Sussex census response rate lags behind state

Census Bureau data show that Sussex County has the lowest census self-response rate in the state, with Dewey Beach and Rehoboth Beach ranking among the lowest.

According to Aug. 10 data, Delaware’s self-response rate is 60.9 percent, while Sussex County’s response rate is 50.7 percent. In Sussex County, Milton has the highest self-response rate at 70.3 percent, and ranks as the fourth-highest town in the state.

The self-response rate of Cape Region beach town residents is much lower. Lewes is currently at 45.2 percent, Henlopen Acres is at 28.6 percent, Rehoboth is at 16.2 percent, and Dewey ranks last in the state at 8.8 percent.

Since 1790, the census has taken place every 10 years as mandated by the U.S. Constitution, and response is required by law. The 2020 census counts everyone living in the U.S. on April 1, 2020.

Census Partnership Coordinator Lynne Newman, who oversees the Delaware census, said census results are used in distributing more than $675 billion in over 300 federal spending programs across the country each year to be used on healthcare, housing, education, transportation and employment.

“Communities can’t plan if they don’t know who’s here,” Newman said.

Communities don’t receive proper funding if citizens don’t respond. According to the George Washington Institute of Public Policy, Delaware lost $1,567 per person not counted in the 2010 census in federal medical assistance percentage-guided programs alone.

FMAP programs are Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program, Title IV-E Foster Care, Title IV-E Adoption Assistance, and the Childcare and Development Fund.

State population counts derived by census results also determine the number of seats each state holds in the U.S. House of Representatives. A significant increase in Delaware’s population and a commensurate decrease in population from another state could qualify Delaware for another House seat, a process known as apportionment.

Apportionment is the division of the House’s 435 seats among the 50 states. At the end of each census, results are used to calculate the number of seats each state may hold. Delaware currently has one representative, Lisa Blunt Rochester.

Despite a memorandum issued July 21 from President Donald Trump excluding illegal aliens from the apportionment base, Newman said the Census Bureau remains apolitical.

“If you’re here, you should be counted,” Newman said. “It is our charge to count everyone. There is no citizenship question.”

While the population is required by law to respond to the census, the Census Bureau is also required by law to protect the privacy of answers.

Newman said census employees take an oath that they will not release the information of individuals to law enforcement, CIA, FBI, immigrations – anyone.

“The information is confidential,” Newman said. “Anyone who releases it is subject to a fine and five years in prison. Your information cannot be used against you.”

It’s not too late to respond, Newman said. However, the deadline has changed; the Trump administration reversed course Aug. 3 on an extension it requested in April due to COVID-19, announcing that census self-response and field operations would end Wednesday, Sept. 30, a month earlier than planned. By law, the Census Bureau must report the census count by Dec. 31. 

On Aug. 11, U.S. Sens. Tom Carper and Chris Coons (both D-Del.) joined a bipartisan group of 46 other senators in calling for an extension of deadlines for the delivery of apportionment data and redistricting files following the census. A change to the Dec. 31 date would require congressional action; senators cited a request first made by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham to extend the deadlines from Dec. 31 to April 30, 2021, and redistricting to July 31, 2021.

“Extending the deadlines for the delivery of these files in the next COVID-19 relief package will ensure that the Census Bureau has adequate time to complete a full, fair and accurate 2020 Census,” the letter stated. “It will also ensure that both the Congress and the states receive accurate data for apportionment and redistricting.” 

Responses to the census can be made online, by phone, by mail or via field operators who go door to door wearing PPE and practicing social distancing, Newman said.

“Ten questions take 10 minutes to answer,” Newman said. “It’s important to make sure Sussex County and all counties get resources. We don’t disclose any personally identifiable information. We have to live with this for the next 10 years; the next count isn’t till 2030. There’s a lot going on right now, but let’s get everyone counted.”

Take the census at 2020census.gov.