2020 to March 21, 2020, the remaining components of the operation were postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. A second and final TLAC phase was conducted from July 20, 2020, to August 7, 2020. Data from the initial TLAC phase were carried over to the final TLAC. The ETL data collection was conducted from September 3, 2020, to September 28, 2020.

• The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the plan to create a list of carnival/circus locations and dates prior to TLAC. The National Processing Center (NPC) calling center called the carnival/circus/fair companies for the initial advance contact, using a frame list provided by headquarters (HQ). For the final advance contact, HQ did not call the carnival companies to determine active carnivals in September 2020. The plan was updated for area census offices (ACOs) to determine if there were active carnivals in their area.

• After additional planning, the “reinterview” (RI) process was descoped from the ETL operational plan and replaced with quality control checklists at each level of the operation. The ETL operation uses a minimum of two enumerators to enumerate at each transitory location (TL), with a lead enumerator overseeing the enumeration. The use of multiple staff for enumeration largely prevents the opportunity for the data falsification that reinterview is intended to identify. In addition, there is limited opportunity for rework during the ETL operation due to the respondents being a transient population. At the same time, the duration of the operation is only 25 days, which may be too short to make any meaningful use of the RI process. For the quality control checklists that were ultimately used for the ETL operation, each quality item on the checklist was reviewed by another field staff member to ensure procedures were followed.

M. Paper Data Capture

The Paper Data Capture operation scans and converts data from 2020 Census paper questionnaires. Core sources for the Paper Data Capture operation include housing unit self-response questionnaires mailed back by respondents and Group Quarters Individual Census Reports. The Census Bureau’s in-house Integrated Computer Assisted Data Entry system is used to capture paper responses from questionnaires. Each write-in and checkbox data field is data-captured, and Optical Character Recognition and Optical Mark Recognition are performed. If Key From Image is needed for forms that cannot be processed through Optical Character Recognition or Optical Mark Recognition, staff are presented the image of the page and are able to key, clarify, correct, and add to what was captured. The Census Bureau maintains the data, images of the forms, and the paper forms themselves until confirmation that the data have been correctly captured, at which point the paper forms are sent to destruction while the data and images are retained. The Census Bureau maintains the images for archiving purposes until such time as the National Archiving and Records Administration takes possession of the images for permanent archiving.

COVID-19 pandemic-related impacts included updating both the physical space in the Paper Data Capture Centers and the operational procedures to accommodate social distancing guidelines. PDC schedule dates were also affected, with the operation extended to support self-response through the end date in October 2021.

Additional details about this operation are provided in the Paper Data Capture Detailed Operational Plan.

N. Response Processing

The Response Processing Operation (RPO) supports the three major components of the 2020 Census: pre-data collection activities, data collection activities, and post-data collection activities. Specifically, the operation supports the following activities:

Pre-data collection

• Create and distribute the initial 2020 Census enumeration universe of living quarters.

• Assign the specific enumeration strategy for each living quarter based on case status and associated paradata.

Data collection

• Create and distribute workload files required for enumeration operations.

• Track case enumeration status.

• Check for suspicious returns.

Post-data collection

• Run post-data collection processing actions in preparation for producing the final 2020 Census results.

The schedule for response processing was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Field operations were delayed, which resulted in later production of the final 2020 Census results. Additional details about this operation are provided in the Response Processing Operation Detailed Operational Plan.

O. Redistricting Data Program

The purpose of the 2020 Census Redistricting Data Program (RDP) is to provide to each state the legally-required redistricting data tabulations by the mandated deadline of April 1, 2021. The schedule of RDP deliveries was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Pursuant to Title 13, U.S.C., Section 141, the Census Bureau has worked with “the officers or public bodies having initial responsibility for the legislative apportionment of each state,” to solicit feedback on the content of the prototype redistricting data file. On March 29, 2019 the Census Bureau published the prototype of the redistricting files based on the test enumeration of Providence County, Rhode Island. With no stakeholders requesting changes to the prototype data, the same design will be used as the design for the 2020 Census. For the prototype and for the 2020 Census Redistricting Data Files, the Census Bureau provides tabulations for a variety of standard census geographic areas including state, county, place, tract, and tabulation block. If states provide their congressional, legislative, and voting district boundaries through the Redistricting Data Program, the Census Bureau will also provide the tabulations for these areas. Tabulations by congressional, legislative, and voting districts will be available for the 50 states; equivalent tabulations will be available for the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

This program has a separate OMB clearance number. There is more detail about this program in Federal Register Notice “Redistricting Data Program,” July 26, 2018 (Vol. 83, No. 144, pp. 35458-35460. FR Doc No. 2018-15972), Federal Register Notice “Redistricting Data Program,” September 22, 2021 (Vol. 86, No. 181, pp. 52634-52635, FR Doc No. 2021-20512), and the Redistricting Data Program Detailed Operational Plan and Update Document.

P. Data Products and Dissemination

The Data Products and Dissemination (DPD) operation performs four primary functions:

• Prepare and deliver the 2020 Census apportionment data for the President of the United States to provide to Congress by December 31, 2020. (delayed)

• Perform Disclosure Avoidance. To help prevent anyone from tracing statistics back to a specific respondent, the Census Bureau alters the underlying statistical tabulations before publication.

• Tabulate 2020 Census data products for use by the states for redistricting.

• Tabulate and disseminate 2020 Census data for use by the public.

The DPD operation produces information required by Public Law to satisfy apportionment and redistricting requirements. Title 13, U.S. Code (U.S.C.) requires that the apportionment population counts be delivered to the Office of the President within nine months of the census date. Apportionment counts are based on the Census Unedited File, the Federally Affiliated Overseas Personnel and Dependents Count File, and a geographic file of state changes. For the 2020 Census, the census date is April 1, 2020, and the President was scheduled to receive the counts by December 31, 2020. The schedule of deliveries was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The DPD operation is also responsible for the production and dissemination of many data products, including national and state summary files, tabulated informational files, and data comparison tables. This includes electronic and printed products that cover population and housing unit tabulations, geographical maps, and products specific to the Island Areas (U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands).

The Center for Enterprise Dissemination Services and Consumer Innovation initiative is responsible for developing enterprise dissemination requirements. DPD is conducting a thorough review of the past product design (cross-tabulations and iterations of characteristics), while also looking to ensure that users can find data after the 2020 Census quickly and easily.

The Census Bureau has undertaken a thorough analysis of the proposed 2020 Census data products in keeping with our sworn obligation to protect respondents’ data as data stewards under Title 13. Growth in computing power, advances in mathematics, and easy access to large, public databases pose a significant threat to confidentiality. These forces have made it possible for sophisticated users to ferret out common data points between databases using only our published statistics. If left unchecked, those users might be able to stitch together these common threads to identify the people or businesses behind the statistics.

