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City presents SF Counts plan to reach hard‑to‑count residents ahead of the 2020 Census
Summary
San Francisco officials outlined a district‑by‑district outreach plan, partnerships with community groups and an arts‑based communications campaign to boost self‑response for the 2020 Census, emphasizing help for hard‑to‑count populations beginning March 12 and Census Day April 1.
San Francisco — The Government Audit and Oversight Committee heard an update Feb. 20 on the city’s SF Counts strategy for the 2020 Census, with a focus on closing the digital and language gaps for hard‑to‑count populations.
Adrienne Pahn (OCIA) and her team described a citywide campaign that pairs tailored district outreach and trusted local messengers with an arts‑based public communications effort. The city will provide more than 30 community help centers (listed on sfcounts.org) where residents can receive language assistance, internet access or in‑person help to complete the nine‑question survey. The self‑response period opens March 12; Census Day is April 1.
OCIA described partnerships with the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing for outreach to people experiencing homelessness, with the Office of Early Care and Education for childcare provider engagement, and with ethnic media partners and community groups for multilingual messaging (including a WeChat page for Chinese‑language communities). The presentation emphasized that each resident counted is worth roughly $2,000 per year in federal funding to the city, which the presentation characterized as about $17.7 billion over the coming decade.
Community groups including Chinese for Affirmative Action and San Francisco Rising described training programs, multilingual technical assistance, targeted canvassing plans, and a pledge to reach tens of thousands of hard‑to‑count residents in the weeks leading to self‑response.
The committee filed the hearing without objection and encouraged continued outreach coordination across city departments and community partners.
