Notice2022-17647
Soliciting Input or Suggestions on 2030 Census Preliminary Research
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
August 17, 2022
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentCensus Bureau
Abstract
Early planning for the 2030 Census program began in Fiscal Year 2019 with building the program foundation and preparing for the official program kick-off and start of the Design Selection Phase in October 2021. The primary goal of the Design Selection Phase is to conduct the research, testing, and operational planning and design work to inform the selection of the 2030 Census operational design. We are issuing this notice to engage with our stakeholders on the development and implementation strategies that improve the way people participate in the 2030 Census. This notice also includes specific topics of interest to help guide input from stakeholders and other members of the public.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 158 (Wednesday, August 17, 2022)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 158 (Wednesday, August 17, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50599-50600]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-17647]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Census Bureau
[Docket Number 220526-0123]
Soliciting Input or Suggestions on 2030 Census Preliminary
Research
AGENCY: Census Bureau, Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice and request for comment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Early planning for the 2030 Census program began in Fiscal
Year 2019 with building the program foundation and preparing for the
official program kick-off and start of the Design Selection Phase in
October 2021. The primary goal of the Design Selection Phase is to
conduct the research, testing, and operational planning and design work
to inform the selection of the 2030 Census operational design. We are
issuing this notice to engage with our stakeholders on the development
and implementation strategies that improve the way people participate
in the 2030 Census. This notice also includes specific topics of
interest to help guide input from stakeholders and other members of the
public.
DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by November 15, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments by
email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b1f5f2fcf59f838182819fe3d4c2d4d0c3d2d9f1d2d4dfc2c4c29fd6dec7"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="89cdcac4cda7bbb9bab9a7dbecfaece8fbeae1c9eaece7fafcfaa7eee6ff">[email protected]</span></a>. You may also submit comments,
identified by Docket Number USBC-2022-0004, to the Federal e-Rulemaking
Portal: <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>. All comments received are part of
the public record. No comments will be posted to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a> for public viewing until after the comment period
has closed. Comments will generally be posted without change. All
Personally Identifiable Information (for example, name and address)
voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do
not submit Confidential Business Information or otherwise sensitive or
protected information. You may submit attachments to electronic
comments in Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF file formats.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information
should be directed to Jennifer Reichert, Chief, Decennial Census
Management Division, 301-763-6712, and <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#ade9eee0e9839f9d9e9d83ffc8dec8ccdfcec5edcec8c3ded8de83cac2db"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="bcf8fff1f8928e8c8f8c92eed9cfd9ddcedfd4fcdfd9d2cfc9cf92dbd3ca">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 2020, the Census Bureau conducted the
most automated, modern, and dynamic decennial census in our nation's
history. This included design changes that made it as easy and
efficient as possible for people to respond to the census by offering
response options through the internet and by telephone, in addition to
the traditional paper response, thereby allowing people to respond to
the census from any location at any time. This helped to get more
people to respond on their own, which, in turn, reduced the need to
conduct expensive in-person follow-up for the enumeration.
The 2020 Census Program used advertisements to motivate people to
respond, and used different approaches to reach demographic groups and
geographic areas. The Census Bureau's partnership program worked
closely with national and local community, recreation, and faith-based
organizations to host both in-person and virtual events within their
communities. In addition, census workers left materials at households
to encourage self-response.
Our Post-Enumeration Survey and Demographic Analysis estimates
indicate that we may have had undercounts of certain populations, in
particular the Black or African American population, the American
Indian and Alaska Native population living on the reservations, the
Hispanic or Latino population, and young children aged 0-4. The Census
Bureau seeks input on potential new methods and techniques to reach
these populations.
Full details of the 2020 Census Program can be found in the 2020
Census Operational Plan. Two vintages of this operational plan are
available online at: <a href="https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade/2020/planning-management/plan/op-plans.html">https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade/2020/planning-management/plan/op-plans.html</a>.
The version 4.0 of the 2020 Census Operational Plan, published in
early 2019, describes the mature plan for the census prior to the
production phase of the 2020 Census. Version 5.0 of the 2020 Census
Operational Plan provides some operational updates that summarize the
as-performed state of the census operations in Chapter 5, as well as
some other noteworthy schedule and pre-2020
[[Page 50600]]
test result updates. Version 4.0 of the 2020 Census Operational Plan
document is considered the more complete document of the plans for
performing the 2020 Census.
