POINT ARENA CITY COUNCIL
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY
AGENDA ITEM: IX A
MEETING DATE: 2/22/2022
TITLE
2020 Preliminary Census Results for Point Arena
RECOMMENDED ACTION
Receive report
ANALYSIS
Every ten years, the United States Census is conducted. The results of the census help determine how hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funding, including grants and support to states, counties and communities are spent every year for the next decade.
The results are also used to adjust or redraw electoral districts based on where populations have increased or decreased.
Data from the 2020 Census is starting to be released, so the following is a very cursory overview of the results. Over the course of this year, the Census Bureau will release more detailed findings. These findings were released to help guide the redistricting process.
According to the 2020 Census, Point Arena has a population of 460, a 2.4% increase over 2010.
FISCAL IMPACT
None. For information purposes only.
ATTACHMENTS
2020 Preliminary Point Arena Census Profile
CITY MANAGER SIGNATURE
_________________________________
Paul Andersen, City Manager
An official website of the United States government Here’s how you know Point Arena city, California
Place in California
Point Arena city, California is a city, town, place equivalent, and township located in California.
Total Population
460
Median Household Income
$31,719
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
15.2%
Employment Rate
58.0%
Total Housing Units
225
Without Health Care Coverage
8.8%
Total Households
176
Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
141
Mendocino Counts!
CENSUS 2020
PLAYBOOK
Challenges • Achievements • Lessons Learned
Mendocino Counts!
CENSUS 2020
PLAYBOOK
Challenges • Achievements • Lessons Learned
Mendocino County Department of
Health & Human Services
TABLE OF CONTENTS
General Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Achievements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Lessons Learned/Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Timeline Narrative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 2 3
A complete and accurate count of California’s population is essential. The data collected by the decennial Census determines the number of seats each state has in the U.S.
House of Representatives and is used to distribute billions of dollars in federal funds to state and local governments.
The 2020 Census was anticipated to be challenging because, for the first time in its 230-year history, the Census went online. 80% of households were expected to complete the Census electronically, compared to the 80% of respondents who replied to the 2010 Census via the United States Postal Service (USPS). Due to the myriad challenges that were expected because of the digital transition, the State of California launched a massive effort to ensure an accurate and complete count of Californians in the 2020 Census. The California Complete Count – Census 2020 Office (CA Census Office) coordinated the state’s outreach and communications strategies, which focused on the least likely to respond areas and hard-to-count (HTC) communities. Working through local governments, Tribal Governments, community-based organizations (CBOs) and media, the state funded work to complement what was being done nationally by the U.S. Census Bureau (USCB). Overall, California leaders invested $187.2 million toward a statewide outreach and communication campaign.
The intention of the state’s Census Office was to target the hardestto-count Californians through grassroots, culturally appropriate outreach and multicultural, in-language media efforts.
A major part of this strategy was to partner with communities and support the formation of Complete Count Committees, empowering them as trusted messengers to craft and disseminate Census messaging specific and appropriate to their communities.
The County of Mendocino made the decision to commit to helping achieve a complete count for Mendocino County and applied to the State of California for funding in support of Census outreach activities. A complete count for Mendocino County is critical because it determines the amount of funding the county receives over the next 10 years. These funds support programs and resources such as school lunches, mental health services, wildfire management, education, veteran care, wildlife restoration, business grants, highway construction, poverty abatement, water pollution control, and housing and other services for the elderly. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, for every person left uncounted, the county loses approximately $10,000 per person over the next decade.
GENERAL SUMMARY
4 APPROACH
In 2019, the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors (BOS) created a resolution to undertake Census outreach for the county for which they received state funding. The city councils for the four incorporated cities, Ukiah, Fort Bragg, Willits and Point Arena, also adopted resolutions to undertake Census outreach in their jurisdictions. Local, federally recognized tribes were invited by the USCB to apply for their own grant funding for Census activities.
The County of Mendocino invited the Community Foundation to partner with them in the coordination of Census activities. The Mendocino County Complete Count Committee (MCCCC) was formed, and included representatives from local government, CBOs, community health centers, tribes, schools and civic organizations. The United Way of the Wine Country was designated as the main CBO for Region 2 and received grant funding to be dispersed to local organizations for Census outreach.
The MCCCC began to coordinate and recruit local
groups in each geographic area, including the Family Resource Centers, throughout the county. The MCCCC created the Mendocino County census website, www.mendocinocounts.org, established social media
(Facebook, Instagram and Twitter), as well as a bilingual English/Spanish social media toolkit to inform the public about the importance of, and the expected
changes to, the 2020 Census.
In early 2020, the County of Mendocino officially subcontracted with the Community Foundation of Mendocino County (Community Foundation) to assist with the Mendocino County complete count. This partnership
with a local CBO was important because it enabled
a larger network of community partners to activate and get involved, as well as the fact that the Community Foundation had fewer limitations and restrictions around spending and was able to devote more resources to the project. The Community Foundation hired two, part-time Project Managers (one of whom was bilingual) and who were based inland and on the coast, as well as retained the services of a social media consultant.
The Project Managers created an extensive data tracking spreadsheet to monitor Census self-response rates (SRR) in real time. The sheet included a breakdown of each Census tract in Mendocino County and its corresponding city/town; the USCB reported 2020 SRR for the state, county, and for each tract, including the percentage of online respondents. Additional columns had the total rates for each tract, the 2010 final rates (for comparison), as well a column containing the percentage differential between current and 2010 rates.
