Though Census Day is officially April 1, 2020, most people will receive their first invitation to complete the decennial census next March. This means we have only 12 months left to make sure our state is fully prepared to ensure each Kentucky resident is counted once, only once, and in the right place. If you’ve been reading our blogs on the census you know that mission is easier said than done.

While the proverbial clock is ticking, a timer (seen in the photo) was literally counting how long it would take an intern from the Governor’s office to complete the census form during a press conference at the Capitol this week. At the press conference, Governor Bevin, legislators from both chambers and parties, as well as representatives from the U.S. Census Bureau and our own Dr. Terry Brooks, extolled the importance of a complete count to our representative democracy and for adequate funding of the many programs whose allocations are derived from census data. As you can see, it took George the intern only 4 ½ minutes to complete the form! 

Kentucky has taken some essential first steps on the road to the 2020 Census with the creation of a statewide Complete Count Task Force that has been encouraging local governments to mobilize community stakeholders. The good news/bad news is that approximately 30 counties have taken up the call and established a local Complete Count Committee – which means three-quarters of Kentucky counties have not yet established one. Please read this post to learn more on why it is critical each county have a strong Complete Count Committee and how you can make that happen.

Kentucky communities have a lot of planning to do before the clock runs out next April. How will you work to make sure everyone in your community gets counted?