Robert L. Santos, director of the U.S. Census Bureau, dropped in at Indiana University last week as a guest of the I.U. School of Public Health.
In an interview between engagements with students and faculty, Santos offered some reflections on how things are going for the federal agency.
With research reporting widespread public distrust of Washington, how does the public perceive the Census Bureau? What does the public think about government employees knocking on the front door and asking the personal stuff — name, sex, age, and marital status of each occupant?
“There’s no, one, monolithic perception by the public of how they feel about the Census,” Santos said. “Folks don’t distinguish much which department is approaching them at the door. There are folks who have high levels of mistrust of anyone, much less the federal government.”
That’s why the Census Bureau hires local residents for street work, he said.
“We hire interviewers from the community,” he said. “They understand the granularity in the cultures. We even go so far on tribal lands to engage people from tribes to go with us so that people can look out the window and see someone they know and trust who will knock on the door.”
And how well did data collection for the 2020 Census go?
Public participation in the Census “is not only not 100% it has never been 100%,” Santos said. “But nothing is ever perfect — there has never been a perfect enumeration or census in the history of the United States or any nation.
“We achieved in the 2020 Census something along the line of 70% response” to the advance, mail-out Census form. “Beyond that, we sent out enumerators,” including Census workers who knocked on the door of neighbors and asked, “Who lives next door?”
Because the Census counts everyone at the place where they are living on Census day, the “particular challenge” of a university campus is “group quarters, student dorms — those can be challenging,” Santos said.
But, he added, “Indiana did pretty well in our after-count assessment.”
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Robert Santos talks about 2020 Census while visiting Indiana University
Amanda Smith is a dedicated U.S. correspondent with a passion for uncovering the stories that shape the nation. With a background in political science, she provides in-depth analysis and insightful commentary on domestic affairs, ensuring readers are well-informed about the latest developments across the United States.
