Background and Resources for Census Outreach

The U.S. Census Bureau announced on May 4, 2020, that it will initiate a targeted and phased approach to resume some 2020 Census field operations in compliance with federal, state, and local health guidance. Notably, the bureau will start dropping census invitation packets at the front doors of rural households and households that don’t normally receive mail at home (known as the Update/Leave operation). Area Census Office staff will begin returning to the office to support this operation as well as to complete the hiring process for Non-Response Follow-Up. A list of specific states and ACOs is available here. 

Each Friday, the bureau will post the additional areas where Update /Leave and hiring will resume the following Wednesday. The updates will be available on the Census Bureau’s COVID-19 hub here and a full revised operational schedule is available here.

Linked below is more information, guidance, and talking points for communities that are impacted by the restart of the update/ leave operation.