“The City of Ukiah was inspired
to get engaged early on with the
Census because as an agency
we had never participated
independently from the County
before... We stayed engaged
because of the huge impact
the Census can have on our
community and this year we were
especially concerned with the
electronic element.”
Maya Simerson, Project
Administrator, City of Ukiah
5 The Project Managers established a weekly routine for monitoring SRR that remained in effect for the duration of the Census and informed the planning and execution of activities. This routine included the following:
• Daily review of the Census SRR;
• Daily updating of the data tracking sheet with the SRR, broken down by tract;
• Daily comparisons of the following: county-to-state, tract-to-state, tract-tocounty, tract-to-2010 final rate; • Weekly updating of outreach activities tracking sheet broken down by Census tract.
Ongoing, county-wide Census outreach activities conducted by many different individuals, organizations and members of the MCCCC included targeted engagement to specific Census tracts through a multi-pronged outreach campaign, with a multicultural and bilingual, English/Spanish focus.
Strategies included print, radio and digital outreach, media interviews and articles, presentations, flyers, swag and individual outreach.
All messaging was Mendocino Counts! branded and locally oriented. Images and captions were specifically selected to address current issues and concerns.
Although Census activities remained consistent throughout the duration of the Census response period (which ultimately ended on October 15, 2020), many roadblocks and challenges resulted in a major pivot from in-person outreach to reliance on more virtual engagement, as well as the launch of an in-depth influencer campaign that relied on local champions to help Mendocino County achieve a complete count.
Javier Chavez of Redwood Coast Medical
Services promoting the Census.
6 ACHIEVEMENTS
The major achievement of the 2020 Census efforts was the successful increase of the Mendocino County Self Response Rate (SRR) over the 2010 rate to 56.1%; a 2.5% increase. This percentage increase places it among the top two-thirds of the 58 California counties.
Among Region 2 counties, Mendocino County outperformed
Napa, Sonoma, Humboldt, Trinity, Del Norte and reflects the significant investments in Mendocino County’s hardest to count communities.
Census outreach successfully reached many HTC populations, as evidenced by the Census tracts that exceeded their 2010 rates, including City of Fort Bragg, Manchester/Point Arena/Gualala, Brooktrails, Little River/Albion/Elk, Mendocino, Comptche/ Navarro/Philo/Boonville, Talmage/unincorporated east Ukiah, Yorkville/ Hopland.
The work of the MCCCC was regularly recognized during regional and statewide CA Census Office calls and the locally designed website and promotional materials were applauded as a shining example for the state. USCB and state Census representatives consistently attended monthly MCCCC meetings, providing connection and insights into the federal and state landscapes.
Countywide collaboration was an essential component to the success of the MCCCC’s outreach strategies. The MCCCC’s willingness and ability to build relationships with individuals in more isolated communities, trusting them to share the key messages in a way that was meaningful to their friends and neighbors was critical and created connections that outlasted the Census project. These
partners engaged in thousands of
outreach events, educational activites, advertising and social media efforts promoting the Census.
This campaign was run entirely
in both Spanish and English and
demonstrated that providing linguistically appropriate materials and information was a strategy
that proved not only responsive to,
and reflective of, the needs of the
communities living in Mendocino
county, but one that was also easily achieved when made a priority. “I’m a local business owner, mother and caring
community member here in Covelo... I’m all
about being part of the good momentum for our
community, particularly for the kids. When I learned
that the Census count directly affects the amount of
resources and money brought in to our community, I
immediately created my first Census outreach video...
I helped get A LOT of locals counted. What kept me
engaged was my dream (& the dreams shared with
me by others) for our community improvement, such
as sidewalks, streetlights, new businesses, youth
activities and so much more.”
Jessie Alvarado,
Round Valley Community Volunteer
7 CHALLENGES
Although the 2020 count in Mendocino county was considered successful, it was not without many obstacles and challenges.
The primary challenge going into the Census, discussed above, was the USCB’s goal of 80% of responses being completed online, making most of Mendocino County extremely hard-to-count due to many areas of the county having little to no access to reliable internet or cell service.
Another challenge for rural communities was the USCB’s decision not to do any initial outreach to Post Office (PO) Box holders, leaving local groups to fill that gap. Over 17,000 households in Mendocino county qualified as having PO Box or Rural Route addresses, which meant they were not going to receive anything about the Census via the postal mail. This was identified as a major issue early on, so the MCCCC partnered with the United Way of the Wine Country to help fund a series of Census postcards to those residents.
Additionally, in general, much of Mendocino County was considered hard-to-count due to its geographic remoteness and demographics, such as being home to many residents who distrusted government and had privacy concerns making them reluctant to participate in the Census.
Another major challenge was the threat of inclusion of the “Citizenship Question”. Although this question did not end up on the Census, federal immigration policy as well as the months-long controversy had the apparently desired chilling effect for immigrant communities, and deterred households with mixed documentation status, recent immigrants and the undocumented, from participating. 8 The USCB created its own complete count challenges
by releasing conflicting or inconsistent information to partners and the public regarding ways to respond
and response timelines. For example, initially it was
declared that everyone could and should complete
the Census without an official Census ID, however,
later it was determined that responses without official IDs had to be verified and many seemed to have been
missed. There were a number of reports of people filling out the Census online multiple times only to be visited by an enumerator months later and told they
had not yet been counted.
