The Results of the 2020 Decennial Census are likely to Help Guide the Allocation of More Than $9 Billion in Federal Spending for Kentucky
Rebecca Tucker, Data Analyst, Member, Madison County Chapter of Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, and Phil Sparks, Co-Director, Census Project
(Frankfort, KY, Tuesday, November 21, 2017) – The results of the 2020 Decennial Census are likely to help guide the allocation of more than $9 billion in federal spending for Kentucky each year, according to a new study from George Washington University. The project is called “Counting for Dollars.” The report contains a 50-state listing of funds directed annually to state and local governments by census data for health care, Head Start, roads and highway, school lunch programs, housing assistance, and a variety of other programs. A summary of the national findings calculated $589.7 billion in Census-directed funding from 16 federal programs.
Rebecca Tucker, a member of the Madison County chapter of Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, discusses why the Census results are so critical.
SOUNDBITE:
THERE ARE SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS THAT CENSUS INFORMATION GETS UTILIZED. I WORK AS A DATA ANALYST AND WE USE DATA TO COMMUNICATE THE REALITIES OF OUR SERVICE REGION AND THE DATA IS DEFINITELY A KEY PART OF OUR APPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND FEDERAL GRANTS. IF THE CENSUS IS NOT EFFECTIVELY ADMINISTERED IT WILL HAMPER THE EFFORTS OF NONPROFITS LIKE MINE AND AGENCIES TO SERVE. I THINK THAT A POORLY RUN CENSUS WILL NOT NECESSARILY HALT THESE SERVICES, THE WORK THAT WE DO, BUT IF THERE’S A DEARTH OF GOOD DATA IT WILL TAKE MORE TIME TO COLLECT THE INFORMATION THAT WE NEED AND THIS WILL HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE TIME DEDICATED TOWARDS DIRECT SERVICES.
Phil Sparks of the Census Project says Kentucky has a lot at stake in this debate.
SOUNDBITE:
KENTUCKY HAS A LOT TO LOSE IN THE CURRENT FUNDING DEBATE OVER THE FUNDING FOR THE TWENTY-TWENTY CENSUS AND THAT’S BECAUSE THE CENSUS DATA HELPS ALLOCATE ABOUT NINE BILLION DOLLARS IN FEDERAL SPENDING EACH YEAR THROUGH THE NUMBERS THAT ARE GENERATED BY THE DECENNIAL CENSUS. UNFORTUNATELY, CONGRESS HAS NOT SUPPORTED FULL PLANNING MONIES FOR THE TWENTY-TWENTY CENSUS AND THEREFORE IT MAY NOT BE FAIR AND IT MAY NOT BE ACCURATE. THIS MEANS THAT THE STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS MAY BE AT RISK BECAUSE IT’S NOT A FAIR AND ACCURATE CENSUS AND WILL SHORT-CHANGE KENTUCKY.
For more information, please visit https://gwipp.gwu.edu/counting-dollars-role-decennial-census-geographic-distribution-federal-funds