JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS SUPPORT A COMPLETE 2020 CENSUS COUNT
Published February 14, 2020
April 1, 2020, is Census Day, when we will all be called upon to fulfill our legal duty to be counted.
The U.S. Constitution mandates that the country conduct a count of its population once every 10 years. The 2020 Census will mark the 24th time that the country has counted its population since 1790.
We, the undersigned member organizations of the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) Assembly, recognize the importance of an accurate census and encourage members of our Jewish community to participate in the 2020 Census.
An accurate census count of Palm Beach County is vitally important to the county’s future. Census data:
- Guides local decision-makers in important community planning efforts, including where to build new roads, hospitals and schools and establish more services for families, older adults and children.
- Inform how hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funding are allocated to more than 100 programs in the U.S, including Medicaid, Head Start, block grants for community mental health services, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP.
- Affects our voices in Congress by determining how many seats each state will have in the U.S. House of Representatives and are used to draw congressional and state legislative districts.
It is estimated that the economic impact on Palm Beach County could be $1,600 per person, or $2.4 billion per year. Over the decade, that could amount to $24 billion.
We all need to stand up and be counted on April 1st. In mid-March, households will begin receiving official Census Bureau mail with detailed information on how to respond to the 2020 Census. This time, there will be three options for responding: Online, by phone, by mail. The ability to respond online will ensure privacy and security.
We encourage all members of the community to fill out the census and urge their friends, family, neighbors and co-workers to do so as well. The whole of Palm Beach County will benefit from an accurate count.
You can learn more about the 2020 census and the Palm Beach County census and also apply to become a census worker.
Signed,
American Jewish Committee (AJC) Palm Beach
Ferd & Gladys Alpert Jewish Family Service (JFS) and Melvin J. & Claire Levine Jewish Residential & Family Service (JRFS)
Jewish Community Relations Council, Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County
Mandel JCC of the Palm Beaches
National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW), Palm Beach Section
Temple B’nai Jacob
Temple Beth David
Temple Beth Torah
Temple Israel
Zioness South Florida
