Confidentiality
The 2020 Census and Confidentiality
Your responses to the 2020 Census are safe, secure, and protected by federhttps://gailborden.info/administrator/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&layout=edit&id=2660#al law. Your answers can only be used to produce statistics—they cannot be used against you in any way. By law, all responses to U.S. Census Bureau household and business surveys are kept completely confidential.
Respond to the 2020 Census to shape the future.
Responding to the census helps communities get the funding they need and helps businesses make data-driven decisions that grow the economy. Census data impact our daily lives, informing important decisions about funding for services and infrastructure in your community, including health care, senior centers, jobs, political representation, roads, schools, and businesses. More than $675 billion in federal funding flows back to states and local communities each year based on census data.
Your census responses are safe and secure.
The Census Bureau is required by law to protect any personal information we collect and keep it strictly confidential. The Census Bureau can only use your answers to produce statistics. In fact, every Census Bureau employee takes an oath to protect your personal information for life. Your answers cannot be used for law enforcement purposes or to determine your personal eligibility for government benefits.
By law, your responses cannot be used against you.
By law, your census responses cannot be used against you by any government agency or court in any way—not by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), not by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), not by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and not by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The law requires the Census Bureau to keep your information confidential and use your responses only to produce statistics.
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The law is clear—no personal information can be shared. Under Title 13 of the U.S. Code, the Census Bureau cannot release any identifiable information about individuals, households, or businesses, even to law enforcement agencies. The law states that the information collected may only be used for statistical purposes and no other purpose. To support historical research, Title 44 of the U.S. Code allows the National Archives and Records Administration to release census records only after 72 years. All Census Bureau staff take a lifetime oath to protect your personal information, and any violation comes with a penalty of up to $250,000 and/or up to 5 years in prison. |
There are no exceptions.
The law requires the Census Bureau to keep everyone’s information confidential. By law, your responses cannot be used against you by any government agency or court in any way. The Census Bureau will not share an individual’s responses with immigration enforcement agencies, law enforcement agencies, or allow that information to be used to determine eligibility for government benefits. Title 13 makes it very clear that the data we collect can only be used for statistical purposes—we cannot allow it to be used for anything else, including law enforcement.
It’s your choice: you can respond securely online, by mail, or by phone.
You will have the option of responding online, by mail, or by phone. Households that don’t respond in one of these ways will be visited by a census taker to collect the information in person. Regardless of how you respond, your personal information is protected by law.
Your online responses are safe from hacking and other cyberthreats.
The Census Bureau takes strong precautions to keep online responses secure. All data submitted online are encrypted to protect personal privacy, and our cybersecurity program meets the highest and most recent standards for protecting personal information. Once the data are received, they are no longer online. From the moment the Census Bureau collects responses, our focus and legal obligation is to keep them safe.
We are committed to confidentiality.
At the U.S. Census Bureau, we are absolutely committed to keeping your responses confidential. This commitment means it is safe to provide your answers and know that they will only be used to paint a statistical portrait of our nation and communities. Learn more about the Census Bureau’s data protection and privacy program at www.census.gov/privacy
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Laws protecting personal census information have withstood challenges. In 1982, the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed that even addresses are confidential and cannot be disclosed through legal discovery or the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). In 2010, the U.S. Justice Department determined that the Patriot Act does not override the law that protects the confidentiality of individual census responses. No court of law can subpoena census responses. |
Why? What? How |
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Why is there a Census? |
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What is the process for the 2020 Census? |
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How can people contact the Census about Census jobs? |
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Shape the Future for your Family. |
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Response Outreach Area Mapper
The Response Outreach Area Mapper (ROAM) application was developed to make it easier to identify hard-to-survey areas and to provide a socioeconomic and demographic characteristic profile of these areas using American Community Survey (ACS) estimates available in the Planning Database. Learning about each hard-to-survey area allows the U.S. Census Bureau to create a tailored communication and partnership campaign, and to plan for field resources including hiring staff with language skills.
Here is a link to more ROAM quick tips.
Where Do the Federal Funds Go?
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50 Ways Census Data Are Used |
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Resources |
Content for Monitors |
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Elgin Loses $15,000 for each person not counted.Digital Campaign |
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Save the Census workers multiple trips to your house.Digital Campaign |
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PDF Flyers and Handouts |
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Census Banner |
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Spanish Census Poster |
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Census Poster |
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Census Poster |
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Census 2020 Drop-In Announcements |
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Videos
City of Elgin Mayor Dave Kaptain
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Mayor Kaptain (Long Version w/ Music) Mayor Kaptain (Long Version w/o Music) |
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Jaime Garcia (Spanish w/ Music) Jaime Garcia (Spanish w/o Music) |
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Linda Siete (English w/ Music) Linda Siete (English w/o Music)
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Daily Herald May 10, 2020 Measure aims to help seniors stay connected amid COVID-19 isolationThe city, Elgin Area School District U-46, Gail Borden Public Library District, Centro de Informacion and other partners will push out their "Form Focus" message to encourage people to fill out the Census questionnaires they received in the mail this month. The questionnaires were sent to households that didn't provide Census responses online after receiving a notice last month. |
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Daily Herald April 4, 2020 Making black, Latino voices count a focus for suburban groupsSuburban black community leaders are urging African Americans to be counted in the 2020 Census and to register to vote ahead of the November elections.
