Nothing quite matches the pride of a new grandparent or auntie showing pictures of a new baby. At a meeting, at the grocery store, or after church, they are quick to pull out their phones and share a few pictures of the new bundle of joy. This year, I’ve been that auntie, showing off my sweet niece who was born this past Winter, when I’m catching up with friends.  

As much as we care for and dote on babies, did you know they often don’t all get counted in the Census that happens every 10 years? Without an accurate count, it’s harder for our state to plan well to support their healthy start in life and to get sufficient federal resources for things like child care assistance. 

Various factors, such as confusion about when to count a newborn, the busy lives of new parents, or different housing situations, contribute to babies, toddlers and preschool age children being undercounted. In 2020, about 3.7% of young children ages 0-5 in Kentucky were estimated to be undercounted. The estimates are based on other records, like birth certificates, and they show that several counties mainly in southeastern Kentucky had an undercount of more than 10%. 

As much as we care for and dote on our babies, we can plan now for making sure we don’t leave this group of children undercounted in the Census coming up in 2030. Kentucky Youth Advocates is working with partners, including the Appalachian Early Childhood Network, the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, and La Casita Center to develop information materials about the importance of the Census to communities. Check back for materials later this year.

We hope you will join us in making sure your grandchild, niece, nephew, and all babies and toddlers in your community get counted in 2030! Spread the word about the importance of the Census to communities. Share about how programs our children rely on can be impacted financially. You can also check out the Census Advocacy Toolkit for ways to support a complete count.