The Bureau of the Census sought feedback in Federal Register Notice “Soliciting Feedback from Users on 2020 Census Data Products,” July 19, 2018 (Vol. 83, pp. 34111 - 34112, FR Doc No. 2018-15458). It requested feedback from users on specific tables and geographic detail for decennial census products such as Summary File 1, Summary File 2, and the Demographic Profile. This notice was reopened for an additional comment period on October 9, 2018 (Vol. 83, p. 50636, FR Doc No. 2018-21837). Using input from the Federal Register Notice and the Census Bureau analysis of 2010 Census data products, Census Bureau subject matter experts developed a draft product proposal that is supported by a framework known as “differential privacy,” under review by data users of decennial data and experts in confidentiality protection. First, the “TopDown Algorithm” was applied to 2010 Census data. On October 29, 2019, the Census Bureau released a 2010 Demonstration Data Product to both share the 2020 Census proposed table outlines for selected data products and to continue the review and assessment of the new disclosure avoidance methodology. In December 2019, the Committee on National Statistics of the National Academy of Sciences held a two-day workshop where data users from a wide variety of fields and disciplines presented findings from their evaluations of the 2010 Census demonstration data products. The Committee on National Statistics is organizing follow-up meetings with experts for the purpose of documenting improvements and overcoming the remaining challenges in the 2020 Census Disclosure Avoidance System. The Census Bureau is compiling fitness-for-use metrics that will be used to evaluate these improvements based on feedback received at the Committee on National Statistics meeting, from the Census Bureau’s July 2018 Federal Register Notice, and from the Census Bureau’s continuous dialogue with the data user community. To ensure the right measures are used to evaluate the data’s fitness-for-use, the Census Bureau will be consulting with our advisory committees, participants from the Committee on National Statistics workshop, and our other data user partners. Once the Census Bureau finalizes these metrics, we will regularly report on our progress.  This consultation will continue the dialogue and orientation with data users on the TopDown Algorithm. The consultation will also include determining additional use cases (beyond initial feedback on the 2019 Federal Register Notice) and the review of a second differentially private approach for confidentiality protection for more detailed race, ethnicity, American Indian Tribes and Alaska Native Groups (2010 SF2 and AIAN Summary files) and household composition data.

Additional details about this operation are provided in the Data Products and Dissemination Detailed Operational Plan.

Q. Archiving

The Archiving (ARC) operation performs the following functions:

• Coordinate storage of the materials and data and provide records deemed permanent as the official data of the 2020 Census, including files containing the individual responses, as well as names and addresses, to the 2020 Census, to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).

• Provide similar files to the Census Bureau’s National Processing Center in Indiana to use as source materials to conduct the Age Search Service, which provides, upon request, transcripts of personal data from historical population census records. (OMB Control #0607-0117)

• Store data to cover in-house needs.

Additional details about this operation are provided in the Archiving Detailed Operational Plan and Update Document.

R. Federally Affiliated Count Overseas

The Federally Affiliated Count Overseas operation obtains counts by home state of United States military and federal civilian employees who are stationed or assigned overseas and their dependents living with them. For the 2020 Census, overseas is defined as anywhere outside the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Island Areas: American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the United States Virgin Islands. Counts are submitted from Federal agencies and the Department of Defense (Defense Manpower Data Center) through a Census Bureau secure server and are used to allocate the federally affiliated population living overseas to their home state for the purposes of apportioning seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. If military and federal civilian employees of the U.S. government are deployed overseas while stationed or assigned within the U.S., they are counted at their U.S. residence where they live or sleep most of the time using administrative data provided by Federal agencies and the Department of Defense. See Section K for more info on how we count stateside military personnel.

Residence Criteria and Residence Situations for the 2020 Census are described in Federal Register Notice 83 FR 5525, which has been included with the materials in this package.

S. Island Areas Censuses

The purpose of the Island Areas Censuses (IAC) operation is to enumerate all residents of American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands; process and tabulate the collected data; and disseminate data products to the public. All data collection activities for the IAC rely on the use of paper questionnaires, paper maps, and paper address registers to record the physical addresses of housing units and group quarters. The IAC questionnaire leverages the American Community Survey questionnaire with minor wording changes in order to take into account the Island Areas local governments’ concerns, where possible. A supplemental document “2020 Island Areas Census Questionnaire Content” submitted with this package describes the development of the questionnaires. Subsequent to the creation of this document, the Executive Order On Collecting Information About Citizenship Status In Connection with the Decennial Census was produced. As a cautionary matter following litigation in NY v. Commerce, the citizenship question has since been removed from the Island Areas Censuses questionnaires.

Enumerators list the addresses using paper address registers. Once the addresses have been listed, enumerators visit every living quarter to conduct interviews with household members and follow up as necessary. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, telephone enumeration was added as a supplemental data collection mode. Enumerators left a Notice of Visit during the initial enumeration attempt if nobody was at home to respond. This notice contained a phone number that householders could call to complete the enumeration over the phone. The IAC performed a clerical review of all completed questionnaires for completeness and data consistency, a reinterview for a sample of questionnaires, and an independent address check. There are no substantial changes between the 2010 Island Areas Censuses QC plan and that of the 2020 Island Areas Censuses.

The response data are processed through the Decennial Response Processing System. Data products include counts of the population and housing units, data profiles, subject tables, and supplemental tables. These products use the same enhanced disclosure avoidance methods that are used in the American Community Survey. These methods differ from the approach currently being rolled out to data users regarding differential privacy for the 2020 Census.

The schedule of the field data collection was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as shown in the full schedule in Section 16 below. Additional information about the development of the Island Areas Censuses questionnaire is provided as a supplemental document. Additional details about this operation are provided in the Island Areas Censuses Detailed Operational Plan and Update Document.

T. Evaluations and Experiments

For the 2020 Census, operational assessments, quality profiles, synthesis reports, evaluations, and experiments are all produced within the Evaluations and Experiments operation. Operational Assessments are designed to document final volumes, rates, and costs for individual operations or processes using data from production files and activities and information collected from debriefings and lessons learned. They do not include analysis. Operational assessments report out on planned versus actual variances as related to budget, schedule, and workloads (production and training), and on meeting performance success criteria. Depending on the operation, they may include frequency distributions and standard demographic or address tables. Quality profiles are designed to provide the results from the quality assurance program for an operation. No additional data collection is required for the purpose of creating the operational assessments or the quality profiles. Synthesis reports use the data and analysis across several related operational assessments for a report on a topic that encompasses those operations.

