On Wednesday May 9^th, the US Census Bureau and California Complete Count staff hosted a Regional Readiness Assessment Convening at the Beale Library. Rolling out the timeline for the 2020 census, the speakers shared changes in the administration of the census, the need for local organizations and individuals to collaborate to ensure hard to reach populations are counted, and employment opportunities for local residents.

At this point, the focus is on outreach to hard to reach populations, starting with assembling a diverse network of local organizations that will work together with their respective constituencies to get the word out that every Californian needs to be counted. Without an accurate count, California and Kern County will not receive adequate funding for public services such as schools, health care, and infrastructure. Even our voice at the national level is impacted because the Census count determines how many Representatives California has in Congress. In addition, many Census-related job opportunities will be available for Kern residents over the next two years; ranging from management positions to door-to-door neighborhood canvasing teams. For the first time, an electronic version of the census will be available, allowing individuals to complete the information on-line. Stay tuned as we near 2020!