President's Message
December president’s message
Census 2020- a pediatric issue
Deborah Moss, MD, MPH, FAAP
Census 2020- a pediatric issue
Deborah Moss, MD, MPH, FAAP
Kids count! So we need to count all kids. That’s the call-to-action for the upcoming 2020 Census.
I hadn’t thought much about the U.S. Census until the controversy around immigration status arose. Then, at our chapter meeting in November, Trude Haecker shared an overview of what’s at stake related to child health with the forthcoming census.
Our nation undertakes a census count every 10 years. What we learned from the last census in 2010 was that we missed counting about 2 million children. Since allocation of federal funds is calculated based on population head counts, undercounting children has major implications, leading to insufficient funding for key programs and services for child health and well-being such as Medicaid, schools, early childcare settings, WIC, libraries, hospitals etc. Beyond these important functions, the census serves public health research and practice. Population counts provide statistics used to obtain disease prevalence and rates. Inaccurate counts limit our ability to understand and track disease over time. Accurate and demographically stratified statistics allow us to better understand the social determinants and their impact on health. According to William O’hare, PhD, a demographer with a focus on child health, census data collected in 2020 will determine how about $25 trillion federal dollars are distributed to states over the decade from 2021-2030.
There are lots of reasons for kids not getting counted:
What can pediatricians do? Here are some ideas which I hope are useful:
As always, don’t hesitate to contact me (Deborah.moss@chp.edu) or Annette (amyarick@paaap.org) with questions or ideas!
I hadn’t thought much about the U.S. Census until the controversy around immigration status arose. Then, at our chapter meeting in November, Trude Haecker shared an overview of what’s at stake related to child health with the forthcoming census.
Our nation undertakes a census count every 10 years. What we learned from the last census in 2010 was that we missed counting about 2 million children. Since allocation of federal funds is calculated based on population head counts, undercounting children has major implications, leading to insufficient funding for key programs and services for child health and well-being such as Medicaid, schools, early childcare settings, WIC, libraries, hospitals etc. Beyond these important functions, the census serves public health research and practice. Population counts provide statistics used to obtain disease prevalence and rates. Inaccurate counts limit our ability to understand and track disease over time. Accurate and demographically stratified statistics allow us to better understand the social determinants and their impact on health. According to William O’hare, PhD, a demographer with a focus on child health, census data collected in 2020 will determine how about $25 trillion federal dollars are distributed to states over the decade from 2021-2030.
There are lots of reasons for kids not getting counted:
- Children may live with grandparents or other substitute caregivers
- Children move from home to home as part of shared custody arrangements
- Families with immigrants may be fearful of sharing information with the government
- Members in a household may not all be listed on a lease
- Maybe most frequently missed is the newborn in the lap of the respondent!
What can pediatricians do? Here are some ideas which I hope are useful:
- Become informed: watch this 2 ½ minute video about the 2020 Census: #CountAllKids
- Talk to your patients about it, especially parents of newborns and others at particular risk of not being counted
- Place posters in your office: 2020 Census outreach materials
- Link up with your area census worker Find a census committee near you or partner with other organizations in your area who are involved with census promotion work
- Go to Annie E Casey Foundation census 2020 for more information
- Check out the article in the Philadelphia Inquirer by our very own PA-AAP member – Dan Taylor! Dec. 2, 2019-Philly pediatric doctor warns of hard-to-count kids
As always, don’t hesitate to contact me (Deborah.moss@chp.edu) or Annette (amyarick@paaap.org) with questions or ideas!