Staffing in general also made a complete count challenging. Issues with the USCB enumeration process included not having enough enumerators, deploying
untrained enumerators, and conflicting messages around the end of enumeration, which all contributed to a confusing process. Although many local residents signed up to become enumerators, USCB staff didn’t leave voice messages when contacting applicants causing many individuals to ‘miss the call’ and not get hired.
Because few enumerators were familiar with the local
landscape, many had major challenges in understanding or locating county addresses.
This angered residents who were visited multiple times (despite many having already completed the Census at least once) and did not want strangers trespassing on their properties.
There was also a huge amount of confusion in the last two months over the end of the Census and the subsequent multiple federal court lawsuits filed over the issue. Dates changed from October 31, to September 30, back to October 31, then to October
5. The Census officially ended on October 15. This interrupted last minute efforts as it was difficult to keep up with the changing deadline.
The biggest obstacle faced during the 2020 Census was the unprecedented global COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in major health and economic challenges. The restrictions placed on Mendocino county, including an extensive Shelter-in-Place order, mandated a major change in strategies as little to no personal contact was possible for many months. This also caused the Census to take a back seat to other, more pressing priorities. In addition to this, the ensuing civil unrest unleashed across the nation, with the Black Lives Matters protests and impending election, made it very challenging to keep the Census at the forefront of people’s minds and remind them why completing it was so critical.
“I was inspired to get involved as
I think the South Coast (where we
live) is very unrepresented.. As
a board member of the Garcia
Guild/Manchester Community
Center, we wanted our Center to
take the lead in getting the counts
up for our community that is so
underrepresented in the County.
I’m happy that our self-reporting
count was three times what it was
in 2010.”
Gary Levenson-Palmer,
South Coast Volunteer
9 Locally, not only did Mendocino County face a rising tide of positive COVID-19 cases throughout the summer and fall of 2020 but had to grapple with the onset of fire season as well. Major fires in Willits and Round Valley, as well as fires in surrounding counties such as Napa, Lake and Sonoma, further added to residents’ tension and stress which distracted from Census efforts.
The County of Mendocino also faced challenges that hindered its ability to fully participate in Census activities, specifically with regard to the Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA), which begins three years before the actual Census count. The LUCA provides an opportunity for governments to update and add addresses to the MAF, the Census’ Master Address File. The LUCA uses a variety of sources such as: GIS imaging and photos, new housing building permits, E-911 address files, local utility records, annexation records, assessment or taxation files, housing inspection records, planning and zoning records, school enrollment records, driver’s license files, and voter registration files. The legalization of the cannabis industry and lack of preliminary funding well before the pandemic and the fires meant that early on there was not enough County staff to prepare for the Census and organize its response. An additional 1,000 addresses could have been added to LUCA with the help of an extra help temporary hire.
The State of California produced Mendocino Counts-branded hand sanitizer stations and placed them in stores throughout the county.
10 LESSONS LEARNED/RECOMMENDATIONS
The key recommendation is to start early! Advance planning is needed to secure funding, identify staff, partner with a CBO, and develop the Mendocino County Complete Count Committee. Activities begin as early as three years prior to the Census year with the updating of the LUCA Master File.
It’s all about relationships! Partnerships are vital to the success of any countywide effort.
Recommended partners to the County of Mendocino include:
• A dedicated CBO that can assist in the outreach work and leverage connections to other community organizations; • The CA Census Office to assist with media support and outreach; • Cities and municipalities who can help get information included in utility bills and banners;
• Municipal Advisory Councils to reach geographically rural areas; • The nonprofit community to activate their networks and engage hard-tocount populations across the county; • Grassroots organizations to share the message with their constituents; • School districts to inform parents and students;
• Businesses that can engage their staff and help spread the word; • Tribes to ensure a total and complete count is occurring; • Local, state and federal elected officials to advocate for funding and a just count.
Recommended outreach activities for 2030 include:
• Hire adequate staff. The County of Mendocino’s CEO’s office should take the lead to set the priority and have at least two-three dedicated full-time employee to oversee Census activities in conjunction with local partners. • Engage in county and city-mandated activities, such as LUCA, early. • Apply for state and regional funding, as available.
• Identify and appropriately fund the appropriate CBO partner. Indirect costs incurred by the partner CBO should also be fully covered. The 5% indirect funding received by the Community Foundation was not adequate to cover all of the costs associated with the 2020 Census project. 11 • Develop MCCCC and identify regional partners.
• Engage leaders from a variety of sectors and hard-to-count communities, for example youth, seniors, veterans, immigrants, tribes, etc. • Identify champions in all Census tracts that reflect the demographics of their communities. Local connections and trusted messengers are critical. • Craft linguistically appropriate messaging and include locally sourced images to create outreach materials that will resonate with residents. • Collect email addresses and phone numbers to use for phone and text banking and electronic outreach.
• Use Nixle alerts, the countywide notification system, to remind people about the Census. Lake and other nearby counties used this system to great success.
• Include Census information on county tax bills and voter guides. • Engage city leaders to include Census information on utility bills and other city-sponsored signage.
• Take advantage of current events. For example, Census outreach was conducted in coordination with hunger relief efforts and COVID testing sites during the pandemic.
• Compile a calendar of events throughout the county and schedule MCCCC members to attend and educate the public. • Develop a robust media plan that includes multiple touch points across multiple channels (social media platforms, print media, radio, etc.). • Use technology to assist individuals with Census completion (iPads, Wi-Fi hotspots).
