The census has historically undercounted young children, but Latinx children are especially likely to be missed this year. Here’s why it matters.
By Ayana Cochran and Sarah Conway
An infant at the Carole Robertson Center for Learning in the Tri-Taylor neighborhood. Eighty percent of children at the center are under the age of 5. (Photo: Ayana Cochran)
Too young to count themselves, children under five often go uncounted. Babies and toddlers, ages zero to four, are the most likely of any age group to be missed in the census count, and it is a growing problem. Today, children under five are three times more likely to go uncounted than they were four decades ago, according to the Kids Count Data Center. Latinx children accounted for the largest share of undercounted children in 2010 and experts fear both Black children and Latinx children may be missed at high rates during census time this year.
Policy experts believe an undercount of Latinx children under five in the 2020 census will shift rising costs of childcare to parents and schools, as well as early childhood development programs, such as Head Start, which may suffer due to a decrease in federal funding. Political boundaries may not be accurate and children’s needs may not be represented or prioritized, according to the Center on Poverty and Inequality at Georgetown Law.
“So many kids were missed in 2010 that cost Illinois collectively $34 million dollars a year in funding .... Kids really lost out,” according to Deborah Stein from the Partnership for America’s Children, a national hub for child advocacy groups. Stein notes that the number is likely an underestimate because it includes only five major federal programs.
In 2020, Illinois could lose between $61 to $243 million in annual federal funding as a result of undercounting the Latinx community at large, according to a Child Trends analysis.
But that doesn’t mean the undercount is unavoidable.
Blanca Ordaz is a teacher in the infant classroom at Carole Robertson Center for Learning. (Photo: Ayana Cochran)
The undercount of children is due to a complicated combination of variables related to poverty, immigration status, housing and family size, according to the Count All Kids campaign. With this in mind, community groups, government agencies and all sorts of advocates are working to educate the public and ensure that the smallest Illinoisans show up in the national survey.
Last year, Gov. J.B. Pritzker allocated $29 million of state money for census outreach to local organizations that will target hard-to-count demographics, such as children younger than five, according to Chicago Tribune reporting.
Official census mailers go out this month with information on how to complete the survey: online, by mail or on the phone. Census advocates are reminding parents that everyone living in their home on April 1, regardless of age, should be included in the census.
Read City Bureau’s full explainer about the census here.
Beyond federal dollars, the undercount can impact the scope and services of organizations serving Latinx families. “[Other] funders make their decisions by looking at census data. And if that census data is misrepresented? That means less funding,” says José Marco-Paredes of Latino Policy Forum which has been raising awareness on why participating in the census matters and what’s at stake in the 2020 Census.
Local organizations are aware that public awareness campaigns only go so far; relationships and trust are critical to getting households with young Latinx children to participate.
Patricia Gonzalez plays with her daughter at the El Valor Carlos H. Cantu Children and Family Center in Little Village. Many parents at this center are concerned about qualifying for childcare subsidies, according to El Valor’s senior vice president. (Photo: Ayana Cochran)
“Everybody's like sending the same message: Let's make sure we all get counted. Let's support families, let's support the community. But I think they are going to have to encourage [the families]. I don't think it's going to just come,” says Nina Duenas, senior vice president at El Valor which runs local children and family centers.
Duenas says that many of the parents her center serves are concerned with qualifying for childcare subsidies while they work. “Small children may not have a chance to utilize these programs, especially if they are undercounted in the census,” says Duenas.
It’s a hurdle that advocates have been working hard to address despite delays in state funds.
“I think a lot of folks, especially in the immigrant community, have a lot of distrust in the government and sometimes the parents don't even know that they need to include their kids when they fill out the census,” says Manny Gonzales, the former communications manager of Latino Policy Forum who now works for Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton.
You can take the 2020 Census today online today.
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