Udall has been highlighting census efforts with #CensusCounts social media campaign
VIDEO LINK: http://youtube.com/watch?v=bGna4qjHcno
SANTA FE, N.M.— U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) held a virtual roundtable with the Las Cruces Area Office of the U.S. Census Bureau and community leaders in eastern and southern New Mexico to announce the restarting of census collection efforts temporarily paused to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The Las Cruces-based field office will hand-deliver census packets to over 56,000 households in 15 counties while following social distancing guidelines. Nearly 20 percent of New Mexicans need hand-delivered forms to complete the census.
During the roundtable, Udall highlighted the importance to New Mexico of filling out the census and resuming safe, socially distant field operations. Community leaders from southern New Mexico also illustrated the importance of the census-based funding for education, critical infrastructure, seniors and senior services and healthcare.
“I can’t emphasize enough how critical an accurate census count is for our state. If we miss just one percent of our population – New Mexico can lose more than one billion dollars over the next 10 years,” Udall said. “New Mexico simply can’t afford to miss out on our fair share of these federal dollars. I worked hard on the Senate Appropriations Committee to make sure the Census Bureau has the resources to get the job done right. Getting these forms delivered is a big reason reopening the office is so critical. But it’s important for the public to know that the census workers delivering these forms have been trained to follow public health guidance to protect against transmission of COVID-19.”
“The passion and persistence and dedication to making sure that each of our precious New Mexicans are counted, could not be more paramount,” said Pam Coleman, Chair of the State’s Census Commission and Director of the New Mexico State Personnel Office. “At the end of the day, at the beginning of the day, this is all about achieving a count of New Mexicans no matter where you live, no matter what circumstances you’re in, whether you’re a citizen or not—that is immaterial. You are a New Mexican, and you must be counted.”
“We’ve been working very closely with federal, state, local health officials… as we re-planned this restart of activities,” said Dennis Johnson, Deputy Regional Director of the U.S. Census Bureau, Denver Region. “Virtually all residents [in New Mexico] over the next few weeks will have the information they need to complete the census accurately. This also means that the State of New Mexico will be fully represented when the information is compiled next year.…Our goal is to make sure every household gets the message about how safe, how easy, and how important the census is.”
“Make a difference for schools, students, and communities,” said Arsenio Romero, Superintendent, Deming Public Schools and Member of the NMSU Board of Regents. “The 2020 Census has a tremendous impact on our local communities. Special Education, Headstart, after-school programs, and classroom technology can all be affected. School lunch programs and child health programs are impacted by the Census. If we don't get this right, children will go most of their public school career without the tools they need to be successful.”
“The City of Hobbs lies in Lea County, and from the southeastern region of New Mexico comes a larger portion of the state’s budget than any other region,” said Meghan Mooney, Chair of the Hobbs Complete Count Committee (CCC) and Director of Communications for the City of Hobbs. “A 1 percent undercount from the census will result in $11 million lost in Hobbs and over $20 million lost in Lea County. In Lea County, we hold the nickname—thanks to the successful energy sector in this area—of ‘The Energy Plex.’ In Lea County, the quality infrastructure is a critical element to a thriving oil and gas industry and overall successful energy sector. We love this area, and we love this state, and most of all we love the people. Every single adult, child and resident counts.”
“We have the privilege of being involved…on all levels of care for our seniors,” said Dr. Edwin Nebblett, primary care doctor (ret.) in Catron County. “As you know, the census dollars make a difference, because $265 million Medicare dollars came to the state…but even so, there are few seniors who can afford [Medicare] Part D to pay for the medication they have. But because we have rural healthcare here in Catron County, they are able to get their medication more affordably. [During the current COVID-19 pandemic,] we are still able to give [seniors in Catron County] a nutritious meal delivered to their home. This would not be possible unless we had the funding to make this happen…These are people that we treasure, that we care about, and the only way for us to do it is to provide the funding to help take care of them.”
