CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Nearly 1,000,000 kids under the age of five in the United States, including many children in West Virginia, were not counted in the 2010 U.S. Census and a number of organizations are working to make sure that is not the case this year.
One of them is WV KIDS COUNT, an organization focused on improving the lives of West Virginia’s children which uses U.S. Census data for its annual KIDS COUNT Data Book.
“Our priority is to ensure that every kid counts in West Virginia and everyone needs to be involved in ensuring our fellow West Virginians know about and participate in the Census for our kids,” said Tricia Kingery, executive director of WV KIDS COUNT.
As of Thursday, the U.S. Census Bureau was reporting a response rate of 53.3 percent for West Virginia. That rate put the state at 48th nationally.
In 2010, 59.1 percent of all West Virginians responded to the U.S. Census.
This year, thus far, the counties with the highest response rates were Jefferson, Wood, Berkeley, Hancock and Pleasants.
Jefferson County was at 68 percent.
The lowest response rates were in these counties: McDowell, Pocahontas, Mingo, Pendleton and Logan.
McDowell County was as 22.5 percent.
Nationally, the response rate was 61.7 percent.
This year’s U.S. Census will determine how many U.S. representatives West Virginia has in the coming years.
There are currently three U.S. House seats for the Mountain State.
“A lot is at stake this year, possibly more than in years past,” Kingery said.
Not responding to the U.S. Census costs the Mountain State about $2,755 per capita in federal funding for roads, healthcare, education and food, according to information from WV KIDS COUNT.
Programs that rely on U.S. Census data to determine funding include SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Head Start/Early Head Start, Medicaid, Medicare Part B and Section 8 Project-Based Housing.
“The way we’re living, with the COVID crisis that we’re under, every dollar counts so we want to make sure that all the dollars go where they need to go to help improve the lives of children in West Virginia,” Kingery said.
More information on how to respond to the U.S. Census was posted HERE.