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Council adopts targeted Census 2000 outreach plan to count hard‑to‑reach populations
Summary
The council approved a Census 2000 outreach plan that uses state and county funds to focus on homeless, immigrant and other hard‑to‑count populations through mobile questionnaire assistance centers, housing development QACs and an expanded street enumeration effort.
The Los Angeles City Council unanimously adopted the city’s Census 2000 outreach plan, endorsing a strategy that targets hard‑to‑count populations — including the homeless, recent immigrants and people wary of government outreach — and uses state and county funding to support localized outreach efforts.
Jan Perry, executive director of the Census 2000 outreach program for the City of Los Angeles, presented the plan and said it was developed with elected officials’ offices, the city’s Complete Count Committee, community‑based organizations, social service and homeless outreach providers, and in coordination with the state and county. She said the plan meets state requirements for receiving state funds and that the city had conducted numerous outreach events and training sessions in the prior year.
Key program elements described to the council include: - Questionnaire Assistance Centers (QACs) in housing developments, with trained residents funded to assist tenants with forms; - A proposal to train and hire up to 300 homeless outreach workers to improve enumeration of people on the street and in shelters, and use incentives to support street enumeration; and - Mobile QACs: an arrangement to receive up to 10 vehicles from an automotive manufacturer for about three weeks to bring assistance directly into neighborhoods where it’s needed.
Councilmember Hernandez and others emphasized the importance of counting groups traditionally missed by mail or phone outreach (the homeless, those with immigration concerns, and people who avoid contact with authorities). Hernandez noted that state funding provided roughly $700,000 for outreach efforts to the city and county and that the city previously set aside Community Development Block Grant resources for outreach. The city attorney’s office reviewed state requirements and confirmed the plan met the eligibility criteria for state funds and audit rules.
The council approved the committee report and adopted the plan; the roll call recorded 15 ayes. Councilmembers asked staff to continue developing implementation plans and to work closely with community partners on enumerator recruitment and fingerprinting/FBI screening posed as a staffing logistic for some outreach roles.