The evaluations and experiments performed during a census represent the initial plans for updating and improving the subsequent census. While testing continues throughout the decade, certain aspects can only be tested within a decennial census environment, as public awareness of the census and of the responsibility to respond is often a key factor of the test. Evaluations are designed to analyze, interpret, and synthesize the effectiveness and efficiencies of census components and their impact on data quality and coverage using data collected from census operations, processes, systems, and auxiliary data collections. Experiments provide quantitative or qualitative results for tests that occur during a decennial census. Since they occur in an environment of optimal census awareness, results simulate more closely what experimental treatments would yield in a full production application. Experiments inform planning of future decennial censuses, so 2020 Census experiments will focus on planning toward a 2030 Census.

The evaluations and experiments for the 2020 Census are included either in this OMB package (OMB approval #0607-1006), in the Census Bureau’s Post-Enumeration Survey Independent Listing OMB package (OMB approval #0607-1009), or within the Generic Clearance for Census Bureau Field Tests and Evaluations, covered under OMB approval #0607-0971 or the Generic Clearance for Testing, covered under OMB approval #0607-0978. For the purposes of fully defining the Evaluations and Experiments operation, specific assessments, evaluations, and experiments planned for the 2020 Census are documented in the table below. The planned evaluations have been expanded to include additional evaluations of the Integrated Partnership and Communications operation. The evaluations and experiments included in other OMB approval packages are shown in italics and noted in the footnotes to the table. Final results from the assessments, evaluations, and experiments will appear in the Census Memo Series.

2020 Census Operational Assessments
Archiving Operational Assessment
Census Questionnaire Assistance Operational Assessment
Content and Forms Design - Paper Questionnaires and Nonquestionnaire Material Design Operational Assessment
Content and Forms Design - Content Specifications for Automated Data Collection Instruments Operational Assessment
Coverage Improvement Operational Assessment
Count Review Operational Assessment
Count Question Resolution Operational Assessment
Decennial Logistics Management - Logistics Management Support Operational Assessment
Decennial Logistics Management - Space Acquisition and Lease Management Operational Assessment
Decennial Service Center Operational Assessment
Demographic Analysis Operational Assessment
Enumeration at Transitory Locations Advance Contact Operational Assessment
Enumeration at Transitory Locations Operational Assessment
Evaluations and Experiments Operational Assessment
Federally Affiliated Count Overseas Operational Assessment
Field Infrastructure – Field Office Administration and Payroll Operational Assessment
Field Infrastructure – Recruiting, Onboarding, and Training Operational Assessment
Forms Printing and Distribution Operational Assessment
Geographic Partnership Programs Operational Assessment
Group Quarters Advance Contact Assessment Report
Group Quarters Enumeration and Military Enumerations Assessment
In-Field Address Canvassing Operational Assessment
In-Office Address Canvassing Operational Assessment
Integrated Partnership and Communications Contract Assessment
Integrated Partnership and Communications Operational Assessment
Research to Support the Integrated Partnership and Communications Program
Internet Self-Response Operational Assessment
Internet Self-Response: Mobile Questionnaire Assistance Assessment
Island Areas Censuses Operational Assessment
Item Nonresponse Rates Assessment Study
Language Services Operational Assessment
Local Update of Census Addresses Operational Assessment
Maritime Vessel Enumeration Report
New Construction Operational Assessment
Non-ID Operational Assessment
Nonresponse Followup Operational Assessment
Paper Data Capture Operational Assessment
Post-Enumeration Survey Sampling and Estimation Operational Assessment
Post-Enumeration Survey Field Operations Independent Listing Operational Assessment
Post-Enumeration Survey Field Operations Initial Housing Unit Followup Operational Assessment
Post-Enumeration Survey Field Operations Person Interview Operational Assessment
Post-Enumeration Survey Field Operations Person Followup Operational Assessment
Post-Enumeration Survey Field Operations Final Housing Unit Followup Operational Assessment
Post-Enumeration Survey Matching Initial Housing Unit Matching Operational Assessment
Post-Enumeration Survey Matching Person Matching Operational Assessment
Post-Enumeration Survey Matching Final Housing Unit Matching Operational Assessment
Redistricting Data Program Operational Assessment
Response Processing Operational Assessment
Response Rates Assessment Study
Self-Response Quality Assurance Operational Assessment
Service-Based Enumeration Assessment Report
Systems and Applications in the 2020 Census (Security, Privacy, and Confidentiality)
Update Enumerate Operational Assessment
Update Leave Operational Assessment
2020 Census Quality Control
Quality Control Study Plan for Listing Operations
Quality Control Study Plan for Enumeration Operations
Address Canvassing QC Results
Update Leave QC Results
Nonresponse Followup QC Results
Person Interview QC Results
Independent Listing QC Results
2020 Census Evaluations and Experiments	Additional Data Collected
Evaluations
Reengineered Address Canvassing Estimate certain types of errors that can occur during In-Field Address Canvassing. Investigate effectiveness of In-Office Address Canvassing and Interactive Review. Compare costs of reengineered Address Canvassing to 100 percent In-Field Address Canvassing. Evaluate In-Field Address Canvassing listing by including false addresses (salting) and suppressing a sample of valid addresses. Evaluate In-Office and In-Field Address Canvassing using Post-Enumeration Survey listing results.1	Salted and suppressed addresses within Address Canvassing: same burden because listers should delete incorrect addresses and add missing addresses.
Administrative Record Dual-System Estimation Determine whether dual system estimates could be generated without conducting an independent post-enumeration survey, using Administrative Records.	None
Evaluating Privacy and Confidentiality Concerns of Complete and Partial Respondents Capture respondents’ concerns about privacy and confidentiality during the census, particularly with respect to the internet response option.	NA
The Undercount of Young Children: A Qualitative Evaluation of Census Materials and Operations2,3 Conduct focus groups and cognitive interviews to identify where existing roster questions and procedures are failing and how to improve them.	NA
Research on Hard to Count Populations: Non-English Speakers and Complex Household Residents, including Young Children2 Assess NRFU interviews in areas associated with potential undercoverage and non-English speaking households.	NA
Analysis of Census Internet Self-Response Paradata by Language Examine 2020 Census web paradata and assess by language.	None
Group Quarters Advance Contact: Refining Classification of College or University Student Housing2 Explore whether refined classification used in 2020 Census results in more accurately identifying privately owned college housing.	100 telephone follow-up interviews
Evaluating the 2020 Census Communications Campaign: Census Mindset Measures Before and After the Campaign4 Gauge whether the portion of the population with mindsets less inclined to participate in the census shrank over the course of the campaign while the portion of the population with mindsets more inclined to participate grew larger.	Opinion data; multiple waves of collection
2020 Census Quantitative Creative Testing4 Test whether 2020 Census television and radio advertisements perform better than control ads that do not mention the 2020 Census on factors including message recall, message comprehension, ad likability and enjoyability, behavioral intention to respond to the census, and the Census Bureau’s corporate image.	Awareness and comprehension data across multiple treatments
2020 Census Tracking Survey4 Track US public sentiment concerning matters that may bear upon 2020 Census participation to examine how attitudes and perceptions change during the census measurement period (mid-March through May 2020)	Opinion data; monthly then daily collections
Investigating Digital Advertising and Online Self-Response Investigate the relationship between digital advertising materials and online self-response by analyzing ISR paradata.	None
Matching 2018 Census Barriers, Attitudes, and Behaviors Study Survey Sample to 2020 Census Match the 2018 Census Barriers, Attitudes, and Motivators Study (CBAMS) survey sample addresses to 2020 Census addresses to evaluate (1) how well survey respondents’ intended response behaviors align with actual response behaviors, (2) the characteristics of non-responding CBAMS households.	None
Comparing 2019 Census Test and 2020 Census Self-Response Rates to Estimate “Decennial Environment” Matching 2019 Census Test data to 2020 Census data to compare self-response behavior with and without the decennial environment.	None
Evaluating Large Technology Platforms – Selected Digital Partnerships	Under Development
Experiments
Extending the Census Environment to the Mailing Materials Test effect on self-response rates of wearable, nonmonetary mailing inserts that promote 2020 Census as well as mailing materials that incorporate elements and images developed by the 2020 Census communications campaign. In addition, testing the use of an every door direct mail piece and comparing two different every door direct mail pieces for the effect on self-response rates.	None
Optimization of Self-Response in the 2020 Census Evaluate impacts of the mailing strategy and the influence of the internet response option by 1) mailing a sample of housing units a modified version of 2010 Census materials with no promotion of the internet response option, 2) switching the planned mail contact strategy between internet choice and internet first for another sample of housing units. In addition, to test the effectiveness of communications and partnership activities, test not mailing any census materials to a sample of households.	None
Real-Time 2020 Census Administrative Record Census Simulation Compare person-level, housing unit-level, and hybrid approaches to conducting an administrative record census.	None
Synthesis Reports – Preliminary list
Undercount of Young Children	None
Address List Development	None
Data Quality Impacts from COVID-19 Pandemic	None

