Key Findings Qualitative analysis revealed five overarching themes across the focus groups with related subthemes. Findings across all groups consistently underscored the importance of understanding the purpose of the Census but also reinforced the challenges of participation, including the mode of information collection, as well as the concern for how the data will be shared and used. The five key findings are related to:
Awareness:
Increasing awareness of the purpose of the census will increase
participation.
Information use: Residents need to understand how the data collected by the census is used, especially in ways that impact their lives.
Privacy: Concerns for privacy and data sharing among government agencies may discourage participation.
Census process: The online method for census completion will be challenging for large segments of the population.
Outreach channels: Miami’s diverse population necessitates the design of targeted messages and the deployment of various communication channels.
Finding 1: Increasing awareness of the census purpose will increase participation.
Almost all but a few participants agreed that census responsiveness is directly linked to awareness. As one participant put it, "knowledge is power," meaning that the more people knew about the census, the more empowered they would be to make the right choice. Participants in the online survey distributed to Miami-Dade County residents were all asked how familiar they were with the U.S. Census. Of those participants, 14.7% stated that they were not very familiar or not at all familiar with the U.S. Census. While most of the focus group participants were aware of the census, there were two specific groups that lacked awareness. Participants in their late twenties and early thirties, even if they had heard about the census, were not aware of what information it collects and for what purposes. At the time of the 2010 Census, some younger participants were not living in households of their own, and the census was likely completed by other adult family members. Some of the focus group participants were also recent immigrants, for whom the census was completely unknown. These characteristics – age and length of residence in the “People who are not aware will country – are consistent predictors of census awareness. not complete the census because there hasn’t been a call For example, in the Overtown focus group, which included to action.” – Female, Homestead residents of the downtown area and Liberty City, 8/12 participants had filled out the census in the past. Those who had not, were either too young or not in the country during the last census.
Hard-to-Count Area Focus Group Report
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