The U.S. Census Bureau’s “Stop the Knock” campaign is underway. This is an effort to encourage Coloradans to respond to the Census now, to lessen the possibility of a Census employee knocking on their door this month to obtain Census responses.
Census takers are currently knocking on doors to follow up with households that have not yet responded to the 2020 Census. The door-to-door operation is scheduled to end on September 30.
Households can still respond now by completing and mailing back the paper questionnaire they received, by responding online at 2020census.gov, or by phone at 844-330-2020. Households can also respond online or by phone in one of 13 languages and find assistance in many more.
Census takers must complete a virtual COVID-19 training on social distancing protocols and other health and safety guidance before beginning their work in Colorado neighborhoods. The Census Bureau provides face masks to census takers and requires that census takers wear a mask while conducting their work. Census takers are required to follow CDC and local public health guidelines. Census takers are hired from local communities. All census takers speak English, and many are bilingual. If a census taker does not speak the householder’s language, the household may request a return visit from a census taker who does. Census takers will also have materials on hand to help identify the household’s language.
If no one is home when the census taker visits, the census taker will leave a notice of their visit with information about how to respond online, by phone or by mail. We encourage Coloradans to cooperate with census takers and ensure that everyone who was living in their household as of April 1, 2020, is counted.
Census takers can be easily identified by a valid government ID badge with their photograph, a U.S. Department of Commerce watermark, and an expiration date on the badge. To confirm a census taker’s identity, the public may contact their regional census center to speak with a Census Bureau representative.
The U.S. Constitution mandates a census of the population every 10 years. The 2020 Census counts everyone who lives in the United States as of April 1, 2020 (Census Day).
Census statistics are used to determine the number of seats each state holds in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Census statistics inform how hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funds will be allocated by state, local and federal lawmakers annually for the next 10 years.
For more information, call 844-330-2020 or visit 2020census.gov.
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