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Census takers to visit non-responding households in MT

Nationwide non response followup operation begins Wednesday
Posted at 12:09 PM, Aug 12, 2020
and last updated 2020-08-12 14:09:44-04

HELENA — Census takers in Montana are working to follow up with households that have not yet responded to the 2020 Census.

The current self-response rate in Montana is 56.9% while the national self-response rate is 63.3%.

The Census Bureau will need to visit the remaining addresses to collect responses in person.

Households can still respond now by completing and mailing back the paper questionnaire they received.

Those who respond now will not need to be visited to obtain their responses.

What Households Can Expect

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. Montanans are encouraged to cooperate with census takers and ensure that everyone who was living in their household as of April 1, 2020, is counted.

How to Identify Census Takers

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 the Denver/Dallas Regional Census Center at 972-510-1800 to speak with a Census Bureau representative.

Ways to Respond Now

Health and Safety

  • The Census Bureau and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) are working together to protect the health and safety of the public and our employees.
  • Census takers are trained to follow these CDC recommendations:
    • Wearing face masks
    • Maintaining social distance of 6 feet or more
    • Practicing hand hygiene
    • Not entering homes, and conducting interviews outside

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