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The Courier News March 31, 2020 City committee urging Elgin residents to be ‘counted’ by Wednesday’s Census Day |
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Daily Herald March 29, 2020 Coronavirus crisis hurting Census outreach for Latinos |
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Daily Herald March 16, 2020 How coronavirus is complicating 2020 census pushThe Gail Borden Library in Elgin had invited visitors to drive up to the entrance, receive prepackaged pizza, pie and a reminder to fill out their census forms from bilingual staffers wearing gloves. |
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Chicago Tribune February 1, 2020 Elgin urges Laotian population to get counted for CensusElgin was one of the cities around the nation which welcomed refugees from Laos in the early 1980s by providing a home for Laotians escaping their war-torn country and the rise of communism. |
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Daily Herald December 27, 2019 Songs and coloring books, newsletters and alerts |
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Courier News August 29, 2019 Elgin launches 2020 census count campaignsGail Borden Public Library unveiled what it called the world's largest census tablet as the library and the city begin the Elgin Census 2020 campaign. (The Courier-News) |
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Daily Herald August 24, 2019 Editorial: Counting everyone in the 2020 CensusComplete Count groups are at work throughout the suburbs and across the state to make sure everyone is counted by the 2020 Census next spring. Associated Press |
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Daily Herald August 21, 2019 How Elgin hopes to reach 'hard-to-count groups' in 2020 censusThe city of Elgin and Gail Borden Public Library are launching a "2020 Elgin Complete Count" effort next week. This photo shows an envelope containing a 2018 census letter mailed as part of a test run of the 2020 Census.AP Photo/Michelle R. Smith |
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Elgin kicking off big campaign to get people counted in the upcoming 2020 census |
View all census Videos in the Playlist Below
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Elgin Loses $15,000 for each person not counted.Digital Campaign |
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Save the Census workers multiple trips to your house.Digital Campaign |
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Taco Tuesday and Thursday at Los ComalesDigital Campaign |
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Videos |
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City of Elgin Mayor Dave Kaptain |
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Karla Jimenez and sons English 1:18 min. |
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Elgin Mayor David Kaptain Long with music 55 sec. Short with music 24 sec. |
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Jaime Garcia English with music 1:07 min. Spanish with music 2:07 min. |
English Download Spanish Download |
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Elisa Lara English with music 43 sec. Spanish with music 1:03 min. |
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Linda Siete |
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Ketkesy Herena English with music 1:14 min. |
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Census Respond |
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Confidentiality Local Updates Why? What? How? Federal Funds How to Help Form Downloadables Media Request a Speaker Content for Monitors
The 2020 Census Self Response Ends on September 30, 2020
Latest Updates from Elgin Complete Count Committee
The Elgin area Complete Count Committee is meeting and working.
New Education Resource Page from the Education Subcommittee
The Census is critical for determining democratic representation, federal funding and more. Experts estimate that each individual counted represents $1,500 in annual federal funding into our community. Our committee is meeting. Please provide your email below or email Census2020@gailborden.info to get on the mailing list to learn about community meetings and census activity updates.
If you or your organization has not yet filled out the form about how you can help with this critical effort, please take a few minutes and fill it out.
Thank you, Committee Chairs, Laura Valdez-Wilson (City of Elgin), Denise Raleigh (Gail Borden Public Library District), Karen Fox, (Community Volunteer & Gail Borden Public Library Foundation Member)
From the Census Bureau –
“The census asks questions that provide a snapshot of the nation.
Census results affect your voice in government, how much funding
your community receives, and how your community plans for the future.
When you fill out the census, you help:
. Determine how many seats your state gets in Congress.
. Guide how more than $675 billion in federal funding is distributed to
states and communities each year.
. Create jobs, provide housing, prepare for emergencies, and build schools,
roads and hospital”
Use Google Translate, located at the bottom of the page to translate this page into Spanish.
We thank everyone in the area who has already signed up to help with the Census 2020.
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Coalition of Elgin Religious Leaders |
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Every organization and person is needed. We thank the Grand Victoria Foundation for their support.