{"id":89610,"date":"2020-04-02T18:05:37","date_gmt":"2020-04-03T00:05:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/la-plata-county-lags-state-nation-in-census-response\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T11:02:45","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T11:02:45","slug":"la-plata-county-lags-state-nation-in-census-response","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/la-plata-county-lags-state-nation-in-census-response\/","title":{"rendered":"La Plata County lags state, nation in census response"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"La
La Plata County is off to a slower start than the rest of the state and the nation in terms of returning census forms.<\/span>Associated Press file<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Wednesday was Census Day \u2013 a reference date, not a deadline \u2013 and La Plata County is slowly making progress on the 2020 census count, despite nationwide coronavirus-related delays.<\/p>\n

The U.S. Census Bureau has delayed or extended most of its operations for counting the U.S. population. The process determines how about $880 billion federal dollars are allocated. About 29.5% of La Plata County residents<\/a> had completed the count as of Tuesday \u2013 a start, but fewer than state and national responses.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn all that is going on, the every-10-years census is getting lost in the shuffle. It is important, even in trying times, for people to respond,\u201d said Tim Walsworth, co-chairman of the county\u2019s Complete Count Committee.<\/p>\n

Colorado, with 40.3% responses, receives about $13 billion in funds informed by the count, equating to about $2,300 per person. The national response rate is 38.4%.<\/p>\n

As of Tuesday, Durango and Bayfield led the county, with responses of 38.8% and 30.9%, respectively. The response rates in Ignacio and the Southern Ute Indian Tribe were far fewer, with 5.5% and 7.5%, respectively.<\/p>\n

Community members have until Aug. 14 to complete the 10-question survey either by phone, paper form or, for the first time, online. Responses are required by law.<\/p>\n

The count, first conducted in 1790, is mandated in the Constitution. It affects<\/a> representation in the Colorado Legislature and Congress and informs funding for more than 100 types of programs, such as Medicaid, Head Start, and food and affordable housing assistance.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is essential to get an accurate count to ensure adequate representation and appropriate funding for important education, environmental and law enforcement programs,\u201d wrote Lindsay Box, Southern Ute Indian Tribe spokeswoman.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince population is linked to federal funding, the more people that get counted the more resources are available to our community in many important contexts, including emergency response,\u201d said Megan Graham, La Plata County spokeswoman and member of the Complete Count Committee.<\/p>\n

San Juan Basin Public Health said about $1.5 million of its budget originates from federal funding based on the count, including funding for emergency preparedness.<\/p>\n

Delayed response<\/div>\n

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Census Bureau delayed eight of 12 current operations, including the time frame for when census workers will visit people\u2019s homes.<\/p>\n

An Associated Press analysis indicated that states, including some in the Rocky Mountains, could face recruitment challenges<\/a> because of the coronavirus.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince census 2020 field operations have been suspended at least until April 15 due to the COVID outbreak, there is a concern of an undercount,\u201d said Claire Ninde, SJBPH spokeswoman.<\/p>\n

Some populations can fall through the cracks more easily, especially those who are more transient, like college students and people experiencing homelessness. Renters and rural residents are also harder to count.<\/p>\n

The La Plata County Complete Count Committee, which is made up of about 20 organizations, is focused on getting the word out through advertising and marketing.<\/p>\n

City of Durango staff is helping by supplying address information for census enumerators, said Mitchell Carter, acting communications manager.<\/p>\n

Anyone passing through downtown Durango might have noticed the giant \u201cYour Response Matters!\u201d banner hanging across Main Avenue.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe current COVID-19 emergency is a prime example as to why it is so important to get an accurate population count during the census,\u201d Carter said.<\/p>\n

A five-minute form<\/div>\n

Graham said she\u2019s done it.<\/p>\n

It took \u201cliterally five minutes, if that,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was super quick and very painless.\u201d<\/p>\n

Residents can access the online form through the 2020 census website<\/a> or respond by phone, both available in 13 languages.<\/p>\n

Some community members have expressed concern about data privacy and confidentiality, Graham said.<\/p>\n

If census workers break their oaths to keep information private, they can be imprisoned or fined. The Census Bureau assures that no other federal agency can access census data.<\/p>\n

The Southern Ute government emphasized that census workers should follow tribal protocol when coming onto the reservation and report immediately to Box or designated staff.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow is a great time to get this done. \u2026 It informs decisions for the next 10 years,\u201d Walsworth said. \u201cFor families, turn it into a civics lesson with your kids, have them help you fill it out.\u201d<\/p>\n

smullane@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

COVID-19 challenges could cause an undercount<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":89612,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[731,685,507,28,1235,1512,4636,629],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-89610","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-bayfield","tag-coronavirus-covid-19","tag-durango-city-officials","tag-headlines","tag-ignacio","tag-la-plata-county-government","tag-population-and-census","tag-southern-ute-indian-tribe"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89610","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89610"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89610\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":89611,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89610\/revisions\/89611"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89612"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89610"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=89610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}