1. Geographic Overview - SC
2020 Census
Geographic Overview - SC
Atlanta Regional Office
Managing Census Operations in:
AL, FL, GA, LA, MS, NC, SC

2. Background – Why Geography Matters
Decennial Census is mandated by the Constitution to apportion the House of Representatives among the states.
Therefore, we must identify all of the places where people can and do live, and count people where they live.
Census Data are tabulated to a variety of geographic areas for use by the public.
Geographic areas and concepts are used to help managers assign and track the completion of work.
Geography is the framework on which Census data rests. All data we collect, and all data we share must be geocoded.
(point to 1st bullet) You may have heard before - the census population count is used for congressional redistricting, (point to 2nd bullet) which is why it is so important that we count everybody, count them only once, and count them where they live – in the right location.
Since the time this was written into the Constitution, other needs and uses for Census data have developed, (point to 3rd bullet) including the distribution of federal funds and tracking population, social, and economic trends.
Specific to your job, (point to 4th bullet) it is important to understand census geography to understand how work is assigned and tracked, and to be able to explain these concepts to our external partners and respondents.

3. Agenda 2020 Census Overview Geographic Partnership Programs
Tabulation Geography (esp. Census Tracts)
Low Response Scores Maps
2020 Collection Geography
Briefly mention each bullet point.

4. 2020 Census Design
This graphic illustrates the 2020 Census Design process and why building a strong geographic foundation is so important to the success of the 2020 Census.
We must Establish Where to Count – identify all the addresses where people could live.
We must Motivate People to Respond – use the address list to send mailed materials that invite and encourage households to respond.
We must Count the Population – use the address list and maps to send our enumerators to collect interview data from nonresponding households.
We must Release Census Results – use the address list and geographic boundaries to process, tabulate, and disseminate:
Apportionment counts to the President by December 31, 2020
Redistricting data to the States by April 1, 2021
High quality data to the public!
In this presentation and others you may receive throughout this year, the Census Bureau provides examples regarding the importance of LUCA participation and a successful 2020 Census that result after the “Release Census Results” section (Apportionment, Redistricting, Distributing billions in federal funding, Providing data for local analysis, etc.). While these are all valid reasons for participating in LUCA, this graphic illustrates why your LUCA participation is so fundamentally important. LUCA offers local governments the opportunity to provide their input into the address list that serves as the foundation of the entire 2020 Census Design process!
Participants in 2020 LUCA have a direct impact on the quality and completeness of the address list. Think of 2020 LUCA as a vehicle to “Get local government input” and “Establish Where to Count”. 4

5. Geographic Partnership Programs
Accurate Census data comes from accurate geographic data, including addresses and boundaries. Local governments are the best sources for address and boundary data.
Local government participation in 2020 Geographic Partnership Programs provide opportunities to work together to ensure the best and most useful results possible.

6. 2020 Census Geographic Partnerships
Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA) – Partner review period March-July 2018 (120 days). Feedback to participants in August 2019.
Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS) – Annual survey. Partner review period January-May.
Participant Statistical Areas Program (PSAP) – To edit/change tracts, block groups, and other statistical geographies for 2020 tabulations. (Review period planned for February-June 2019)
New Construction – Program to add newly constructed housing unit addresses to Census; planned for August-November 2019.
GEOGRAPHY SLIDE
These are some key dates of the BAS program.

7. 2020 LUCA Schedule       Timeframe Activity January 2017
Advance Notice mailing mailed to Highest Elected Officials (HEOs), Tribal Chairs (TCs), Governors and other potential 2020 LUCA contacts.
March 2017
2020 LUCA Promotional presentations began.
July 2017
2020 LUCA invitation and registration materials mailed to HEOs, TCs and Governors.
October 2017
2020 LUCA Training workshops began.
December 15, 2017
2020 LUCA registration deadline.
February - April 2018
Participants receive their 2020 LUCA materials.
March - September 2018
Census Bureau processes 2020 LUCA submissions.
April May 2019
Census Bureau validates 2020 LUCA addresses.
Summer 2019
Census Bureau delivers 2020 LUCA feedback.
April 1, 2020
CENSUS DAY.      
It is important to discuss the LUCA schedule as a preparation aspect of 2020 LUCA. Keeping the schedule in mind prepares you for upcoming tasks and actions.
January 2017 – Advance Notice mailing conducted.
The purpose of the Advance Notice mailing was to bring awareness to 2020 LUCA and its schedule so governments could begin preparing to participate. The Census Bureau asked contacts to review the LUCA Information Guide and to confirm/correct their contact information. The Census Bureau sent a large number of Advance Notice materials in order to build a solid courtesy copy base for the invitation mailing that occurred in July Nearly 83,000 contacts were shipped the Advance Notice mailing which covered just over 40,000 governments and organizations.
March 2017 – LUCA promotional presentations began.
The six regional offices manage the scheduling of these presentations. Direct questions regarding the LUCA training presentations to the GEO 2020 LUCA and/or toll-free number provided on the next slide.
July 2017 – LUCA invitation mailing (which includes registration materials) conducted.
The invitation mailing included a letter, four forms necessary for LUCA registration, a document with instructions for registration, and a copy of the Confidentiality and Security Guidelines.
October 2017 – LUCA training workshops began.
December 15, 2017, is the 2020 LUCA registration deadline.
February - April 2018 – 2020 LUCA materials begin to ship to participants. Participants begin their review and have 120 calendar days to complete.
March - September 2018 – Census Bureau processes 2020 LUCA submissions.
April 2018 – May 2019 – Census Bureau validates 2020 LUCA addresses.
Summer 2019 – Census Bureau delivers LUCA feedback to participants (the Appeals process is still under development, but has a very short review timeframe).
April 1, 2020 is CENSUS DAY!

9. Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS)
If Census place boundary (blue) is not corrected to aligned with the accurate locally-sourced place boundary (red) and parcels (black), housing units may be misallocated.
Annual BAS Schedule:
December/January – program information sent to participants
January 1 – Date that Annexations must be legally in effect
March 1 – Submission deadline for updates to be reflected in the Population Estimates Program (PEP) and American Community Survey (ACS)
May 31 – Submission deadline for changes to be included in subsequent BAS materials.
Address lists are critical, but so are boundaries!
After the 2000 and 2010 censuses, the Census Bureau researched numerous complaints of undercounts from local governments in the Count Question Resolution program (CQR). After thoroughly researching each of these situations, we often found the undercount was not due to Census missing the population, but rather, the population was misallocated because the boundary was inaccurate.
Notice the boundaries in these examples. The blue line is where Census has recorded the boundary; red is the accurate boundary from the local government. In between are the parcels that will be misallocated. So, even if your jurisdiction has not had any legal changes in its boundaries, it is important to verify that the boundaries are portrayed accurately for your jurisdiction.
The Boundary and Annexation Survey is done annually, and for BAS 2017, we are collecting the boundaries in effect as of Jan. 1, An annexation that becomes effective on February 3, 2017 would need to be reported in the 2018 BAS.
The legal boundaries as collected in BAS also determine the universe of addresses that will be shared with a local government in the LUCA program. {{{{moved this up from the bottom}}}
To ensure boundary updates are included on the LUCA materials, all boundary updates must be returned to the Census Bureau by May 31, 2017.
Authorized by the Census Address List Improvement Act of 1994 (Public Law ).

10. 2020 Participant Statistical Areas Program (PSAP)
An opportunity for designated representatives to review and update statistical geographies for 2020 Census data tabulation.
Coordinating agencies can review, identify, propose changes, and delineate new census tracts, block groups, census designated places (CDPs), and census county divisions (CCDs).
2 Phases:
Delineation (120-day review)
Verification (90-day review)
PSAP is an opportunity for designated representatives to review and update statistical geographies for 2020 Census data tabulation.
Review, identify, propose changes, and delineate new census tracts, block groups, census designated places (CDPs), and census county divisions (CCDs).
Delineation (120-day review)
Verification (90-day review)

12. 2020 New Construction Program
Non-Title 13.
Decennial program designed to capture new addresses for housing units that will be habitable on Census Day (April 1, 2020).
Address submissions will require either:
State/County/Tract/Block Geocodes or
Latitude/Longitude Coordinates
Available in Self-Response Type of Enumeration areas.
New addresses in non-Self-Response areas will be captured during field operations.
Tentatively scheduled: August-November 2019.

14. PL 94-171: Redistricting Data Program
Provides states opportunity to specify the small geographic areas they wish to receive 2020 data for the purposes of reapportionment and redistricting.
5 phases, currently in phase 2 (VTD), phase 3 is the 2020 data delivery used for Redistricting (April 1, 2021 delivery deadline)

16. These are not Census projections; this map is from the University of Virginia Center for Politics based on multiple projections by Election Data Services in their “2016 Reapportionment Analysis”.
These are mid-decade projections - very preliminary and subject to change. But, it is important to note that the foundation for these projections is based on the population counts from the 2010 Decennial. So, a question to ask is, how accurate do you feel the population counts were for your city or county in 2010? The next question to ask is, how many of the counties and cities represented here today participated in LUCA in 2010?
While multiple projections suggest Alabama may lose a seat – the margin is very, very close and an accurate population count is crucial…Which brings us to LUCA and why it is so important to start with a solid address list.

17. Visit Our Census Geographic Partnerships Page
LUCA Information updates area available on the 2020 LUCA website.

18. Tabulation Heirarchy

19. What is a Census Tract? Statistical geographic area
Average about 4000 population
Designed to be relatively homogeneous with respect to characteristics, economic status, and living conditions.
Nest in counties. Never split by county.
Made up of one or more Block Groups.
First used in 1910 Census to study change in neighborhoods over 10 year periods.

21. Low Response Scores (LRS)
Calculated based on data from the Planning Database.
Similar in purpose to the Hard-to-Count scores included in the 2000 Planning Database.
Identifies block groups and tracts whose characteristics predict low census mail return rate.
Highly correlated (negatively) with census and survey participation.
Identifies areas where special outreach and promotion efforts should be implemented.
Nationwide, 79.3 percent of households that received a Census mail questionnaire completed and returned it. The resulting non-response rate of 20.7 percent was not evenly distributed across the country, but rather varied greatly by location.

22. Characteristics of a LRS Tract https://www.census.gov/roam
Hard-to-survey areas—those identified by higher Low Response Scores—are hard-to-survey for different reasons. Learning about each hard-to-survey area allows the Census Bureau and local Complete Count Committees to create a tailored communication and partnership campaign, and to plan for field resources to help improve response rates.
The LRS is synonymous with "predicted mail non-response rate." As an example, an LRS value of 31.9 should be interpreted as 31.9% of households in that census tract are predicted to NOT self-respond to the decennial census.

23. Collection Geography - Regional Census Centers
The six Regional Census Centers are located in New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, and Los Angeles. You also have a copy of this map in your materials. Note that Alaska and Hawaii are part of the Los Angeles Region, and Puerto Rico is part of the New York Region.
Now we zoom in…

24. Area Census Offices - SC
Temporary Offices Scheduled to Open Later this Summer:
Greenville, SC
Columbia, SC
Charleston, SC

25. Atlanta Regional Census Center Geography Department
Contact Us
Atlanta Regional Census Center Geography Department
(470)
You have our business cards. However, these are the general numbers for our office.