A few months after the 2020 Census is carried out, the entity's representatives yesterday stressed the importance of the Latino community being made count.

The census is the count of all people living in the United States – regardless of immigration status – and is conducted every 10 years.

With the information collected you can have a better understanding of how billions of dollars of federal funds will be distributed for services and infrastructure such as schools, clinics, emergency services, roads, among others.

"The census is safe, easy and very important," said Juline Lam, regional director of the Census Bureau in Los Angeles. "Each person is counted only once," he added.

With technology

In this count for the first time people can answer your questionnaire by regular mail, phone call and even online.

This list of questions will be available in 12 languages ​​other than English.

It is estimated that around 13 million people in the United States will receive the questionnaire in Spanish. The language decision is made based on information from the main language in the home.

"We want the Hispanic community to know how important it is to participate in the 2020 Census and we want to assure you that your answers are confidential and will not be shared or used against you," said James T. Christy, deputy director of field operations at the United States Census Bureau.

He also explained that the national count is scheduled for April 1, 2020.

However, those who do not have the opportunity or cannot answer the census questionnaire on that day will receive a subsequent visit from workers or “censors” to help them with the questionnaire.

Rafael González, director of community relations at First 5 LA specifically invited low-income communities to keep the census unnoticed.

“The children of these communities have a lot to lose [if the Census is not filled],” he explained. "Food programs [such as WIC], Head Start programs, [housing] in Section 8 are lost …"

Gonzalez said that, for example, when there are not enough schools in the neighborhoods and people ask why that happens.

This happens because during the Census not all people were counted, which caused that there were not enough resources to provide the creation services of more educational centers.

It is important to remember that with each Census count you can also get more representation in Congress, create legislative boundaries, community services and more.

A survey on barriers, attitudes and motivations for the participation of people in the 2020 Census showed that Latinos are the group that most worries about the confidentiality of the answers and the possibility that they are used against them.

However, Christy said the law obliges the Census Bureau to protect the answers and that they remain strictly confidential.

"All employees take an oath for life and if they violate it they could face a penalty of up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $ 250,000 or both," he explains.

The counts for the proportional distribution of congressional districts must be sent to the president before December 31, 2020.

Work with the Census

Another important news that was mentioned was the opportunity to work for the Census Bureau. It is estimated that up to 500,000 workers will be needed to fill different positions including census counters, recruitment assistants, office employees and supervisory personnel.

To learn more about how to get a job that makes you earn extra money visit https://2020census.gov/en/jobs.html

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