• Order banners and identify placement locations throughout the County.
Work with City of Ukiah to get a banner placed over State Street. • Order branded swag for distribution (bags, pencils, hand sanitizer, etc.). • Work with USCB partners during enumeration to publicize enumeration efforts and inform residents when enumerators are going door to door, so they know who, when and what to expect.
“Trabajé en el censo porque es muy importante.”
Javier Chavez,
Redwood Coast Medical Services
12 13
TIMELINE NARRATIVE
LANDSCAPES:
FEDERAL STATE LOCAL
2017 - LUCA Activity Phase
In January, three years prior to a Census year, advance notices are mailed and promotional workshops are offered to Highest Elected Officials (HEOs), Tribal Chairs (TCs), Governors, and other LUCA contacts. In the summer and fall, LUCA invitation and registration materials are mailed out and training workshops begin. The following year, two years before the Census year, participants review and update the Census Bureau’s address list and the Census Bureau processes the final LUCA submissions.
Who participates in the LUCA? Active, functioning governments including:
• Federally recognized tribes with a reservation or off-reservation trust lands • States
• Counties
• Cities (incorporated place)
• Townships (minor civil divisions)
Entering these addresses to the Master Address File (MAF) is critical in ensuring rural communities get complete counts, because local governments and agencies have more knowledge and access to updated housing information.
Because these actions fall to local governments, i.e. County of Mendocino and Mendocino County cities, it is extremely important these agencies are aware of, and dedicate adequate time and resources, to the LUCA activities. 2018 - Early Education Groundwork Phase
In January, the USCB received a request from the U.S. Department of Justice that a question to determine the citizenship of respondents be added to the Census questionnaire. During the year, the USCB conducted testing of all Census phases in Rhode Island. The USCB began recruiting thousands of employees throughout the country in preparation for Census 2020.
In April, Governor Brown signed an Executive Order establishing the California Complete Count Committee, an all-volunteer group charged with developing, assisting and overseeing the administration of the outreach strategy for the state of California. The state initially invested $100.3 million to be allocated to com- 14 munities with hard-to-count populations where the funds would be used to support community-based outreach. They began the process of identifying and contracting with local governments and Administrative Community Based Organizations that would conduct the regional outreach.
In May of 2018, the CEO and Vice Chair of the Board of the Community Foundation attended a League of California Community Foundations meeting where a Complete County for the 2020 was approved as a League initiative.
One of the presenter’s was Ditas Katague, Director of the California Complete Count for the State of California. The following week Ms. Katague was the lead presenter at the Census 2020 Regional Readiness Assessment Convening in Ukiah. The topics included methodology, timeline, challenges and discussions on how to approach the 2020 Census. The Community Foundation CEO and County staff were on a panel at this meeting discussing Mendocino county’s readiness for the Census.
After this meeting, the Community Foundation’s Vice Chair approached the County of Mendocino Health and Human Services Agency Director about the County’s plan for moving forward with a Census outreach project. She was told that the County’s Epidemiologist, who had participated in the 2010 Census in Los Angeles, was anxious to establish a Complete Count Committee. The County decided to take the lead (as the State was offering money to do so) and two County employees were identified to work on the project.
2019 - Complete Count Committee Phase
In March, the USCB announced their communications campaign platform and highlighted the importance of state and regional Complete Count Committees. In June, they began a round of testing to see the effects of the inclusion of the Citizenship Question on the questionnaire, but weeks later the question was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court and was not included. In late summer, the USCB began their first major field operation, deploying address canvassers and releasing taglines and logos for the 2020 Census. At the end of the year, the UCSB’s Census in classrooms program was launched.
In January, the state announced the counties that opted in as “Complete Count Counties”. On April 1, California officially kicked off the Census effort. The CA Census Office published the Language and Communications Access Plan, which outlined the requirements for linguistically appropriate outreach to be followed by funded Complete Count organizations. At the end of the year, the CA Census Office announced over $3 million in funding for Native American and Tribal media and outreach.
The County of Mendocino applied for and was granted an initial $75,000 in funds from the CA Census Office and in January 2019 leaders from the County of Mendocino and the Community Foundation met to assemble the Mendocino County Complete Count Committee (MCCCC). The group brainstormed a list of people and organizations who should be involved, and the first meeting was scheduled 15 for February. Invitations were sent to leaders from different regions of the county and different sectors of the community. This inaugural meeting of the MCCCC provided an introduction to Census 2020 and sought to solicit more interested parties and discuss next steps. They discussed and learned about hard-to-count communities and how this effort was meant to work across Federal, State and local agencies and CBOs. Monthly meetings were scheduled and continued for the duration of the Census.
Regional Complete Count groups began to take shape and they set a goal of education and promotion of all thing’s Census throughout the county. Informational meetings were held in October and November at various places along the Coast from Westport down to Gualala, as well as inland in Boonville and Comptche, explaining and promoting the upcoming Census and engaging supporters. In partnership with the local chapter of the League of Women Voters, whose national organization adopted promotion of the 2020 Census as a priority, the MCCCC Chair and other members marched in parades, tabled events and made presentations in high school and adult school classrooms across the county explaining how and why to get counted in the 2020 Census. Leadership from the MCCCC submitted articles and letters to the editors to local publications.
