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Thursday, July 25, 2019

Government Accountability Office warns that the Census Bureau hasn't prepared enough for next year's count

At a congressional hearing Wednesday, a top federal watchdog agency warned that the Census Bureau has not adequately tested the planned changes in its data-collecting methods for the next census, which will be taken in less than a year, Andrea Noble reports for Route Fifty.

Compliance in past years has relied on door-to-door efforts. In 2020, residents will be encouraged to fill out the questionnaire online, but that could result in areas being undercounted if they don't have good broadband access, among other things, Noble writes.

"These innovations show promise for controlling costs but they also introduce new risks in part because they have not been tested extensively, if at all, in earlier enumerations," Government Accountability Office official Robert Goldenkoff said during the hearing. "Without sufficient testing across a range of geographic locations, housing types, living arrangements and demographic groups, operational problems can go undiscovered and the opportunities to refine procedures and systems could be lost."

Goldkoff also warned that the Census Bureau is running short on time before key operations begin, and said the bureau must devote more attention to developing and implementing cybersecurity and IT system improvements. The GAO issued a report Wednesday detailing its findings.

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