1. 2020 Census Post-Enumeration Survey Independent Listing Operation (OMB approval #0607-1009)

2. Generic Clearance for Census Bureau Field Tests and Evaluations (OMB approval #0607-0971)

3. Generic Clearance for Questionnaire Pretesting Research (OMB approval #0607-0725)

4. Generic Clearance for Testing (OMB approval #0607-0978)

2. Needs and Uses

The decennial census is mandated by Article 1, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution. Title 13, United States Code (U.S.C), Section 141 directs the Secretary to take a decennial census of population and housing, determining its form and content, and further authorizes the collection of such other census information in relation to the decennial census, as necessary. These authorities are delegated to the Director of the Census Bureau under Department of Commerce Organization Order 35-2A. The Census Bureau is required to conduct the 2020 Census to collect the person and housing data that will be used for reapportionment, redistricting, and various statistical data products, under Title 13, U.S.C. Additionally, the Census Bureau is authorized under Title 13, Section 193 to conduct surveys and collect information before, during, and after the decennial census to assist in the conduct of the decennial census.

Information Quality

Information quality is an integral part of the predissemination review of the data collected and released by the Census Bureau (fully described in the Census Bureau’s Information Quality Guidelines at https://www.census.gov/about/policies/quality/guidelines.html). Information quality is also integral to the data collections conducted by the Census Bureau and is incorporated into the clearance process, and this document, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act.

3. Use of Information Technology

As described in the operation sections above, the 2020 Census uses Information Technology and automation in a wide variety of ways throughout data collection operations, particularly in data collection and in management of field operations.

The In-Field Address Canvassing operation is fully automated. In addition, the In-Office Address Canvassing used electronic imagery and other software for updating the MAF/TIGER system and identifying the areas where In-Field Address Canvassing was needed. Additional computerized files and IT processes, such as the Geographic Update Partnership Software, were used for updating the MAF/TIGER system through geographic partnerships, as well as data from the United States Postal Service.

The enumeration phase of the 2020 Census uses the internet, telephone centers, and data collection software residing on electronic devices to interact with respondents. In the 2010 Census, enumeration was almost entirely on paper. Callers to the 2010 Census Telephone Questionnaire Assistance could be enumerated over the phone if they requested to be. Respondents in TEAs 1 and 6 will initially have the option to respond to this census using the internet on various devices (e.g., computers, tablets, smartphones), by mailed paper questionnaires, or on the telephone through CQA. In addition, the NRFU operation will be performed with enumerators using an automated application on a smartphone.

The 2020 Census is heavily dependent on specific information technology systems to administer and manage training, manage workloads, route field workers, alert supervisors of potential problems, create management reports, and process responses.

4. Efforts to Identify Duplication

The collection of decennial census data is mandated by Article 1, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution and Title 13, U.S. Code, Section 141. No other organization performs this specific activity. The decennial census is the only source of the data used for reapportionment and redistricting. There is no program, operation, or activity that duplicates the scope and uses of decennial census data, as laid out in Section 2, Needs and Uses.

The Census Bureau also performs a Post-Enumeration Survey to measure the coverage of the census. The Post-Enumeration Survey for the 2020 Census is conducted to provide estimates of census net coverage error and components of census coverage (such as correct enumerations, omissions, and erroneous enumerations, including duplicates) for housing units and people living in housing units to improve future censuses. As in the past, the Post-Enumeration Survey operations and activities must be conducted separate from and independent of the other 2020 Census operations. Approval for the Post-Enumeration Survey is covered in three OMB packages separate from the 2020 Census documentation.

5. Minimizing Burden

Burden within Address Canvassing is minimized through the use of In-Office Address Canvassing, thereby reducing the workload for In-Field Address Canvassing, and thus the collection of new information from respondents.

Burden within enumeration operations is minimized by asking only questions that are required, by testing the questions and the questionnaire design prior to their implementation in the census, and by using automation whenever possible to improve data collection and response processing efficiency.

The collection of data is only for households and individuals and should have no effect on small businesses.

6. Consequences of Less Frequent Collection

Frequency cannot be decreased, as the 2020 Census is a legally mandated data collection activity that must occur every 10 years.

7. Special Circumstances

No special circumstances exist.

