BEAUFORT, S.C. (Sept. 2, 2020) – Have you been counted?
Beaufort County Census Day is Wednesday, Sept. 9, and the City of Beaufort is joining local governments throughout the county to urge everyone who has not yet been counted to step up on Sept. 9.
Here is how to do that:
Go online and fill out the questionnaire here: https://my2020census.gov/
Call 844-330-2020 and answer questions via phone. To find out the phone numbers for other languages, go to this link https://2020census.gov/en/ways-to-respond/responding-by-phone.html.
In mid-April, the Census Bureau began to send out via mail paper questionnaires. Maybe you’ve kept that. Dig it up and fill it out! Find out more information at this link: https://2020census.gov/en/ways-to-respond/responding-by-mail.html
As of Aug. 30, Beaufort County had a 48.6% self-response rate, while the City of Beaufort had a 50.5% self-response rate. In 2010, Beaufort County, by the time the count was completed, had a 53.5% self-response rate and the City of Beaufort had a 66.5% self-response rate.
We have a short amount of time to catch up and surpass the 2010 numbers. The count will end on Sept. 30, 2020, a month earlier than originally announced. (To get an idea of how participation varies throughout the County, click here.)
Why does getting the count right matter? It governs how much in tax dollars come back to the state, the county, and the city in federal funding. The higher the count, the more funding.
In the last several years, the City of Beaufort has received federal grants for a variety of projects, including repairs to the Arsenal, Waterfront Park infrastructure work, Boundary Street reconfiguring, and the current Mossy Oaks Stormwater Drainage Project.
Census numbers help determine funding for Medicaid, Medicare Part B, state Children’s Health Insurance, and the prevention and treatment of substance abuse.
For parents and students, it determines funding for Head Start, school lunch programs, rural education, and Pell Grants.
Census results impact highway planning and construction funding, such as replacing the Woods Memorial Bridge, a project currently being studied by the S.C. Senate Committee on Transportation.
Census numbers also determine funding for workforce training, and retraining of dislocated workers.
Throughout September, Census workers will be knocking on doors of residents who have not yet filled out the Census form. But that can be a hit-or-miss undertaking, which is why it is imperative that those who can fill out a Census form do it today!
The City of Beaufort is joining Beaufort County, Bluffton, Hilton Head Island, Port Royal, Hardeeville and Yemassee in pushing the message that every person in Beaufort County needs to be counted.
#BeaufortCountyCounts
#MakeItCountBeaufort
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