Ohio – The debate about adding a citizenship question to the 2020 census isn’t the only concern some advocates have with the count. Child advocates are trying to make sure that Ohio does its part in counting everyone, especially children under the age of five.  If the count for children is inaccurate this time around, it could mean big losses for Ohio when it comes to federal funding for education.

Executive Director of the Children's Defense Fund Tracy Najera is one of many, who are hoping Ohio takes the lead on getting an accurate 2020 Census count. That's because federal dollars that all states typically receive for programs are on the line. "There have been some studies that have been done that show that every individual that's missed, it could mean $1200 dollars in missed federal funding per person."

While that is significant, what stands out is the fact that federal money for education distributed to Ohio, would be reduced if the state census count is inaccurate. 

Najera says she doesn't want to see a repeat of 2010, where 21,000 children under the age of five were not counted, accounting for a $26 million dollar loss for Ohio. That's according to the Partnership for America's Children, Count All Kids. “In fact, that population of children were part of the most missed population in the 2010 census."

The Ohio Department of Education says that an inaccurate count would impact communities for the next ten years if reports show fewer people and less poverty in the state than actually exists. So money that's poured into,

Special Education
Teacher Training
Technology
School Lunch Assistance
Head Start
Title I Funds
After-School Programs

would see the biggest reductions. As a result, efforts to assist children in poverty or those needing early childhood education resources would suffer, while the need grows. 

Najera says, there's a number of reasons why the count could be off. 

"You have young children if the parents are divorced or the child is living with grandparents, and they're young, they might think well the other spouse or the other parent was counting them on their census form. Or for the grandparents, well the parents are counting them. " But that's why there's a push to get it right, by rallying faith communities, non-profits and even childcare facilities to assist in sharing information so that as many people as possible are counted. 

If you're looking to assist with the 2020 census or want someone to come speak in your community as a way to provide more information about the census, log ontohttps://www.ohiocensus.org/.