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D. 4
To: Board of Supervisors
From: David Twa, County Administrator
Date: May  21, 2019
The Seal of Contra Costa County, CA
Contra
Costa
County
Subject: Receive Update for CENSUS 2020 Project, Adopt Strategic Plan, and Next Steps

APPROVE OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE

Action of Board On:   05/21/2019
APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER
Clerks Notes:

VOTE OF SUPERVISORS

AYE:
John Gioia, District I Supervisor
Candace Andersen, District II Supervisor
Diane Burgis, District III Supervisor
Karen Mitchoff, District IV Supervisor
Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor
Contact: Barbara Riveira 925-335-1018, Kristine Solseng 925-674-7809
cc: CAO-Muni Svcs Deputy    
I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED:     May  21, 2019
David Twa,
 
BY: , Deputy

 

RECOMMENDATION(S):

1. RECEIVE presentation on the status of Census 2020 and next steps.  
  

2. ADOPT the proposed Census 2020 Strategic Plan and Budget, attached, and AUTHORIZE staff to make any changes as needed to conform with future State requirements.  

  





RECOMMENDATION(S): (CONT'D)
3. APPROVE and AUTHORIZE County-sponsored Census 2020 Outreach events through October 30, 2020.

FISCAL IMPACT:

The State allocated $26.7 million of its $90 million budget to help California counties fund complete count efforts. Allocations for most counties are based on the number of residents who live in California's hardest-to-count census tracts within their jurisdictions.   
  
The County adopted a resolution to opt into the Outreach Agreement with the State, and has been awarded $362,605 to fund local outreach efforts with no local match requirement. The proposed budget will allow for the County to provide grant administration, GIS - data analysis and map production, media advertisement, meeting and outreach materials, limited language interpretation, and staff support for 18 months. The budget also acknowledges the County's in-kind staffing contribution estimated at $391,000.

  
Th County will continue to advocate vigorously for the public and private partners who benefit from the County's complete count plan to share costs, leverage resources where possible, and seek opportunities (i.e., funding, in-kind, resources) from philanthropic partnerships.

BACKGROUND:

Census - History and Challenges  
As mandated by the United States Constitution (Article 1, Section 2), an "actual enumeration" of the population living in the United States, citizens and noncitizens alike, is required to be conducted every ten years. The decennial census is the cornerstone of our democracy, ensuring equitable political representation and fair allocation of resources at all levels of government. In addition, census data informs important decisions made across social and business sectors regarding programs, products, and services. Therefore, ensuring an accurate count in the Census 2020 is essential.  
  
There are several challenges facing the upcoming census. Despite declining self-response rates, the Census Bureau will be required to conduct the Census 2020 at a lower cost per household than in 2010. There will be fewer local offices, less field staff, and the primary strategy for data collection will be via internet (raising concerns about access and information security). The projected self-response rate for Census 2020 is 55% (significantly lower than 63.5% in 2010). The costs to the Census Bureau for Census 2020 operations are underfunded by at least 50 percent compared to the levels found necessary by the U.S. Government Accountability Office1 for the last decennial. Due to these issues, the Government Accountability Office has rated the Census 2020 at high risk.  
  
The Census Bureau faces challenges counting certain households and population groups. These populations include recent immigrants, households with limited English proficiency, households with low income, racial/ethnic minorities, children under 5 years old, persons who are disabled, rural residents, renters, and those with unstable or unconventional housing. California has historically been the hardest-to-count state in the nation. In 2016, about 75% of all Californians belonged to one or more groups that tend to be hard to count. In recognition of the particular challenges of the California census, the State established a provision for counties who agree to conduct outreach activities on behalf of the U.S. Census Bureau.   
  
The County adopted a resolution to opt into the Outreach Agreement with the State, and has been awarded $362,605 to fund local outreach efforts with no local match requirement. Contra Costa County's Outreach effort will focus on reaching the hard to count population. Contra Costa County is home to many hard to count groups, including 24.7% foreign-born, 36% who speak a language other than English at home, 5.7% who are under 5 years old, 7.5% who have a disability, and 14.8% who are below the poverty rate. The proposed budget will allow the County to provide grant administration, GIS - data analysis and map production, media advertisement, meeting and outreach materials, limited language interpretation, and staff support for 18 months to better promote the complete count effort.  
  
Efforts to Date  
On December 18, 2018, the Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution to support Census 2020 that authorized the County Administrator to opt into an Outreach Agreement with the State. The agreement makes the County eligible to receive $362,605 toward Census outreach efforts. The Board also authorized the establishment of the Complete Count Steering Committee to guide the County's 2020 Census outreach efforts. The Board appointed Supervisor Diane Burgis to chair the Steering Committee and to make recommendations to the Board on the Committee's composition.  
  
On February 12, 2019, the Board appointed members to compose the Complete Count Steering Committee, an ad hoc committee created for the limited duration of the 2020 Census effort. The Committee comprises 16 members, including the chair and vice chair. These include five Supervisorial District representatives, and nine At-Large representatives. The Board appointed Supervisor Candace Andersen as the Committee vice chair on March 12, 2019.  
  
The Census Steering committee has met four times since being established. It is anticipated that the Steering Committee will meet monthly through fall 2020 to complete the actual Census and oversee any post-census activities. The Committee has established two three-member subcommittees: one for Finance and one for Outreach.  
  
