SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN — On Tuesday morning, Lisa Cripps-Downey, president of the Berrien Community Foundation, and Kathy Stady, Berrien County Census Hub Coordinator, leafed through a table overflowing with red and blue flyers, brochures and T-shirts. Soon to be distributed to communities throughout southwest Michigan, the items each carry the same message: be counted.

Starting next week, Michiganders will begin receiving invitations to complete the 2020 census, kicking off the official, once-a-decade count of those living within the U.S. With millions of dollars in federal funding at stake, leaders in southwest Michigan are ramping up efforts to ensure that every resident is counted in the census.

“Our job is to count every single person in Berrien County,” Cripps-Downey said. “There has been a huge effort to gather the groups we need in order to make that happen.”

Once every 10 years, the U.S. conducts a census to count each resident of the country. The data, which is kept confidential and collected by the census bureau, is used to determine the number of seats a state has in the U.S. House of Representatives and also to distribute federal funds to local communities. Statewide, Michigan relies on federal funding to make up 41 percent of its budget, according to a State Budget Office executive budget recommendation. That equals out to roughly $1,800 per Michigan resident per year. If a person goes uncounted, that funding is lost.

In Berrien County, it is estimated that 20 percent of the population is at risk for being undercounted, putting $440 million at risk. Those federal dollars are used to fund roads, school lunches, medical clinics and more.

With federal dollars on the line, Stady said she has been working on preparing for the 2020 census for a year and has been working with leaders in each of the county’s communities to promote the census. Soon, several events will be hosted across Berrien County, including in Niles and Buchanan, to encourage participation.

“This isn’t political,” Stady said. “This is money we are already getting that would be lost. What we are trying to do is ensure the dollars tied to our census count continue to come into Berrien County.”

Across county lines, Cass County leaders are also working to ensure an accurate count in the 2020 census. According to an analysis of the 2010 census response rate, Cass County is at risk of having more than 10,000 individuals go uncounted in this year’s census, putting the county’s $92,972,400 potential federal funding dollars in jeopardy.

“This is too important to not put our effort into it,” said Sandra Seanor, Cass County census committee member. “This affects almost everything you could think of.”

“This affects our schools, our roads, the Council on Aging,” added Roseann Marchetti, a fellow census committee member and Cass County commissioner.

For the first time in census history, both counties are dealing with the introduction of the internet, as U.S. Census leaders are hoping to get 95 percent of responses online at my2020census.gov. While the use of an online form will be convenient for many, both Stady and Seanor said it could pose a challenge to those who do not have a computer or internet access in their home. According to the American Community Survey, 26 percent of Cass County households do not have internet access. To combat this, both Cass and Berrien counties are working with local libraries and municipalities to help promote the census and provide a space where people can respond outside of their homes. 

In addition to promoting online responses, a primary focus of this year’s census outreach will be to count “hard to reach” populations, including immigrants, homeless, nomadic persons, college students, children under the age of 5 and more. To help reach these individuals, Seanor said southwest Michigan census workers would be working with local leaders to identify those hard to reach people and would be emphasizing the fact that all census data is kept confidential by law.   

As the census start date draws near, both Stady and Seanor said the number one thing a southwest Michigan resident can do to help their community in the coming decade is to respond to the census in their primary residence. Individuals can respond online, by phone, the mail or by visiting the library or Michigan Works! After April 30, census takers will begin visiting homes for in-person responses.

“People shouldn’t be afraid of this,” Seanor said. “A lot of things are riding on the census.”

“This is fundamental to how we operate,” Stady said. “[The census] is the way Berrien County gets our fair share of federal funding.”