December 01, 2019
The headline above is “borrowed” from a column written by Ray Ratke, Executive Director of LFSVA and VNPP Board President, published this morning in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. As with most commentary pieces, it was designed to make the reader think – and this piece was very successful. To quote Ray –
- “It is imperative that when the 2020 census kicks off in a few short months, we let all Virginians know they do count. Individuals with disabilities, children in foster care, low-income communities and immigrant families are just a few of the populations deemed hard-to-count by the US Census bureau because many have been missed in previous counts.
- “We are all affected by the census. . . The individuals with whom we work are affected in additional ways: special education services, medical and behavioral health services funded by Medicaid, stipends and counseling to support foster parents, and employment supports for those with disabilities.
- “In 2016, Virginia’s share of federal funding from the 55 programs that rely on census data was almost $18 billion.
- “An undercount of these populations could mean fewer resources for Virginia’s communities to meet the growing needs of our residents.
As a starting point, each VNPP member should become very familiar with the information on the website shown below and develop within their organizations both education and operational practice that will ensure “2020 Census: We all count!”
https://www.census.gov/partners/2020.html