INDIANAPOLIS — Census Bureau workers, the ones who go door-to-door, have been on hiatus for two-months due to COVID-19 concerns and restrictions.
That's about to end. Beginning May 18, workers will drop off 2020 Census questionnaire packets to more than 39,000 Indiana households, most in rural areas where folks do not receive mail at their physical address. Census forms are not delivered to post office boxes.
The Census Bureau began hand-delivering materials on March 15, but suspended all fieldwork three-days later, according to bureau Media Specialist Tim Swarens.
This is different than the operation where census takers visit people who have not yet responded. That has also been delayed because of the pandemic.
According to Swarens, field staff from Census offices in Evansville, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis and Lake County have been trained to observe all social distancing protocols and will wear official government-provided personal protective equipment for their safety and the safety of the public.
"This operation is crucial to ensure a complete and accurate count of all communities, which helps guide hundreds of billions of dollars in public and private sector spending per year," said Swarens.
People are strongly encouraged to respond promptly to the 2020 Census using the ID number included in the questionnaire packet. Responding with a census ID or the paper questionnaire helps ensure the best count of their community. People can respond online, by phone or by using the paper form in the packet.
For more information, please visit the 2020 Census COVID-19 operational adjustments [2020census.gov] page.
