Panel Discussion: AAPI & CENSUS 2020 COMPLETE COUNT

Summit Event: AAPI & Census 2020 Complete Count, 1:20 pm 

• Moderator: Edwin Tan, AACI Director of Advocacy & Development
• Nick Kuwada, Manager, Office of the Census, Santa Clara County
• Anne Im, Immigration Program Officer, Silicon Valley Community Foundation
• Kelly Batson, Senior Vice President, Community Impact, United Way Bay Area
• Discussant: Karthick Ramakrishnan, Director, Center for Social Innovation

The panel discussion focused on the following subjects:

Why does the Census Matter?

Funding:

• $ 675 distributed annually
• California’s share $ 76 billions
• Funding is distributed based on Census

Political Power:

• Congressional representation
• Reapportionment and redistricting
• 1990 undercounted cost a California Congressional seat

What are some of the barriers to an accurate count?

• Citizenship question may be intimidating
• Language barrier
• Multiple families live under one roof
• Not enough ethnic volunteers, community outreach persons, paid staff
• Undocumented status
• Distrust of immigration enforcement
• Cultural barriers
• The census will be taken online which could be a barrier to participants who are less computer literate.

What actions are being taken?

• Santa Clara County established the Office of Census with a website to inform and to make sure that our communities are not undercounted.
• United Way is hiring staff and giving grants to ensure the 2020 census is taken correctly.
• SVCF (Silicon Valley Community Foundation) is engaging in advocacy and grant-making to Bay Area nonprofits as part of the Bay Area Census Funders Collaborative.
• All the participating organization has websites where you can find more information.
• AAPI Data has many sources of census information as it relates to Asian Americans on their website.