“Educating residents in hard-to-count areas in the colonias about these federal programs allows them to stay in their community. It enhances their lives and supports their heritage and strengthens their families,” said Anabel Canchola, Certified Community Health Worker, Program and Contracts Administrator for Doña Ana County. “As a Promotora de Salud in the colonias, [I and others] are addressing cultural and linguistic barriers…to help explain how to access these federal benefits. We want to make sure that our community members will continue to have access to these benefits for the next ten years. By responding to the census, we’re showing that there’s a need for community programs, support and services. When we show that we are here and we deserve to be counted, we ensure that we get the resources we need to live happy and healthy lives at home."
“We are one of hundreds of community health centers across the nation that save lives and health dollars. In some New Mexico communities, we are the only source of medical, dental, and behavioral health care,” said David Briseño, Director of Outreach, La Casa Family Health Center. “Each summer, we are the sponsors of the Summer Food Service Program in Clovis and Portales, and we serve over 5,500 meals daily to children in those communities…A complete census count in New Mexico with the support we need to continue to provide quality medical, dental, and behavioral health care to the families—and most importantly, the children—of New Mexico. So let’s make sure that we stand up for our children, stand up for our families and let’s be counted.”
New Mexico is historically at risk for an undercount in the census. Udall has launched a campaign on his social media channels, #CensusCounts , to highlight the importance of the census and encourage New Mexicans to fill it out.
The Census Bureau announced on March 18 a temporary suspension of field operations in New Mexico in order to maintain social distancing guidelines and slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The 2020 Census can be completed by phone, mail or online. The survey does not have a citizenship question and all information provided is kept confidential. Additional information on the Census collection, how to receive a form or how to fill it out can be found here.
Udall’s remarks are here at the 0:50 mark and below:
Hello everyone. Safely reopening southern New Mexico’s Census office is cause for celebration.
And we just got good news late last week that the northern New Mexico office in Albuquerque will be resuming their field operations June 1st.
I can’t emphasize enough how critical an accurate census count is for our state.
If we miss just one percent of our population – New Mexico can lose more than one billion dollars over the next 10 years. That’s billion with a “b.”
New Mexico simply can’t afford to miss out on our fair share of these federal dollars.
The stakes are high: without a complete count, we risk losing:
- Medicaid funding that keeps New Mexico families healthy.
- Title 1 dollars that help give our children a good education.
- SNAP and free and reduced lunch funding that puts food on families’ tables and provides nutritious meals to school children.
- Head Start money that starts our kids off on the right foot.
- Funding for small and minority-owned businesses that help fuel our economy. And so much more.
While getting an accurate count is imperative -- New Mexico is one of the most vulnerable states for an undercount because of our harder-to-count populations: rural residents, immigrants, Latinos, Native Americans.
Last year, Senator Heinrich and I invited the director of the bureau, Steven Dillingham, to New Mexico so he could see the challenges we face here first hand. He committed to meeting those challenges.
We not only have harder-to-count communities, but nearly 20 percent of New Mexico households rely on hand-delivery of their census forms – one of the highest rates in the country.
The southern New Mexico Census office is tasked with delivering over 56,000 census forms across 15 counties to people’s doors.
That takes a lot of resources.
And I worked hard on the Senate Appropriations Committee to make sure the Census Bureau has the resources to get the job done right.
Getting these forms delivered is a big reason reopening the office is so critical.
But it’s important for the public to know that the census workers delivering these forms have been trained to follow public health guidance to protect against transmission of COVID-19.
They’ll be wearing masks and gloves, will social-distance, and won’t have direct contact with residents. They’ll simply drop off forms on people’s doorsteps.
It’s also important to understand there is no citizenship question on the Census. I fought hard against that.
All information on the form is kept completely confidential. And there are many ways to get counted: the Census can be completed by mail, online, and over the phone.
I filled out my form online, and it only takes about 10 minutes.
Finally – I know that the impacts of the coronavirus weigh heavily on all of us. In Washington, I remain focused on improving our public health response so that we can reopen safely, and keeping working people, families, small businesses, and vulnerable populations healthy and financially secure.
Now, I’d like to turn it over to Pam Coleman, Chair of iCountNM - the Statewide Complete Count Commission.
