The arrival of the 2020 Census also means more work for administrations who will be responsible for ensuring residents are counted correctly during this year’s process.
The Census Bureau will conduct the Group Quarters Advance Contact process to ensure all seniors “counted as accurately as possible,” LeadingAge explained in a recent blog post.
Seniors who live in nursing homes, skilled nursing facilities and inpatient hospitals are counted as group quarters and should be counted together, according to the post. Seniors who live at home, in senior housing, assisted living or the independent living section of a Life Plan are counted individually.
The process — which runs through March — takes place in three phases and includes facilities receiving an information letter on the Group Quarters Enumeration process, phone interviews with Census Bureau representatives and a possible site visits, LeadingAge said.
The agency will look to verify group quarters name, contact information, maximum population and type code during the process. They’ll also collect an expected Census Day population count, discuss preferred enumeration options and schedule an appointment for the official count.
Providers will have to do their part to ensure residents are counted accurately during this year’s 2020 Census, the organization warned. Not doing so could have implications on the amount of federal funding allotted to senior services.
“The census helps guide the allocation of federal funds. It helps channel funding to the hospitals where our older adults receive treatment and to the fire departments and EMTs that respond to emergencies in our buildings,” Jodi Eyigor, LeaingAge’s director for nursing home quality and policy, wrote.