The Committee conducted a successful Kick-off event on April 2 at the Contra Costa Food Bank facility in Concord. The kickoff event for the public and media started at 12:30 p.m. through 2:00 p.m. and consisted of presentations on the importance of a complete and accurate Census count to engage the public, media and government and community partners. It was then followed by a volunteer service project at the Food Bank to support our community and highlight the importance of partners in helping community members to learn about and participate in the Census.  
  
The Steering Committee is in the process of developing and convening Regional Working Groups. The Regional Working Group meetings will provide public forums to convey the strategic outreach plan, and opportunities for community and neighborhood groups to connect and collaborate with County organizers to mobilize a strong outreach message. Three of the four convenings have been scheduled:   

  • West County Regional Working Group: June 8, 2019 from 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM at Richmond City Hall
  • East County Regional Working Group: June 13, 2019 from 1:30 PM to 4:30 PM at Brentwood Veterans hall
  • South County Regional Working Group: tentatively June 13, 2019 from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM at a location TBD
In mid-February, the State designated David Tucker as the Region 3 Program Manager. Region 3 comprises Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Solano counties. County staff have regularly attended Region 3 coordination meetings, at which consensus was reached that Bay Area counties lacked sufficient resources to conduct the level of outreach contemplated in the State Outreach Agreements. On April 16, 2019, Supervisors Gioia and Burgis cosigned, on behalf of the Board of Supervisors and the Complete Count Steering Committee and in coordination with other Region 3 counties, letters to the Senate Budget Subcommittee requesting additional funding for Region 3 Local Complete Count Committees. County staff continues to work closely with Mr. Tucker and Region 3 partners to share ideas and discuss opportunities to coordinate at the regional level in order to optimize limited census funding.  
  
To that end, Supervisor Burgis, on April 29, met with Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) representatives to establish a partnership for Region 3 in an effort to assist in Census outreach efforts, for Questionnaire Assistance Centers, Questionnaire Assistance Kiosks, to coordinate census messaging on BART trains, and to request a resolution from the BART Board in support of the partnership and assistance with Census 2020.  
  
The Steering Committee has developed a Speakers Bureau to match requests for Census 2020 speakers for community events with local trusted messengers, Complete Count Committee Members, and Census Staff to present at local events throughout the county. As of May 15, 12 City Councils have had members of the Steering Committee provide a Census presentation, 13 cities have adopted proclamations in support of the Census, and 3 more cities are scheduled to adopt resolutions in late May-early June. Staff continues to work with the 3 remaining cities.  
  
The Steering Committee has thus far completed two of the eight milestones required in the Outreach Agreement:
  • Resolution opting into the Outreach Agreement on December 18, 2018
  • 1st Quarterly Report on April 1, 2019
  
Next Steps  
Over the next 16-18 months, the Complete Count Steering Committee will work to accomplish the following remaining milestones:
  • Convene Regional Working Groups to develop strong relationships with the community in order to prepare the regional working groups for mobilization prior to 2020 Census day (April 1, 2020).
  •   
  • Continue to coordinate with the U.S. Census Bureau, State of California, Region 3 Administrative Community-Based Organization - United Way of the Bay Area, and the Bay Area Census Funders Collaborative in order to not to duplicate efforts and to reach the hard to count populations that are unique to Contra Costa County.
  •   
  • Prepare required reports to the State:
    • 2nd Quarterly Report Due - July 1, 2019
    • 3rd Quarterly Report Due - September 30, 2019
    • Implementation Plan Due - September 30, 2019
    • Non-Response Follow-Up Plan Due - April 15, 2020
    • Final Report Due - September 30, 2020
  
Once the Strategic Plan is approved by the State, the Steering Committee will begin development of the Implementation Plan that will capture all participants that have contributed to the Census effort.  
  
The County is required to provide the State with a Strategic Plan within 60 days of entering into the Outreach Agreement, or no later than June 5, 2019. Contra Costa has been allocated $362,605 for Census 2020 Outreach efforts as part of the Outreach Agreement. The Steering Committee recommendations for programming of the State funds are incorporated as Section IX of the attached Census 2020 Strategic Plan.  
  
Strategic Plan Adoption  
The attached Contra Costa County Census 2020 Complete Count Strategic Plan is a required element of the State funding allocation to the County and provides a strategic framework and plan to ensure the accurate and complete Census 2020 count of all people living in Contra Costa County.  
  
This plan aims to leverage resources and partnerships in order to maximize efforts and impact. The plan draws from census experts, State and Census Bureau materials, best practices for Complete Count Committees, local stakeholders, as well as past experience from Census Coordinators. The County is positioned to lead and execute the plan for the most complete count possible.  
The plan is a document that outlines goals and strategic objectives unique to Contra Costa County to facilitate the enumeration of all County residents and, in particular, the hardest to count residents.  
  
Further, the upcoming Census presents an opportunity to contribute to important long-term goals of building additional local capacity and strengthening Contra Costa County community-based organizations through Census outreach networking and activities. In order to proceed, staff is requesting the Board of Supervisors approve the Strategic Plan and allow staff to make any necessary changes to fulfill any future State requirements.  
  
1The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent, nonpartisan agency that works for Congress. Often called the "congressional watchdog," GAO examines how taxpayer dollars are spent and provides Congress and federal agencies with objective, reliable information to help the government save money and work more efficiently.

CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:

Without support for Census 2020 the county risks not having a complete and accurate count, thus risking loss of both state and federal funding and Congressional representation.

CHILDREN'S IMPACT STATEMENT:

The requested action will support outcome established by the Children's Report Card: (5) Communities that are Safe and Provide a High Quality of Life for Children and Families. The requested actions will better support all five outcomes.

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