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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 03232010 - SD.9RECOMMENDATION(S): ACCEPT status report from the Contra Costa County Complete County Core Committee on the 2010 Census outreach campaign, as recommended by the Conservation and Development Director. FISCAL IMPACT: There is very limited funding available to support Census outreach activities. The county was able to secure a grant from the State in the amount of $23,750. Every effort is made to utilize existing resources. Over $400 billion in federal grants are alocated to communities every year using census data. A significant undercount in Contra Costa would jeopardize our federal funding. The county stands to lose approximately $12,000 in funding for each person not counted. BACKGROUND: In October 6, 2009 (SD.7), the Board adopted Resolution No. 2009/476 proclaiming the Board’s support for the 2010 Census and convening the Contra Costa County Complete Count Committee (C6) to kick-off the countywide outreach efforts. Supervisor Susan A. Bonilla was chairing the committee of this effort. The mission of the committee is to APPROVE OTHER RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE Action of Board On: 03/23/2010 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER Clerks Notes: VOTE OF SUPERVISORS AYE:John Gioia, District I Supervisor Gayle B. Uilkema, District II Supervisor Susan A. Bonilla, District IV Supervisor Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor ABSENT:Mary N. Piepho, District III Supervisor Contact: Catherine Kutsuris (925) 335-1221 I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown. ATTESTED: March 23, 2010 David J. Twa, County Administrator and Clerk of the Board of Supervisors By: June McHuen, Deputy cc: SD. 9 To:Board of Supervisors From:Catherine Kutsuris, Conservation & Development Director Date:March 23, 2010 Contra Costa County Subject:Status report from the Contra Costa County Complete Count Core Committee on the 2010 Census Outreach Campaign promote the Census across the county to ensure the highest response rate from our residents. Special focus is given to our hardest to count population which include people who fall in any of these categories: immigrants, minorities, non-English speaking, low income, homeless, youth/transients. County staff members from DCD, CAO, EHSD, HSD and Office of Communication and Media/CCTV have been diligently working with the US Census Bureau to raise awareness of the importance of the Census. With very limited resources, we have made great progress in reaching communities across the county to bring the census message to the forefront. Below are some of the committee’s accomplishments and highlights: BACKGROUND: (CONT'D) Community and Faith-Based Outreach • Hosted 4 workshops across the county (West, Central, East, Far East) to bring in various community groups to partner with us in this endeavor. Partnered with the City of Concord to host the Central Co. workshop. • Hosted faith-based breakfast workshops in East and West to engage our faith-based leaders to help us spread the message to their faith community. The support of faith-based leaders is crucial as they are trusted messengers. • Provided Census background information and literature to over 900 members from various Community Based Organizations, Faith Based Organizations, and local government agencies that will empower them to help spread the message in their own communities. • County and/or US Census Bureau staff attended various local community events (Monument Health Fair, Pittsburg Seafood Festival, etc) to distribute Census promotional materials. • Issued a mini grant announcement inviting community agencies and cities to collaborate on community projects/events that will promote the census message to the Hard to Count population, to be funded by our State census grant. Several proposals have been received and are being reviewed for funding, including 2 communitywide events to coincide with the statewide "Be Californian, Be Counted" day on March 20. • Participated in the US Census Bureau’s Census Road Tour kick-off event in Richmond and Concord. • Coordinated with Ambrose Park and Recreation District and a Pacific Islander community group to organize a Census Cultural Faire in Bay Point on March 27. • Worked with the Contra Costa Historical Society in Martinez to create a window display on Main Street in Martinez that will carry the Census theme. Partnership with other Local Governments • County and Census staff also made presentations to the following cities and local government agencies: *All East County MAC *Rodeo MAC *Bethel Island MAC *Pleasant Hill Citizen Engagement *City of Concord *City of Richmond *City of San Pablo • The following cities have sent their staff to one of our Census workshops: Antioch, Brentwood, Concord, Pleasant Hill, Richmond, San Pablo, and San Ramon Homeless Outreach The Census Homeless Team has met multiple times with Anka Behavioral Health Inc., to coordinate their efforts to include the homeless population in the 2010 Census. Anka has offered consultation on appropriate