The looming danger of a census undercount in 2020 would present a serious
threat to Oregon children.

Already, 12 percent of Oregon kids under five years old are at risk of being
missed in the census as federal programs that support child well-being are in
jeopardy, according to the 2018 KIDS COUNT Data Book released June 28 by
the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

Oregon ranks 30th in the nation in overall child well-being. While Oregon
continues to lead the majority of states in children’s health care coverage,
improvements in education have lagged with Oregon ranking 48th in the
nation in high school education. Additionally, Oregon is far behind much of the
country in enrolling young children in early education programs.

“Systemic barriers and inequities both past and present have left us with an
uneven playing field,” said Tonia Hunt, executive director of Children First for
Oregon. “Deep disparities ... persist for children of color, low-income children,
children in immigrant families and children in rural communities.”

An improperly funded census will only contribute to these disparities.

“We can achieve an inclusive survey by building and strengthening strategic
community partnerships, spreading awareness, and removing questions
related to citizenship status in order to safeguard the efficacy of the 2020
census,” Miranda Rabuck, communications director of Children First for
Oregon wrote in an email to The Mountain Times. “It isn’t too late to conduct
a census that provides proper funding, representation, and programs that
support the healthy development of kids.”

Census outreach efforts face daunting challenges, with children in
underserved communities most at risk of being undercounted. These same
children also stand to suffer the most in the event that vital programs face
reductions in funding.

“More than $2 billion in federal funds are allocated each year to programs in
Oregon such as Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and
Head Start using census-derived data,” Hunt said. “An inaccurate census
could put these funds – and the essential resources they provide for
communities – at risk.”

This data should prompt urgency from policymakers and communities to do
right by our kids, Hunt added. “Children lack political power and
representation. It’s up to all of us to ensure all kids are counted and
considered national and state priorities.”