The Census Bureau plans to build on the experiences of the 2020
Census and identify further, potential operational updates to develop
the 2030 Census design. Early planning for the 2030 Census is now
underway, and includes conducting research, testing, and operational
planning and design work to inform the selection of the 2030 Census
operational design. This work will factor in past census experiences,
evolving technology, and stakeholder feedback.
The 2030 Census program could encounter multiple factors that the
census design will have to address, including:
<bullet> Constrained fiscal environment: Budget uncertainties place
significant pressure on funding available for the research, testing,
design, and development work.
<bullet> Rapidly changing use of technology: The rapid pace of
change in the use of technology makes it challenging to plan for and
adequately test the use of technologies before they become obsolete.
<bullet> Distrust in government: Concerns about the security and
privacy of information given to the government impact response rates
and pose difficulties in data collection.
<bullet> Declining response rates: Response rates for surveys and
censuses have declined as people are overloaded with requests for
information and concerned about privacy.
<bullet> Increasingly diverse population: The demographic and
cultural makeup of the U.S. is increasing in complexity, requiring
tailored outreach efforts to encourage response.
<bullet> Informal, complex living arrangements: Households are
becoming more diverse and dynamic, making it a challenge to associate
an identified person with a single location.
<bullet> A mobile population: The U.S. continues to be a highly
mobile nation, which makes it more challenging to locate individuals
and solicit their participation.
The Census Bureau is seeking input from the public that could help
mitigate these challenges and encourage people to respond to the
census. The census count benefits from broad participation. We
specifically are interested in strategies that may improve or enhance
the way people respond to the 2030 Census on their own. We invite the
public to comment on the following topics:
A. Reaching and motivating everyone. As we lay the foundation for
the 2030 Census, we are interested in recommendations that help us
reach everyone--especially the Black or African American population,
the American Indian or Alaska Native population living on a
reservation, the Hispanic or Latino population, people who reported
being of Some Other Race, and young children. The 2020 Post-Enumeration
Survey and Demographic Analysis estimates suggest undercounts within
these groups, and the Census Bureau remains committed to addressing the
factors that may contribute to such undercounts. We are interested in
insights that would help us understand how to reach these populations
and motivate people to respond in the 2030 Census.
B. Technology. As technological advancements continue to improve,
we are interested in technological advancements and developments that
could make responding to the census more user-friendly, could further
enhance our efforts to increase self-response, and could facilitate our
work to collect data in person when necessary.
C. New data sources. The 2020 Census used administrative records
(such as data from federal and state governments), third-party sources
(data from commercial sources), internal data, and publicly available
information to enhance operational efficiency and data quality. We are
interested in learning about additional data sources, or methods of
using them, that could continue increasing operational efficiency and
effectiveness, and improving data quality.
D. How we contact respondents. Contact strategies will focus on
encouraging respondents to complete the census on their own. We are
interested in recommendations for tailoring contact strategies to
maximize the number of households responding on their own, including
tools we use to invite people to respond to the census, how often we
reach out to each household, and the messages we use.
E. Respondent support services. We are interested in
recommendations for supporting people as they respond by offering
various types of support and in non-English languages. This may include
providing support to people as they respond online or through telephone
assistance.
The Census Bureau encourages commenters to structure their input or
recommendations using the text in headings A to E as identifiers for
their remarks. This structure will assist in reviewing the input and
recommendations received in response to these specific topics. For
example, a commenter submitting input or recommendations responsive to
item A above, would reference ``Reaching and motivating everyone'' in
the heading of their remarks.
Please note the following general points regarding the Census
Bureau's use of comments and input:
(1) The Census Bureau will review and screen the submissions and
may not incorporate all input/recommendations.
(2) While there is no compensation for submission, the Census
Bureau encourages participation to help ensure broad and diverse input
to inform the 2030 Census operational design.
Robert L. Santos, Director, Census Bureau, approved the publication
of this Notice in the Federal Register.
Dated: August 10, 2022.
Shannon Wink,
Program Analyst, Policy Coordination Office, U.S. Census Bureau.
[FR Doc. 2022-17647 Filed 8-16-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on August 17, 2022.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.