With the MCCCC, Lemon Fresh Design from Anderson Valley developed the locally created, state-recognized website, social media imagery, posts and flyers. A bilingual social media toolkit was created and made available through the website, providing cohesive visuals and messages for partners to share throughout the county.
During the year, county staff assigned to Census work attended state-sponsored trainings and, with the collaboration of the MCCCC, prepared and submitted the required work plan and implementation plan. Working with the MCCCC Chair, they developed the monthly meeting agendas and prepared and shared the meeting minutes with the full committee and local elected officials. Throughout the duration of the Census, County staff continued to attend all the state meetings and kept state partners apprised of local Census activities.
16 2020 Outreach Phase: Ramp up to Census Day
January 2020 - Mid March 2020
The USCB began the first count in the country in Alaska during January. In March, the Bureau offered a preview of the response rate map that would be available to the public on their website. A massive recruitment for 500,000 Census takers was undertaken at that time. Postcard invitations to complete the Census were mailed to 143 million households during the first two weeks of March. The Census response website went live on March 9 allowing people to complete their questionnaire online. On March 15, the USCB announced they were monitoring the outbreak of the COVID-19 and that they would delay Non Response Follow Up (NRFU) operations and Mobile Questionnaire Assistance (MQA).
In January, the CA Census Office announced a roster of California influencers, including sports figures and celebrities to act as ambassadors in statewide media. At the same time the state released the details of their comprehensive media buys that would include radio, print, bus ads and television. Starting early in the year and continuing for the whole Census period, the CA Census Office created and shared messaging for use by regional partners, maintaining a website for this media as well as materials designed by contractors. The Statewide Operation and Rapid Deployment (SwORD) mapping tool was activated, providing the means by which funded partners would report their outreach plans and activities.
In early 2020, the County of Mendocino subcontracted with the Community Foundation for $101,850 which funded the work of the Project Managers, the social media consultant, and Census outreach activities. 17 Consistent, weekly social media outreach began via the Mendocino Counts! Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages, using the branded handle of MendoCounts2020.
Managed by an independent social media consultant, content was created by Lemon Fresh Designs with images and messages specifically geared toward Mendocino county. Content was also shared by the MendoCounts2020 social media pages via the USCB, CA Census Office, members of the MCCCC and other partner organizations.
Presentations were made by members of the MCCCC and the Project Managers to various organizations and community groups which were specifically identified to represent hardto-count populations, such as the Family Resource Center Network, Mendocino County Office of Education, Area Agency on Aging, Round Valley Municipal Advisory Council and Alliance for Rural Community Health.
Partners became more engaged on their social media pages and the Mendocino County Office of Education reached out to schools with Census curriculum and a Count Me In poster contest.
Outreach activities on the South Coast got underway with tabling at various locations and events such as Surf Supermarket, Gualala Supermarket and community wellness days.
Targeted outreach was made to senior centers throughout the county, providing them with bilingual flyers containing messaging specific to senior citizens and articles for inclusion in their newsletters.
6’ banners were placed in multiple locations all around the county, including Ukiah, Fort Bragg, Mendocino, Point Arena, Anderson Valley and Covelo. A 25’ banner was ordered and hung across State Street in the City of Ukiah for multiple weeks throughout the duration of the Census.
Locally designed, bilingual census flyers were included with the City of Ukiah and City of Willits utility bills. Census door hangers were created and distributed throughout the City of Point Arena. The City of Fort Bragg included a Census blurb on their utility bills.
Mendocino Counts! Census pencils were ordered and distributed to various schools and organizations throughout the County.
Bilingual radio PSAs were recorded and broadcast on KZYX about the importance of the Census to Mendocino County. English and Spanish radio interviews were conducted with various MCCCC members on radio stations throughout the county including KGUA and KZYX.
In advance of Census Day, MCCCC team members coordinated with community partners, including health centers and libraries, to set up kiosks that would be open to the public.
These Questionnaire Assistance Kiosks (QAK) would have provided a private space with a computer and internet, giving people the access to complete their Census online. Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, it was ultimately not possible to utilize the QAKS. 18 Census Response Period
Mid-March 2020 - May 2020
On Census Day, April 1, the USCB announced that nearly half of the households that received invitations to self-respond had done so at that point. They further reported that due to COVID-19, they would be suspending all field operations and continue to monitor the situation, adjusting their implementation plan as needed. During the second week of April, the USCB sent a mailing to households that had not yet responded, this time including a paper questionnaire. On April 13, it was announced that, due to COVID-19, the USCB would extend the final date for data collection to October 31, 2020. At the beginning of May another reminder postcard was sent to households who still needed to respond.
In the final days of May, the USCB reported that more than 60% of US households had responded to the Census.
During the week leading up to April 1, the state deployed massive media resources in their first “Week of Action.” Governor Newsom sent a letter to the USCB requesting that the Bureau consider extending the response period in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects of Census operations. The CA Census Office launched their interactive response rate map to partners and the public to track progress. The beginning of May marked a concerted effort by the CA Census Office to prioritize digital outreach and shift away from “high-touch” outreach methods as required due to the pandemic.
In the lead up to Census Day on April 1, social media remained very active with multiple posts being made daily across all of the platforms. A series of newspaper ads were placed over four weeks leading up to, and immediately following, Census Day. Smaller ads were used in the first and fourth weeks and larger ads were placed in the second and third weeks. Ads were placed in all of the local papers in the county, both print and online, including Spanish publications. Digital ads and banners were placed with the online editions.
