State Representative Blaine Wilhour (R-Beecher City) is helping the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) to inform the community about the extended deadline to apply for funding to help with the 2020 U.S. Census in Illinois. The 2020 Census Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) has been extended and the new submission deadline for the NOFO is Friday, September 13, 2019 at 5:00 pm CT as well as extending the question and answer period to Tuesday, September 10, 2019 at 5:00 pm CT.
“The census every ten years impacts how tax dollars are allocated in many programs based on population,” commented Wilhour. “The allocation of congressional districts is determined by how many citizens we have in Illinois versus the rest of the nation and with the out-migration we have experienced over the past several years from bad economic policies and over taxing our families and job creators, we need to be sure we have an accurate count.”
The 2020 Census Grant Program of up to $20 million will support outreach efforts through twelve (12) Regional Intermediaries (RI) to ensure a complete count for the state of Illinois. A key focus is to ensure that identified geographic areas and demographic populations, who are least likely to respond, Hard-To-Count (HTC), will participate in the 2020 Census.
The RI can be a community organization or local government entity with the capacity to provide coordination of education, outreach, and survey assistance services to the public and HTC populations for an Illinois Census Office Region. In addition to racial and ethnic minorities, groups that are hard to count have included people who live in rural areas, people with disabilities, renters, older adults, and people living close to or below the poverty line or who distrust the government.
“The 2020 Census will be the first to rely primarily on on-line responses, so people with limited Internet access are also at risk of not being counted,” added Wilhour. “The counties in our area fall into two different regions: Southeast Central including Effingham, Fayette and Marion Counties; and Southwest Central including Bond and Clinton Counties.”
To begin the process go to the Dept. of Human Services web site at: http://www.dhs.state.il.us/page.aspx?item=117899. The full instructions are located at: http://www.dhs.state.il.us/page.aspx?item=117928