Texas Communities Count

As part of the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health’s 80th Anniversary initiative, the foundation awarded a total of $2.1 million in grant funds to a total of 28 organizations to support complete count efforts in Texas for the 2020 U.S. Census. The goal is to encourage participation in the 2020 Census so that every person in Texas is counted.

28 organization were awarded amounts from $7,000-$125,0000 to reach traditionally hard-to-count (HTC) populations, communities and geographic areas throughout the state. A separate grant was awarded to the Center for Public Policy Priorities to provide a learning community structure for all the organizations who received an award.

The foundation has joined the Communities Foundation of Texas and other funders to participate in a statewide Texas Counts Pooled Fund to support additional funding for local communities’ outreach efforts.

The foundation has also partnered with Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc. to co-fund four of the 28 organizations that received funds for the initiative. The funds support these organizations’ complete count efforts in Texas for the 2020 U.S. Census. Methodist Healthcare Ministries generously gifted the Hogg Foundation a $210,000 grant to support the four grantees. Thanks to their gift, the availability of funds for other worthy projects was significantly expanded.

Background

Every 10 years since 1790, the U.S. Census Bureau conducts a constitutionally mandated count of every person living in the nation. An accurate and complete census is necessary to determine fair allocation of federal dollars for resources, services and infrastructure that support our everyday quality of life. The census determines the allocation of congressional districts and redistricting boundaries for every level of government; helps schools, transportation and healthcare industries plan; and supports business decisions on economic investment, expansions and where to locate jobs. The census also impacts the formula used to determine the federal government’s share of Texas Medicaid costs. Without a complete count during the 2020 Census, Texas will face unprecedented challenges, losing both resources and representation for at least a decade.

Approximately 93 percent of the 254 counties in Texas are designated as health professional shortage areas (HPSA). This designation supports communities that lack access to primary care and mental health professionals by offering incentives to attract health care workers. Currently, there are more than 30 federal and state programs which use the HPSA designation to determine eligibility. A study by George Washington University (GWU) indicated Texas receives $59.4 billion dollars per year through 55 federal programs that support key social safety net programs. Additionally, the report indicated our state is at risk of losing an estimated $291 million of federal funding per year if there were to be an undercount of our state’s residents.

In particular, hard-to-count (HTC) communities—persons who typically do not get captured by census data—stand the most to lose from an inaccurate count. According to the GWU study, an undercount in HTC communities means a loss of approximately $1,161 per excluded person every year. That’s $11,610 over a 10-year period for every resident not counted.

The Census Bureau’s research identifies the following populations as HTC communities:

• Young children under the age of five
• Highly mobile people
• Racial and ethnic minorities
• Non-English speakers
• Low-income people
• People experiencing homelessness
• Undocumented immigrants
• People who distrust the government
• Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) persons
• People with mental or physical disabilities
• People who do not live in traditional housing

Questions: Contact Crystal Viagran, Director of Finance & Operations, or Emily Bhandari, Strategic Learning and Evaluation Program Officer