8. Consultations Outside the Agency

In developing the design of this census, the Census Bureau consulted with a variety of stakeholders, including, but not limited to, academics, national researchers, community and organizational leaders, the Congress (particularly through its authorizing and appropriations committees), and the Census Bureau’s advisory committees, in particular, the National Advisory Committee and the Census Scientific Advisory Committee. In addition, external consultants from the National Academy of Sciences provided regular feedback that contributed to research objectives and the ultimate design plans. Between December 2012 and February 2019, the Census Bureau held quarterly Program Management Reviews to provide updates on the status of operations and programs. These were attended by members of oversight organizations and the National Academy of Sciences. The programs were also streamed live on the internet to allow maximum exposure and awareness of plans by all stakeholders for the 2020 Census.

Findings and recommendations from over a dozen audits each, covering a variety of operations and program management activities, by the Government Accountability Office and the Department of Commerce’s Office of Inspector General were also factored into planning.

The notice for public comment, titled, “2020 Census,” was published in the Federal Register June 8, 2018 (Vol. 83, No. 111, pp. 26643-26653, FR Doc No. 2018-12365).

The Census Bureau received 147,831 documents with comments. Some comments were received through multiple means, and thus were duplicates. Some comments represented multiple organizations, respondents, or signers. In addition, some organizations joined in different configurations to submit different sets of comments related to the areas of interest to the organizations. In addition, some commenters had comments on multiple topics. There was a total of 148,443 comments. Totals shown reflect only received comments within documents, not the number of signers or organizations.

Of the total number of comments, 137,695 were related to the reinstatement of the citizenship question; 136,216 comments expressed opposition the question, 238 comments were less specific but were presumed to oppose the citizenship question, and 1,241 were for or presumed to favor the citizenship question. The Census Bureau response to these comments follows:

While the Census Bureau appreciated the comments on the decision to reinstate the citizenship question to the decennial census, the citizenship question is no longer included on the 2020 Census questionnaire.

Other comments and responses are provided or summarized in a separate document that is included with the request to OMB.

The Federal Register Notice that accompanied the OMB submission for the Enumeration operations revision (Vol. 84, No. 30, pp. 3748-3757, FR Doc No: 2019-02223) resulted in 23,785 comments, of which 23,766 were related in whole or in part to the citizenship question, which is addressed above. Most other comments were on similar topics to those for which the response was provided with the request to OMB. Two comments were not addressed in prior responses. The first comment expressed concern over the reduction of roster space on the 2020 Census [paper] questionnaire. In the 2010 Census, the census questionnaire provided space for the enumeration of 12 people. The 2020 Census roster provides room for 10 people. The Census Bureau response is that roster space is limited only on paper forms used in the Self-Response and Update Leave areas. Households with more than 10 people can avail themselves of responding by telephone or internet (or wait for a NRFU interviewer) if they need to address this concern.

The second comment was a request for clarification of whether and when partially completed responses would be accepted. The Census Bureau response is:

We encourage everyone to answer the census truthfully, providing as much information as they have on everyone living at their address. As in past censuses, the Census Bureau has criteria for determining whether a response has sufficient information to be included in the census. These criteria are sensitive and cannot be revealed to the public or even other Census Bureau employees who do not have an operational need to know.

The Federal Notice that accompanied the OMB submission for the Evaluations and Experiments revision received four comments related to the content of the 2020 Census Evaluations and Experiments OMB materials. They are summarized as follows:

One commenter requested more comprehensive details on the planned use of Administrative Records. The Census Bureau published a document with these details. Links and references were given above. This commenter also requested additional information about the planned use of administrative records for the Redistricting Data Program for Citizen Voting Age Population files regarding the July 11, 2019 Executive Order On Collecting Information About Citizenship Status In Connection With The Decennial Census. Legal matters such as Privacy Act compliance are outside of the scope of this approval process.

The American Civil Liberties Union had nearly identical comments to the set of comments just described.

The Leadership Conference requested additional information about the TEA changes that were described in the revision. These updates were a program update reflecting ongoing work and frame refinement. The Census Bureau is providing more information here in response to the questions in the interest of achieving greater transparency.

1. The Update Enumerate universe was initially estimated to be 500,000 housing units since all American Indian Areas were eligible to be included at their request, and outside Alaska or Maine, this was the only way these areas could be designated for Update Enumerate. For early planning purposes, it was preferable to prepare for the largest possible Update Enumerate universe. However, very few American Indian Areas elected to be included in Update Enumerate, hence the considerable difference in the workloads. The counts for these areas were not finalized until the summer of 2018 and not updated in the published Life Cycle Cost Estimate until June 2019.

2. There were two contributing factors to the significant reduction in the Update Leave (UL) universe:

   1. The largest impact on the estimated UL workload was the change in criteria in the automated delineation process that assigned a proposed type of enumeration. The Census Bureau uses addresses that the USPS has in their inventory. However, some of them represent second homes, short-term rentals, or other situations where the owner or resident does not choose to receive mail, rather than residences with permanent occupants. In such cases, an attempted mailing will result in just as much information provided from the USPS as a visit in UL would. Trying to mail to these address should increase efficiency and minimize unnecessary use of fieldwork. Therefore, the criteria for the algorithm used for type of enumeration assignment was modified from that used in the initial TEA assignment, and many areas previously assigned to UL were moved to Self-Response, in which invitations to respond to the 2020 Census will be mailed to the address instead of hand-delivered by field staff.

   2. Secondly, the final component of the production TEA assignment work was an interactive process performed by Census Bureau staff. During this effort, some "smoothing" of areas occurred to remove isolated UL-designated areas from the workload due to field operational efficiencies, and further identify seasonal areas that were not flagged during the automated processing to determine type of enumeration.

3. Decision Memo for Military TEA is at the following link and will be included in the package: Military Area Enumeration

Additionally, the Leadership Conference asked about the change in the predicted count of enumerations to be completed with Administrative Records. The number 7.9 million is the Census Bureau’s estimate of administrative record occupied addresses that we will identify for reduced contacts. We estimate about 1.7 million would be enumerated during the first visit and the remaining 6.2 million would be enumerated through administrative records. The original text is from a published Department of Commerce document. We felt it best to provide an updated description.

