California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc.

Everyone should participate in the 2010 Census. It is a key opportunity for CRLA client communities to be reflected in all of their rich diversity in the decennial "mirror of America". Census data are used in many important ways that affect families and communities in their everyday lives, and can determine equal access to federal funding, state and local services and planning, political voice and enforcement of civil rights. Many CRLA client communities are among those groups that have historically been differentially undercounted, such as racial and ethnic populations, linguistically isolated groups, indigenous populations, recent immigrants, renters, people with disabilities, children, and migrant and seasonal farmworkers. Operational obstacles in the Census, cultural and linguistic barriers, and lack of information and awareness contribute to differential undercounting in the Census and can lead to inequalities in access to these important resources and rights. Farmworker researchers and CRLA have demonstrated that migrant and seasonal farmworker communities experienced a mega-undercount in past Censuses.

What can be done to ensure an accurate Census count in CRLA client communities?

CRLA is working to provide education and outreach to indigenous groups, recent immigrants, migrant and seasonal farmworkers, LGBT and other hard-to-count communities throughout rural California. We provide training, in-language materials and culturally appropriate messaging to promote our client communities' participation in the 2010 Census. Partnerships with local and regional Census offices, community-based organizations, local ethnic media outlets, service providers, schools, local government agencies and Census Complete Count Committees, and direct outreach to our client communities will help to ensure a complete count of these hard-to-count communities. A research project in cooperation with JBS International will assess the effectiveness of Census Bureau and our own outreach activities and make recommendations to improve outreach and partnerships for future Censuses and the American Community Survey.

For more information, please contact Ilene Jacobs, Director of Litigation, Advocacy & Training and 2010 Census Project Director, at ijacobs@crla.org or Rachel Hoerger, 2010 Census Coordinator Community Worker, at rhoerger@crla.org.