April 2, 2019
Media Contact:
Scott Peterson, Director of Communications, Office of Public Information, 202-277-9412
ELLICOTT CITY, MD – Today, Howard County Executive Calvin Ball accepted a grant for $150,240 from the 2020 Census Grant Program Panel at the Maryland Department of Planning. The grant funds will go to census outreach efforts, ensuring every resident completes their census form and is counted in 2020. Statewide, the grants to local governments and nonprofits totaled $4.09 million in awards.
“To make sure our government is truly serving everyone in Howard County, it is crucial that our population data in 2020 includes all of us,” said Ball. “This grant will help us reach out to undercounted groups over the next year and make sure they are included in our census. I am grateful to the state for this award and eager to bring everyone together for our county’s future.”
Historically, the census has undercounted certain vulnerable groups, leading to incomplete data on our population. According to the Maryland Department of Planning, these include “young children, college students, the homeless, veterans, ex-offenders, people of color, rural residents, and low-income households, as well as people with disabilities, seniors, and LGBTQ+ and recent immigrants. For 2020, households with no computer or inadequate Internet access may also be at risk of an undercount since this will be the first ever on-line census.” The county will use a grassroots approach, working with community-based organizations and groups who have direct contact with households and individuals who may be hard to count.
“We are funding proposals that support efforts to reach some of the most challenging segments of our population to increase census responses and provide a full and accurate portrait of every community throughout Maryland,” said Planning Secretary Rob McCord. “Counting each person helps every one of us in Maryland.”
The Census Grant Panel awarded grants to eligible applicants that demonstrated the capacity to conduct outreach activities throughout Maryland to:
- Ensure a fair, accurate, and inclusive count for Maryland, and
- Increase the response rate of hard-to-count communities and populations in Maryland.
More on the 2020 Census can be found here.