Radio partnerships were developed with Bicoastal Media, KGUA and KZYX. Bilingual Public Service Announcements (PSAs) were written and recorded by various community members, including the Project Managers, members of the MCCCC, and locally elected officials, and were broadcast on those stations. Content was focused on why Mendocino counts in the 2020 Census. In partnership with KZYX, students from the Instilling Goodness and Developing Virtue School translated and recorded the PSAs in multiple languages including Mandarin and Vietnamese, which also aired. The Sheriff also agreed to participate, and in partnership with one of the Project Managers, recorded a bilingual video PSA that was shared via social media.
Flyers, swag and educational resources were both provided by the USCB and locally created and were distributed to community-based groups in areas such as Anderson Valley and the South Coast.
19 A major aspect of the plan for outreach strategy included having volunteers attend or host live events and assist people fill out the Census onsite. However, the state contract had very specific stipulations around the purchase of technology, which then had to be returned to the state at the conclusion of the Census. Given this, the Community Foundation elected to use its own money to purchase 10 iPads.
On March 17, 2020, the County experienced an unprecedented Shelter in Place (SIP) order, mandated because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This county-wide order closed all non-essential businesses and all schools, and also placed restrictions on public gatherings and events.
As a result, strategies shifted to digital and virtual outreach.
A number of Facebook live and other video interviews were conducted with entities such as Leadership Mendocino, Mendocino Voice and the Northern Circle Indian Housing Authority, to discuss the importance of a complete Census count for tribes.
A new series of social media images and bilingual messages were created to reflect local programs and initiatives funded by the Census including wildlife protection, education, healthcare, first responders and infrastructure.
Email signatures were created to include calls to action to complete the Census and were utilized by several of the MCCCC partners, including the City of Ukiah.
Because in-person events were no longer feasible, it was determined that one-to-one outreach to leaders and connected individuals in the hardest to count regions of the county would be most effective. In partnership with a local digital strategist, ImaginePod, the tracts with the lowest Self-Response Rates were identified, and individual influencers were identified in each of these communities. Information about the influencers included their social media followers, community connections, and contact information. Influencers included business owners, elected officials and engaged citizens, and were asked to share messages about the Census. A bilingual influencer ‘kit’ was created, which included English/Spanish messaging for email, text and social media. These were sent to the influencers who agreed to use the toolkits to connect with their communities and encourage them to complete the Census. Influencer responses included personal videos made and shared via social media, social media posts, 20 in-person assistance, inclusion in newsletters and emails and text messages to friends and neighbors. A winery in North County actually helped their entire team of farm laborers complete the Census onsite. Initial outreach to influencers began in May and continued throughout the duration of the Census.
Locally produced bilingual ¼ flyers were made and distributed to many different entities throughout the County, including Fort Bragg Unified School District who included the flyers in their food bags.
Food banks and other service-based organizations were identified as important places to disseminate Census information, as so many families were accessing services due to the pandemic. Mendocino Counts! Census tote bags were designed and distributed to organizations to use for food distribution as well as to remind people about the Census. Census flyers were also included with the bag distribution.
A bilingual helpline was established using a free number through Google Voice, which was answered Monday-Friday, 8:00am-5:00pm. Text messages were encouraged. The purpose of the helpline was to establish a local resource for information and assistance.
Project Managers and County staff attended all weekly state and regional meetings.
In compliance with the contract between the County of Mendocino and the state, a Non Response Follow Up Plan was drafted by the Project Management Team. The MCCCC reviewed, revised and approved the plan and it was submitted to the CA Census Office.
21 Update Leave
June 2020 - July 2020
In mid-June, the USCB announced that the Service Based Enumeration process which serves to count people experiencing homelessness had been postponed from March due to COVID-19 and was now scheduled to take place September 22-24. By June 18, the Bureau reported that 96% of the “Update/ Leave” Operation, in which paper invitations and questionnaires are left at every known household that has not yet responded, had been completed. Between June 24 and July 3, the Bureau sent postcards to 1.4 million post office boxes, encouraging the recipients to complete the Census. Another reminder postcard would be sent to all non-responsive households during the final weeks of July.
The CA Census Office implemented “Census Weeks of Action” from June 17th - 23rd and July 17th - 23rd, during which statewide outreach events were promoted across media in an effort to spur response rates. In mid-July, a new round of printed collateral was produced. These two-sided Spanish and English postcards and door hangers were made available by the CA Census Office for contracted partners at no charge.
As it became clear that the longer Census response period would require additional funding to see it through, the Community Foundation received an additional grant in the amount of $6,500 from the United Way of the Wine Country.
A digital outreach partnership was created with the State of California and their Census media team, resulting in Mendocino Counts! branded messaging being included in the state’s media campaign. A highlight of this partnership were the hand-sanitizing stations placed in stores throughout the County. This maximized exposure of local Census messaging as the state had a much larger media budget to spend on paid media.
English and Spanish digital ads were created with ImaginePod which included a short live video accompanied by local imagery and a call to action. These Mendocino Counts! ads, promoted by the California Census Office as part of the media partnership, used both geo and language targeting, resulting in tens of thousands of views.
Revised messaging was crafted to address the changing Census timeline and included a Letter to the Editor for June 17-23 Census Week of Action, new PSAs, and additional Spanish radio interviews.
Census tote bags and flyers continued to be distributed throughout the county, including at Anderson Valley Health Center where they included flyers in their prescription bags. Safe Passage, located in Fort Bragg, included Mendocino Counts! pencils in their summer adventure backpacks for children.