The Leadership Conference also suggested additional work for the Evaluations and Experiments Program. The Leadership Conference recommended a larger evaluation program in general, as well as particular additional evaluations, including on race and ethnicity questions, the Integrated Partnership and Communications operation and hard-to-count populations, and of the recently-added Mobile Questionnaire Assistance. The Census Bureau’s response is:

1. The initial baselined scope of the 2020 Census Program for Evaluations and Experiments (CPEX) was driven by some guiding principles that were used by the Decennial Research Objectives and Methods (DROM) working group to formulate the research program. Those guiding principles were designed to narrow the focus of the 2020 CPEX to eliminate any undue impact on the critical systems that were already undergoing development and testing for the 2020 Census. In particular, the DROM working group made the decision to prioritize IT systems development for peak enumeration operations over development for CPEX. However, the DROM working group continues to assess additional evaluation proposals for inclusion in the 2020 CPEX, and the program has grown from what was approved at the time of the publication of this revision. In particular, numerous evaluations were added to the scope primarily associated with the Undercount of Young Children and the 2020 Integrated Partnership and Communications campaign. The Census Bureau feels that the scope of the 2020 CPEX is well-defined and sufficient to provide invaluable inputs into the design and objectives of the 2030 Census research and testing program.

2. The Census Bureau will not conduct any additional content testing for race and ethnicity as part of the 2020 Census CPEX program. Following the 2020 Census, pending resources and the availability of funding, Census Bureau experts will evaluate 2020 Census race and ethnicity data and consult with advisors, other federal experts, and stakeholders on potential new areas for future research. In addition, the Census Bureau plans for some 2020 Census operational assessments to include standard demographic tables that will provide various operational metrics by race and ethnicity. These metrics will also inform any future research on race and ethnicity data collection.

3. An assessment for Mobile Questionnaire Assistance has recently been added. This new program is a subcomponent of the Internet Self-Response operation. There are now seven evaluations of the Integrated Partnership and Communications campaign, in addition to the three assessments initially planned and described in the prior Notice.

The Leadership Conference also asked about the Citizen Voting Age Population files and the Redistricting Data Program.

The Federal Register Notice that accompanied the OMB submission for the Program Updates revision (Vol. 85, No. 22, pp. 5932-5937, FR Doc No: 2020-01945) resulted in two comments. Both comments were related to the citizenship question, which is addressed above.

9. Paying Respondents

Respondents to the 2020 Census will not receive any form of compensation for their participation.

10. Assurance of Confidentiality

The Census Bureau will conduct the 2020 Census under the authority of Title 13 United States Code, Sections 141, 191, and 193. All respondents who participate in the 2020 Census will be informed that the information they provide is confidential under that law and that the same law makes participation mandatory. All collected information that identifies individuals will be held in strict confidence under the provisions of Title 13 United States Code, Sections 9 and 214.

The following appears on the Confidentiality Notice that is provided to all households:

The U.S. Census Bureau is required by law to protect this information (Title 13, U.S. Code, Section 9). The Census Bureau is not permitted to publicly release your responses in a way that could identify anyone. We are conducting the 2020 Census under the authority of Title 13, U.S. Code, Sections 141, 193, 221 and 223. By law, the Census Bureau can only use responses to produce statistics. Per the Federal Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2015, data are protected from cybersecurity risks through screening of the systems that transmit data.

Title 13 of the U.S. Code protects the confidentiality of all this information. Violating the confidentiality of a respondent is a federal crime with serious penalties, including a federal prison sentence of up to five years, a fine of up to $250,000, or both. Only authorized individuals have access to the stored data, and the information provided to the Census Bureau may only be used by a restricted number of authorized individuals who are sworn for life to protect the confidentiality of individual responses.

For more information about how we protect this information, please visit our Web site at census.gov and click on "Data Protection and Privacy Policy" at the bottom of the home page. This page also includes information about the collection, storage, and use of these records. Click on "System of Records Notices (SORN)" and look for Privacy Act System of Records Notice COMMERCE/CENSUS-5, Decennial Census Program.

11. Justification for Sensitive Questions

The questions in the 2020 Census include age, Hispanic origin, race, relationship, sex, and tenure. A number of these questions could be considered sensitive by some people.

The Census Bureau collects racial and ethnic data in accordance with the 1997 OMB standards on race and ethnicity. Information on race and Hispanic origin is required for many federal programs and is critical in making policy decisions, particularly for civil rights. States use these data to meet legislative redistricting principles. Racial and ethnic statistics are used in planning and evaluating government programs and policies to ensure they fairly serve the needs of each community and to monitor against discrimination in these programs and in society. Race and Hispanic origin data are also used to promote equal employment opportunities and to assess racial and ethnic disparities in health and environmental risks.

The Census Bureau collects relationship data, the relationship of each person in a household to the householder, in order to produce data about families, households, and other groups, and to present other data at a household level. Expanded relationship categories are designed to produce accurate data about households, including coupled households. Relationship data are used in planning and funding government programs that provide funds or services for families, people living or raising children alone, grandparents living with grandchildren, or other households that qualify for additional assistance.

12. Estimate of Hour Burden

The table below consolidates all planned data collection operations and suboperations for an estimate of the total number of respondents, the estimated time for response, and the total burden hour estimate for each specific data collection. The total burden requested for the 2020 Census is the sum of the individual burden hour estimates. This table includes the information known at the time of submission of this document for OMB approval of the 2020 Census and has been updated to account for updated figures that result from continued testing outcomes and other program updates, up until the beginning of production enumeration activities.

2020 Census
Operation or Category	Estimated Number of Respondents	Estimated Time per Response (in minutes)	Total Burden Hours
Address Canvassing	15,786,734	5	1,315,561
Address Canvassing Listing QC	1,578,673	5	131,556
Address Canvassing Subtotal	17,365,407		1,447,117
Geographic Areas Focused on Self-Response (this includes Mailout and Update Leave)
Internet/Telephone/Paper	90,060,785	10	15,010,131
Optimization of Self-Response Experiment	118,541	10	19,757
Extending the Decennial Census Environment to the Mailing Materials	172,992	10	28,832
Update Leave	6,805,523	5	567,127
Update Leave QC	680,552	5	56,713
Nonresponse Followup	62,474,993	10	10,412,499
Nonresponse Followup Reinterview	3,123,750	5	260,313
Self-Response Quality Assurance	750,000	10	125,000
Field Verification	220,000	2	7,333
Field Verification QC	11,000	2	367
Coverage Improvement	3,200,000	7	373,333
Non-ID Processing Phone Followup	750,000	5	62,500
Self-Response Areas Subtotal	168,368,136		26,923,905
Geographic Area Focused on Update Enumerate (including Remote Alaska)
Update Enumerate Production	35,000	12	7,000
Update Enumerate Listing QC	3,500	5	292
Update Enumerate Reinterview	1,750	10	292
Update Enumerate Subtotal	40,250		7,584
Group Quarters
Domestic Violence Shelter address collection	57	20	19
GQ Advance Contact (facility)	297,000	10	49,500
GQ Enumeration – eResponse (facility)	14,300	20	4,767
GQ Enumeration – person contact	8,000,000	5	666,667
Service-Based Enumeration	800,000	5	66,667
Group Quarters QC	8,500	5	708
Domestic Violence Shelter Enumeration	0*		0
Military Enumeration	0*		0
Maritime and Military Vessel Enumeration	0*		0
Group Quarters Subtotal	9,119,857		788,328
Carnivals/Circuses address collection	450	10	75
Hotels/Motels address collection	55,000	10	9,167
Enumeration at Transitory Locations – Advance Contact	50,000	10	8,333
Enumeration at Transitory Locations – Units	600,000	10	100,000
Federally Affiliated Count Overseas	82	5	7
Island Areas Censuses – Housing Units	138,281	40	92,187
Island Areas Censuses – Group Quarters	10,291	30	5,146
Totals	195,747,754		29,381,849

* Included in GQ Enumeration total

13. Estimate of Cost Burden to Respondents

There are no costs to respondents other than their time to participate in this data collection.

