It is hard to overstate the importance of ensuring a full and accurate count for the upcoming 2020 Census. The Commonwealth receives $26 billion annually in Census-directed funds, which includes funding for critical needs like healthcare, infrastructure, housing, rural communities, and local municipalities. For 2020, the risk and consequences of an undercount - especially for children, immigrants, people of color, and low-income and rural households - are higher than ever.
First, the Census provides critical data that funders, the public sector and others rely on to inform decisions about how resources are allocated. Second, Pennsylvania’s Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) is calculated on a per-capita basis for programs that have shared federal/ state funding, such as Medicaid. This means that if Pennsylvania undercounts its lower-income communities, the federal share of Pennsylvania’s public-sector funding to serve those communities will be less than it should be for an entire decade.
Should the 2020 Census to fail to capture the population in Pennsylvania’s hard-to-count communities, the Commonwealth could see a substantial reduction in federal funds. Join us for an update on national, statewide and local activities currently being undertaken – and where philanthropy can continue to play a role – to ensure a fair and accurate census count.
Jocelyn Bissonnette, Director of the Funders Census Initiative at FCCP will be with us to provide a national overview. Erin Casey, Executive Director of Pennsylvania Voice and Jo Lin, Coalition Manager of Keystone Counts, will provide an overview of state-wide activities. Finally, we have invited several funders from across the state to share about their investments and work taking place in their communities. Before the session concludes, it will be opened up to all participants for Q&A and for an opportunity to share and discuss the Census-related work in which they are engaged.