Influencer outreach was extended to include the cities of Redwood Valley and Potter Valley, as well as south Ukiah to bump up SRR in those areas. Individuals such as District Supervisors, business owners and social media influencers were identified and 22 contacted. For Spanish speaking individuals and families, the Vice Mayor of Ukiah and leaders of Ukiah Vecinos en Accion were contacted to assist with outreach to those communities.
Project Managers and county staff attended all weekly state and regional meetings.
All of the outreach activities occurring between March and the end of June that were funded by the CA Census Office contract were uploaded to the state’s SwORD tool by the Project Management Team in June.
Non Response Follow Up & Final Census Phase
August 2020
On August 3, the USCB announced that they were changing the final date for data collection from October 31 to September 30 and that in order to achieve a complete count under these conditions they were hiring more employees and providing incentives to enumerators. Non Response Follow Up (NRFU) officially began on August 11 and in addition to this operation, enumerators were deployed to contact households that had already self-responded to the Census to check for accuracy of information provided on the questionnaire. By the beginning of August, enumerators were being deployed to run Mobile Questionnaire Assistance (MQA) outside grocery stores, food banks, and community centers to provide another option for people to respond to the Census. At the end of August, the USCB sent another mailing that included the Census questionnaire to households with street mailing addresses.
Responding to the USCB decision to shorten the data collection period by one month, the CA Census Office issued a statement expressing concern that this operational change would result in a significant undercount throughout the state and nation. In advance of the initiation of NRFU, the CA Census Office held a virtual pep rally on August 6th, inviting their contracted partners to participate and use it to spread the word about the Census. The state updated their shared collateral to no longer include a final date by which to respond.
Enumerators were in the field beginning in mid-August, contacting households for which they did not have a record of response or following up to ensure the accuracy of recorded responses.
The USCB set up Mobile Questionnaire Assistance (MQA) tables at various events and locations throughout the county such as farmer’s markets and food banks to provide access for people to connect with Census workers and assist them in completing the Census. Due to COVID-19 restrictions Census assistance could not be done onsite, but phone numbers were taken for call backs by USCB staff at a later date. Members of MCCCC were not allowed to sit at these official tables but were invited to sit at separate tables and distribute local information. The MQAs were promoted via the Mendocino Counts! social media pages.
23 Social media outreach continued across all channels and the Mendocino Counts! Census video ads were promoted on Facebook. A Facebook live interview took place in Spanish with Periodico Al Punto, radio interviews continued to be conducted on MendoLatino, and major articles appeared in the Ukiah Daily Journal and Willits Weekly.
As part of an effort to expand the chorus of voices discussing the importance of the Census to Mendocino county, the state’s media team helped write letters to the editor as part of their free technical assistance guidance. These letters were sent to individual influencers in each supervisorial district asking them to sign and send in to their local papers, which were published throughout the county.
New date stickers were ordered for the 6’ banners to change the response date deadline from October 31 to September 30.
Project Managers and county staff attended all weekly state and regional meetings.
All of the outreach activities occurring between the beginning of July and end of August that were funded by the CA Census Office contract were uploaded to the state’s SwORD tool by the Project Management Team.
September 2020
On September 5, a federal district court judge issued a temporary restraining order preventing the USCB from proceeding with the plan to end the data collection on September 30. This temporary order was subsequently upheld at a hearing later in the month and the USCB agreed to comply, although it was ultimately appealed. During the first week of the month, the USCB began making Minimum border thickness
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size from the bleed line is
3/8 (0.375”). Border example
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ARTWORK WITH BORDERS
3.5 x 8.5″ Doorhanger Front
A standard 1 1/4” hole
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to allow enough text
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¡MENDOCINO
CUENTA! CENSO 2020
Utility bill insert and door hanger reminding people to respond to the Census. 24 NRFU data available at a state level. This data reflected a denominator of number of addresses assigned to enumerators to be contacted and a numerator of number of addresses counted from that assignment. Service Based Enumeration took place between September 22 - 24.
In the face of the legal battle over the end date of the Census, the CA Census Office prioritized a message of encouraging everyone to get counted as soon as possible, promoting this during a “Week of Action”. By the middle of the month, California had exceeded its 2010 final self-response rate.
By September, the Community Foundation had expended its Project Management budget line item as the original contract had the expected Census end date of June 30. An additional $10,000 was requested from, and received by, the County of Mendocino for the final two months of outreach and to complete the required county and state reports.
As part of a final media push, radio partnerships were once again developed with Bicoastal Media, KGUA, KUNK, and KWINE, and bilingual Census PSAs, written and recorded by the Project Managers, aired during the entire month of September on all of these stations. PSAs were also sent to stations such as KZYX and KYBU in Covelo, who also broadcast the messages. Content was specific to how the Census impacted funding for fire safety and education resources.
A final round of larger-sized Mendocino Counts! print ads were placed over three weeks in September in all of the local newspapers including Spanish publications. A video interview was conducted with members of the MCCCC by Fort Bragg TV.
Flyers and postcards continued to be distributed at community events and organizations throughout the County. Another round of bilingual Census flyers were included in the City of Ukiah and City of Willits utility bills.
Ukiah Unified School District included information about the Census in their weekly email notifications to parents.
Mendocino Counts! branded hand sanitizers were provided to community health centers to distribute to the public during drive thru COVID testing events. These items were also given to other community partners to hand out during outreach with clients.
