US Census kicks off in March

2020 marks the start of the United States Census with a kick off in March for questionnaires delivered in the mail and the opportunity to do self-response for the census through the internet or by phone.

April 1, canvassers will begin going door to door for those who did not respond either by mail or through the internet.

Judy Carswell, the organizational head for Hot Springs County worked to form a committee in June and they have been getting the word out about the upcoming project through attending meetings around the county as well as setting up booths to make people aware the count is coming at various events over the holidays and even at school ball games.

Local citizens will be used as much as possible with the door to door canvassing and there are job openings available for $17 per hour for census takers.

There are no set hours as a census taker, so it's a perfect opportunity for retirees, students or just someone looking for a little extra income over the next few months. Training to be a census taker is paid as well.

Folks are advised, however, to be on guard against fraudulent census forms and emails.

The US Census Bureau will never ask for money and the surveys will always be postmarked from the US Department of Commerce, US Census Bureau.

Legitimate census questions will never include what your social security number is, ask for donation, nor ask for banking or credit card information.

It is important that every person in Hot Springs County be counted during 2020 as that information is used for a number of things, including how much federal or state monies a community may obtain, is used for development and planning for public services, roads, schools, health care and new businesses.

For more information on what the census collects, what those numbers are used for or any other information about the census, you may go online at 2020census.gov.

For more information on what you can do to help locally or to find out more about the job opportunities available as census takers in Hot Springs County, please contact Carswell at 864-9338 or on the Hot Springs County Wyoming 2020 Census page on Facebook.