Using Innovative Technology in Planning for the 2020 Census

This week I am visiting Los Angeles (CA) County to observe the last phase of the 2016 Census Test, currently underway here in California as well as in Harris County (TX). Almost 225,000 households in Los Angeles County received a notification from the US Census Bureau by mail 9 weeks ago asking them to complete the 2016 Census Test questionnaire online. Now, census takers are engaged in what we call “nonresponse follow-up” — that is, personally visiting households that did not respond to the census. Using technology to refine our nonresponse follow-op operations is a critical part of our preparations for the 2020 Census.

In the current phase of the 2016 Census Test, we’re refining the technologies and methods that we use to assign cases to field staff conducting nonresponse follow-up visits. In 2020, we plan to automate much of the door-to-door field work involved in this operation and better manage census takers’ workloads and routing in real time. We’re also continuing to refine our innovative use of mobile technology in our follow-up efforts. We’re replacing paper and pencil with mobile devices for census takers who visit nonresponding households. These devices have special software that census takers will use to securely collect households’ information and transmit that data, daily assignments, updates and timesheets.