14. Cost to Federal Government

The life-cycle cost of this collection for FY 2012 through 2023 is covered under the requested budgets for the 2020 Census based on the 2019 update of the 2020 Census Life-cycle Cost Estimate, which is estimated to be $15.6 billion. This amount includes conducting, planning, managing, and supporting this collection, which includes the activities space acquisition, field infrastructure and equipment, recruiting and hiring processes, postage, and print contracts (“other objects”). This estimate also includes salaries for field workers, data capture processing staff, and the staff in headquarters providing program management and/or systems engineering and integration support. This cost estimate also includes all testing completed prior to the 2020 Census and 2020 Census data product creation. Finally, the estimated cost includes significant contingency funding.

15. Reason for Change Burden

There is not a change in burden requested with this update. Final metrics from the operations will appear in assessments and other documents that undergo extensive quality reviews. This update document is intended to be final documentation of the 2020 Census plan for operations as they were performed, updated to reflect changes resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic as well as other programmatic changes made since this document was submitted for approval.

16. Project Schedule

This schedule has been updated to show final production operation dates.

Activity/Milestone	Planned Date/Range*	Final Date/Range*
Address Canvassing	8/4/19 – 10/4/19	No change
Address Canvassing Listing QC	8/25/19 – 10/11/19	No change
Remote Alaska	1/21/20 – 4/30/20	1/21/20 – 8/28/20
Mailings	3/12/20 – 4/27/20	3/12/20 - 8/15/20
Internet Self-Response	3/12/20 – 7/31/20	3/12/20 – 10/15/20
Census Questionnaire Assistance	3/12/20 – 7/31/20	3/12/20 – 10/16/20
Mobile Questionnaire Assistance	3/24/20 – 7/31/20	7/6/20 – 10/15/20
Non-ID Processing	3/12/20 – 8/27/20	3/12/20 – 10/15/20
Update Leave	3/1520 – 4/17/20	3/15/20 – 8/13/20
Update Enumerate	3/16/20 – 4/30/20	3/16/20 – 8/31/20
NRFU	4/9/20 – 7/24/20	7/16/20 – 10/15/20
Nonresponse Followup Reinterview	4/10/20 – 7/31/20	7/17/20 – 10/15/20
Self-Response Quality Assurance	4/9/20 – 7/24/20	4/9/20 – 10/15/20
Field Verification	5/13/20 – 7/24/20	7/16/20 – 10/15/20
Coverage Improvement	4/2/20 – 7/31/20	4/22/20 – 10/15/20
Non-ID Processing Phone Followup	3/12/20 – 7/31/20	discontinued
Group Quarters	2/3/20 – 7/24/20	2/3/30 – 10/15/20
Domestic Violence Shelter address collection	6/3/19 – 6/30/19	5/23/19 – 7/15/19
GQ/TL Advance Contact in Remote Alaska	1/13/20 – 2/25/20	1/13/20 – 1/27/20
GQ Advance Contact (facility)	2/3/20 – 3/6/20	2/3/20 – 3/6/20
GQ Service-Based Enumeration	3/30/20 – 4/1/20	9/22/20 – 9/29/20
GQ Enumeration – eResponse (facility)	4/2/20 – 7/25/20	4/1/20 – 8/26/20
GQ Enumeration – person contact	4/2/20 – 6/5/20	7/1/20 – 8/26/20
Carnivals/circuses address collection	1/1/20 – 2/28/20	1/10/20 – 1/31/20
Hotels/motels address collection	11/1/19 – 12/31/19	10/31/19 – 12/31/19
Enumeration at Transitory Locations Advance Contact and Enumeration at Transitory Locations	2/24/20 – 5/4/20	2/24/20 – 9/28/20
Federally Affiliated Count Overseas	1/13/20 – 11/5/20	No change
Late GQE	7/1/20 – 7/29/20	10/1/20 –10/15/20
Island Areas Censuses	3/18/20 – 6/7/20	3/18/20 – 9/30/20

* Includes training and QC activities, unless shown separately

17. Request to Not Display Expiration Date

No exemption is requested.

18. Exceptions to the Certification

There are no exceptions to the certification.

Appendix A – Documents Included in the 2020 Census Package

1. Supporting Statement A (this document)

2. Supporting Statement B

3. 2020 Census Materials List

4. 2020 Census 60-Day Federal Register Notice

5. Comments received on 60-Day Federal Register Notice – all comments posted on regulations.gov

6. Responses to Comments Received about Address Canvassing on the 2020 Census 60-Day Federal Register Notice

7. Responses to Comments Received about the 2020 Census Enumeration operations on the 2020 Census 60-Day Federal Register Notice

8. Summary of Comments Received on the 2020 Census Federal Register Notice

9. 2020 Census 30-Day Federal Register Notice – Address Canvassing

10. 2020 Census 30-Day Federal Register Notice – Enumeration operations

11. 2020 Census Address Canvassing 83-I

12. 2020 Census Enumeration 83-I

13. 2020 Census Address Canvassing Paperwork Reduction Act Executive Summary Form

14. 2020 Census Enumeration Paperwork Reduction Act Executive Summary Form

15. 2020 Census Operational Plan v4.0

16. Island Areas Censuses Questionnaire Content

17. Questions Planned for the 2020 Census and American Community Survey

18. Residence Criteria Federal Register Notice

19. CBAMS Focus Group Final Report

20. CBAMS Survey Report

21. Memo to OMB about Special Enumerations

22. Decision Memo on Enumeration of Military Areas

23. Decision Memo to add Mobile Questionnaire Assistance to Internet Self-Response

24. Census Bureau Press Release Modifying 2020 Census Operations March 15, 2020

25. Census Bureau Press Release Field Operations Suspended for 2 weeks March 18, 2020

26. Census Bureau Press Release on Facility in Jeffersonville, IN March 18, 2020

27. Census Bureau Press Release 2020 Census Operational Adjustments March 21, 2020

28. Census Bureau Press Release Update on 2020 Census Field Operations March 28, 2020

Appendix B – 2020 Census Operations

Appendix C

The Operational Plan and all Detailed Operational Plans are available at the following link:

