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Impact on My Family

The Census is very important to your family and affects it in many ways.  Without your participation in the Census, the government cannot accurately measure the funding levels for programs and improvements at every level of societal living.  It is up to you, and all of us, to help ourselves and our family.  The next 10 years depends on it!

Here are some areas where the Census impacts your family:

Education
As many as two million children were not counted in the last Census. Government funding for education is distributed by population, which is measured by the Census. Therefore, many school districts were short-changed as a result.

The lost money could have been used to pay for new schools and teachers, programs for the linguistically isolated, students with special needs and many other programs.

Some of the cities hardest hit by the undercount are areas with large concentrations of API households, such as Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York. That adds up to thousands of fewer teachers and hundreds of fewer schools serving API students.

Meanwhile, as school districts only receive funding based on the number of students counted in the Census, districts with undercounted populations face major challenges in stretching their dollars to provide for all their students.  The districts then have to figure out how to educate even more children with less money.  For example, in 1990, Los Angeles had a population of 5.6 million students, but only had funding enough for 5.2 million.

Moreover, the federal government provides $647 million to states through English Language Acquisition Grants to serve students with limited English proficiency in elementary and secondary schools.  Over 33% of the Asian American community has limited English proficiency, and 63% are foreign-born. On average, Asian students attend schools that are 25% Asian and have a high concentration of English language learners.  Getting an accurate count ensures that English language learning initiatives are sufficiently funded.

Assisting Those Most Disadvantaged
The Census also is crucial in allocating assistance for the disadvantaged.  By filling out your Census form, you empower the government with the proper count to help those in need.

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have above average rates of living below the federal poverty line in the United States, with 13% of Asian Americans and 17% of Pacific Islanders living in poverty, compared to  the average of 12% across the United States. Hmong and Cambodians have poverty rates higher than any of the major racial and ethnic groups in the U.S.  15 AAPI groups have poverty rates above average, including Chinese, Koreans, Vietnamese, Pakistanis, and Native Hawaiians.  An undercount of Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders and Native Hawaiians means that the most disadvantaged will not receive their fair share of federal assistance.  For example, in 2006, about 1.4 million Asian Americans were enrolled in Medicaid, which provides medical benefits to people without insurance or with inadequate insurance.

An undercount has similar impact in other areas of family life, like healthcare, job training and English language learning programs.  For example, continued undercounts in highly populated API cities would mean less money for vital health-promoting initiatives, such as health education and vaccination and prevention programs in neighborhoods with the greatest need.  Census data is also used for planning for hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, and the location of other health services.  Continued undercounts in highly population AAPI cities would result in a dearth of hospitals and other health services where our communities are.

For example, $6.3 billion in federal funding is distributed every year for Federal Community Development Block Grants.  These grants are designed to improve the life of communities living at or below the Federal Poverty Guidelines by providing low-income housing and expansion of economic opportunities.  An undercount seriously undermines the ability of Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders and Native Hawaiians to benefit from these community development initiatives. 

Everyday Life
Census data also contributes to your family’s everyday quality of life.  Governments use Census data to determine how to manage public safety, such as where to open new police departments and fire stations, and how many public safety employees are needed to serve a particular area.  Census data is also used to design public safety strategies, including keeping kids safe by showing local officials where a new playground is needed or where they should install new street lights, stop signs and speed bumps.  Lastly, your local transportation authority also uses Census data to forecast future transportation needs for all segments of the population, which is used to help plan public transportation services such as developing new bus routes, planning subway expansions and building new roads to mitigate traffic in congested areas. 

By filling out your Census form, you ensure that your family and your community is safe and provided for.