Social media posts continued to be made multiple times per day on all of the social media channels. One strategy deployed during this final phase was the creation and launch of two interactive quizzes on Facebook, in English and Spanish, “What Matters Most to You This Year in Mendocino?”, which was then tied into the next 10 years.
The quiz was intended to reach individuals resisting participating in the Census; it didn’t mention the Census up front and gift card incentives to participate were offered.
Quiz takers received customized results based on their responses, demonstrating how the Census impacted what they most cared about, whether firefighting, education, healthcare, or housing/road infrastructure.
25 The quiz received an extremely high completion rate (96%) and opt in (77%), and 11% of the county’s total population was reached with just $254 spent. This resulted in over 200 opt-ins, which was important because not only did this increase interest in, and engagement with, the Census, but part of the quiz required providing email addresses, which were then used for individual, targeted follow-up.
In the final weeks of September, MCCCC members also tabled alongside the MQAs at Redwood Coast Seniors and the Fort Bragg Food Bank, as well as in Ukiah at the farmer’s market and Walmart. These two Ukiah events were accompanied by the state’s Census digital truck, which was leveraged for additional, last minute publicity, resulting in a front page article for the Ukiah Daily Journal.
In anticipation of a final presentation to the County of Mendocino’s Board of Supervisors in October, the Community Foundation’s CEO presented on the Census and the efforts of the Mendocino County Complete Count Committee to the County’s Health and Human Services Agency Advisory Board.
Project Managers and county staff attended all weekly state and regional meetings.
All of the outreach activities accomplished during September that were funded by the CA Census Office contract were uploaded to the state’s SwORD tool by the Project Management Team.
October 2020
On October 1, and based on a court ruling, the Bureau instructed their enumerators in the field to continue their NRFU work until October 31. By the middle of the month, the USCB reported that they had completed enumeration of 99.9% of households in the country and would be ending all data collection on October 15.
Due to the abrupt and frequent changes to the end date for data collection, the CA Census Office focused on messages encouraging urgency in completing the Census as soon as possible.
2020 Census, April 1, 2020
MENDOCINOCOUNTS.ORG
#BECOUNTEDMENDO #MENDOCINOCOUNTS2020
Help keep our
coast beautiful.
Be counted.
Census responses
keep kids healthy.
Help keep the Mendocino Coast beautiful
by responding to the census. It returns
federal tax dollars to our county help fund
Coastal Zone Management. So if you want
to protect our coast, fill out your census
online after March 23 and Be Counted!
2020 Census, April 1, 2020
MENDOCINOCOUNTS.ORG
#BECOUNTEDMENDO #MENDOCINOCOUNTS2020
The census helps us
support each other.
Be counted.
Did you know? When you respond to the
census, federal tax dollars return to our
communities to fund healthcare, elder
housing, education, wildlife protection,
infrastructure, and much more. Help
Mendocino County be its best. Be sure to
fill out the census online after March 23
and Be Counted!
MENDOCINOCOUNTS.ORG
#BECOUNTEDMENDO #MENDOCINOCOUNTS2020
2020 Census, 1 de abril de 2020
¿Sabias? Todas las personas en su
hogar, incluyendo los bebes, se cuentan
en el censo de los E.E.U.U. ¡Asegúrese
de completar el censo en línea después
del 23 de marzo y sea contado!
Otra forma de darle a
ella un mejor mañana.
Ser Contado.
26 Despite the massive confusion around the official end date of the Census, final efforts were still conducted in the first couple of weeks in October. Social media posts and email outreach continued by partners. Project Managers continued to attend all weekly state meetings.
A final, follow-up email was drafted in English and Spanish and sent to the quiz takers of What Matters Most to You This Year in Mendocino?, reminding them of the importance of the Census in Mendocino County and encouraging them to respond.
The Community Foundation’s CEO gave a final presentation on Census activities and accomplishments to the County of Mendocino’s Board of Supervisors.
The 2020 Census officially ended October 15, 2020.
A final upload of all activities accomplished that were funded by the CA Census Office contract was made to the state’s SwORD tool by the Project Management Team. The final Census report to the state is due November 15, 2020 and will be written and submitted by the Project Management team.
27 MANY THANKS TO …
The Mendocino County Complete Count Committee current members and partners, including: The County of Mendocino, The Community Foundation of Mendocino County, The League of Women Voters of Mendocino County, Ukiah Vecinos en Accion (UVA), Alliance for Rural Community Health (ARCH), Family Resource Centers of Mendocino County, Laytonville Healthy Start, First 5 Mendocino, North Coast Opportunities (NCO), The Hopland Band of Pomo Indians, Mendocino Latinx Alliance, Periódico Al Punto, KZYX, Anderson Valley Health Center, Round Valley Indian Health Center (RVIHC), The Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians, City of Ukiah, City of Willits, City of Fort Bragg, City of Point Arena, Mendocino College, Mendocino County Office of Education (MCOE), California Human Development, Disability Services & Legal Center (DSLC), United Way of the Wine Country, ImaginePod-Adriana Dakin, Maureen Mulheren-Mulheren Marketing, Sara O’Donnell, Gary Levenson-Palmer, Javier Chavez, Donna Pierson-Pugh, US Census Bureau, California State Census Office, State Assemblymember Jim Wood, State Senator Mike McGuire, and U.S. Congressman Jared Huffman.