<https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade/2020/planning-management/plan/op-plans.html>

Specific links:

2020 Census Operational Plan: <https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade/2020/planning-management/plan/planning-docs/operational-plan.html>

Detailed Operational Plans for the 2020 Census that are published under the 2020 Census Memorandum Series are:

1. Address Canvassing (Memo 2018.12) <2020 Census Detailed Operational Plan for 8. ADC Operation, v2.0, May 9, 2018>

2. Archiving Operation (Memo 2018.19; 2021.13) < 2020 Census Detailed Operational Plan for: 25. ARC Operation, v1.0, October 16, 2018, updates June 10, 2021>

3. Census Questionnaire Assistance (Memo 2018.05; 2021.02) <2020 Census Detailed Operational Plan for: 17. CQA Operation, v2.0, February 7, 2018 ; updates January 12, 2021>

4. Content and Forms Design (Memo 2016.12; 2020.11) <2020 Census Detailed Operational Plan for: 4. CFD Operation, v1.0, September 7, 2016; updates December 21, 2020>

5. Coverage Measurement Design and Estimation, (Memo 2020.05) <2020 Census Detailed Operational Plan for: PES Operations- Including: 27. CMDE, 28. CMM, and 29. CMFO, v1.0 April 16, 2020>

6. Coverage Measurement Field Operations (Memo 2020.05, ibid)

7. Coverage Measurement Matching (Memo 2020.05, ibid)

8. Count Question Resolution (Memo 2020.02; 2021.21) <2020 Census Detailed Operational Plan for: 24. CQR Operation, v1.0 March 31, 2020; Updates October 19, 2021>

9. Count Review Operation (Memo 2019.17) <2020 Census Detailed Operational Plan for: 23. Count Review Operation, v1.0, July 26, 2019>

10. Data Products and Dissemination (Memo 2019.07) <2020 Census Detailed Operational Plan for: 21. DPD Operation, v1.0, January 10, 2019>

11. Decennial Service Center (Memo 2018.11) <2020 Census Detailed Operational Plan for: 31. DSC Operation, v1.0, April 27, 2018>

12. Enumeration at Transitory Locations (Memo 2018.18; 2021.08) < 2020 Census Detailed Operational Plan for: 16. ETL Operation, v1.0, September 10, 2018; updates April 06, 2021>

13. Evaluations and Experiments (Memo 2019.23) <2020 Census Detailed Operational Plan for: 30. EAE Operation, v1.0, September 19, 2019>

14. Federally Affiliated Count Overseas <2020 Census Detailed Operational Plan for: 20. FACO Operation, v1.0, May 30, 2019>

15. Field Infrastructure and Decennial Logistics Management (Memo 2019.08; 2021.07) < 2020 Census Detailed Operational Plan for: 32. FLDI and 33. DLM, v2.0, February 11, 2019, updates March 11, 2021>

16. Forms Printing and Distribution (Memo 2020.01) <2020 Census Detailed Operational Plan for: 9. FPD Operation, v1.0 February 24, 2020>

17. Geographic Programs, Geographic Data Processing Component (Memo 2016.18; 2021.12) < 2020 Census Detailed Operational Plan for: 6. GEOP GDP Operation, v1.0, September 13, 2016; updates May 10, 2021>

18. Geographic Programs, Geographic Delineations Component (Memo 2019.05) <2020 Census Detailed Operational Plan for: 6. GEOP GD Operation v2.0, December 31, 2018>

19. Geographic Programs, Geographic Partnership Programs Component (Memo 2016.20; 2021.14) < 2020 Census Detailed Operational Plan for: 6. GEOP GP Operation, v1.0, September 9, 2016; updates August 12, 2021>

20. Group Quarters (Memo 2017.18, 2021.16) < 2020 Census Detailed Operational Plan: 15. Group Quarters Operation, v1.0, September 29, 2017, v2.0 August 18, 2021>

21. Integrated Partnership and Communications (Memo 2016.17; 2021.11) <2020 Census Detailed Operational Plan for: 11. IPC Operation, v1.0, September 22, 2016; updates April 27, 2021>

22. Internet Self-Response (Memo 2018.17; 2021.04) <2020 Census Detailed Operational Plan for: 12. ISR Operation, v1.0, August 22, 2018; updates January 21, 2021>

23. Island Areas Censuses (Memo 2019.24;2021.09 ) < 2020 Census Detailed Operational Plan for: 26. IAC Operation, v1.0, October 2, 2019; updates April 13, 2021>

24. IT Infrastructure (Memo 2017.10) <2020 Census Detailed Operational Plan for: 34. ITIN Operation, v1.0, May 24, 2017>

25. Language Services (Memo 2016.11; 2020.10) <2020 Census Detailed Operational Plan for: 5. LNG Operation, v1.0, September 1, 2016; Updates December 21, 2020>

26. Local Update of Census Addresses (Memo 2018.21) <2020 Census Detailed Operational Plan for: 7. LUCA Operation, v2.0, November 21, 2018>

27. Non-ID Processing (Memo 2018.15; 2021.03) <2020 Census Detailed Operational Plan for: 13. NID Operation, v2.0, June 25, 2018; Updates February 12, 2021>

28. Nonresponse Followup (Memo 2019.16; 2021.20) <2020 Census Detailed Operational Plan for: 18. NRFU Operation, v2.0, July 18, 2019; Updates October 18, 2021>

29. Paper Data Capture (Memo 2017.13) <2020 Census Detailed Operational Plan for: 10. PDC Operation, v1.0, March 30, 2017>

30. Redistricting Data Program (Memo 2018.09; 2021.19) <2020 Census Detailed Operational Plan for: 22. RDP Operation, v2.0, April 6, 2018; Updates October 18, 2021>

31. Response Processing (Memo 2019.26) <2020 Census Detailed Operational Plan for: 19. RPO, v2.0, November 25, 2019>

32. Security, Privacy, and Confidentiality (Memo 2017.12) <2020 Census Detailed Operational Plan for: 3. SPC Operation, v1.0, June 6, 2017>

33. Update Enumerate (Memo 2018.20; 2021.06) < 2020 Census Detailed Operational Plan for: 14. UE Operation, v1.0, November 16, 2018; Updates March 2, 2021>

34. Update Leave (Memo 2018.14; 2020.03) <2020 Census Detailed Operational Plan for: 35. UL Operation, v1.0, June 25, 2018; Updates March 31, 2020>

40