ways to approach the homeless population and considerations for safety of the Census takers as well as persons living in encampments. Anka has also assisted with mapping areas in Contra Costa County that have been used as campsites. The Multi-Service Centers in East, West, and Central County will be hosting drop boxes for persons wanting to drop off their forms. We have hosted 5 days of employment testing to employ people who would focus specifically on counting the homeless population. The people who have tested for employment are waiting to hear if they will be hired. Outreach to Schools • Organized a poster contest for K-12 Contra Costa students to help promote awareness of Census in schools and we worked with the Contra Costa Office of Education to publicize the poster contest among their school districts. Several posters have been received and are displayed at 651 Pine Street. • The Census Bureau has a separate “Census in Schools” campaign and we are coordinating efforts with this group. Private Sector Outreach • Presentations have been made to various local chamber of commerce and local civic organizations including the West County Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club of Orinda and Antioch Chamber of Commerce. Media Outreach and Strategies • Local tags have been added to the English and Spanish Public Service Announcements (PSAs) from US Census Bureau and will run extensively on CCTV from February through April. • Health Services, in collaboration with OCM/CCTV, produced two community education shows, “Get Ready, Get Healthy” and “Vida Sana En Vivo” that focus on the Census. Both shows will air on CCTV all of March through April. The two shows will also air on KCRT Richmond and City of Concord Channels. The shows provide significant information about the census. • Issued press release on the County website and County Twitter account for Census 2010 count and the poster contest. • Media subcommittee working with Comcast Newsmakers to produce a local show to air on April 1. • Participated in “Encuentro en la Bahía”, a Spanish language public affairs show produced by Univision Television. The interview aired on Univision 14 KDTV and their sister station TeleFutura 66 KFSF. The audio portions of the show aired on Radio Informativa. Outreach to County Staff and Clients • Distributed census posters to various departments. Departments that have committed to display census posters include: Clerk-Recorder, EHSD, Libraries, Health Services, Sheriff, Department of Child Support Services, and General Services. • CAO issued memo to all Department Heads seeking support for the county census campaign by informing staff of the significance of census to funding county programs and urging their participation. • Included census-related articles on the Fall 2009 and Winter 2010 County Clips. • Distributed article on Census 2010 to County Dept newsletter authors/ Public Information Officers for inclusion in their newsletters. To date, HSD and Sheriff staff newsletters, and Public Works’ online staff bulletin board have included census information. • Tapped county programs that serve the Hard to Count population (such as WIC, SIT, GA, etc) in spreading the census message. • Regular presentations and census updates are being provided to child welfare social workers and their partner community organizations to empower them in assisting their clients with the census form. • EHSD included a census bilingual flyer insert in their March bulk mailing to CalWorks, GA, MediCal and Foodstamps clients. • Several of our libraries and one stop career centers will serve as Questionnaire Assistance Centers (QACs) for the census. Efforts to Secure Funding • The committee successfully applied for a $23,750 grant from the State to help us in our Census campaign, and a good portion of the grant will be used as mini grants to fund outreach activities targeting the hard-to-count population. • DCD committed $2,000 of their FY 2009/10 budget to help with census outreach. • Sup. Glover has committed $2,700 of Keller Canyon fund to fund some of the outreach activities in East County. • Supervisor Piepho has expressed support for utilizing up to $25,000 (from the Livable Communities Trust) for Census outreach activities. • We are exploring with other District Offices to make additional funding available for the Census campaign. • We are exploring possible funding from other departments. What else could we do if additional funding is made available: • Secure ad spots in local cinemas to provided information to our mainstream population • Purchase census street banners (not available through the US Census Bureau) • Coordinate a census event targeting day laborers and migrant workers Conclusion The hard work and commitment of county staff involved in the census project, along with the strong partnership forged with the US Census Bureau and dedicated community groups, has allowed the County Complete Count Committee to accomplish our goal of spreading the census message to our hard to count population. Census Day is April 1. We encourage everyone to complete and mail their Census forms.