Census Bureau staff will call the GQ contact person to confirm the GQ address, contact information, schedule the best date for conducting the enumeration, inform GQ contacts of the various methods of enumeration, and address concerns related to privacy, confidentiality, and security. This information will help the Census Bureau plan for a successful enumeration for follow-up operations: Service-Based Enumeration (SBE) and Group Quarters Enumeration (GQE).

The Group Quarters Advance Contact (GQAC) operation will be conducted from June 18, 2018, through July 10, 2018.

The GQAC operation is conducted from the Area Census Office (ACO) in Providence County, Rhode Island.

Census Bureau workers will identify themselves with their first name, last name and will indicate they are working with the Census Bureau. Upon request, they will be able to provide you with contact information for their area census office. Please visit our webpage at www.census.gov/2018censustest/gq to learn more about the GQAC operation.

The GQAC operation interview for the 2018 Census Test will take approximately 10 minutes.

The Census Bureau will study procedures for contacting GQ administrators, obtaining facility level data, scheduling appointments, and determining the optimum staffing levels needed for this operation in the 2020 Census.

Yes. GQ contacts are asked to answer specific questions that provide details about their GQs. These questions include facility-level information (e.g., hours of operation), which enumeration option they prefer for their GQ, selecting a date and time for enumeration, and providing other details to support enumeration of the people living or staying at the GQs or using the services the GQ provides.

The type of data collected for the Group Quarters Advance Contact operation for the 2018 Census Test are the GQ address, contact information, population size, enumeration options, and the best date for conducting enumeration.

The types of enumeration methods offered during the Group Quarters Advance Contact operation for the 2018 GQE and SBE are the following:

Electronic Response Data Transfer (eResponse): The Group Quarters (GQ) contact person will be provided with a unique User ID to submit census response data to a secure portal for each person who was living or staying at the facility on Census Day.

In-person Interview: A Census Bureau worker will conduct a face-to-face interview with each person who was served or was staying at the facility on Census Day. This option is available to both SBE-GQs and non-SBE GQs.

Drop Off/Pick Up of Questionnaire: A Census Bureau worker will leave Census questionnaires with the GQ contact person for them to distribute to each person who was served or staying at the facility on Census Day. Then, a Census Bureau worker will pick up the completed forms from the contact person on another agreed upon time.

Facility Self-Enumeration: A Census Bureau worker will swear in and train the GQ contact person, and leave a census questionnaire package to conduct the enumeration for each person who was living or staying at the facility on Census Day. A Census Bureau worker will return to pick up the questionnaires at an agreed upon time. Only correctional and health care facilities can select this option.

Paper Response Data Collection: A Census Bureau worker will meet with the GQ contact person of the facility to obtain a paper listing of census response data for each person who was served or staying at the facility on Census Day. Shelters and non-service-based GQs will be allowed to select this method.

The Census Bureau is required by law to protect your information (Title 13, U.S. Code, Section 9). The Census Bureau is not permitted to publicly release your responses in a way that could identify you or your facility. We are conducting the census under the authority of Title 13, U.S. Code, Sections 141, 193, 221, and 223. Federal law protects your privacy and keeps your answers confidential (Title 13, U.S. Code, Section 9). Per the Federal Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2015, your data are protected from cybersecurity risks through screening of the systems that transmit your data. All web data submissions are encrypted in order to protect your privacy.

For more information about how we protect your information, please visit our website at census.gov and click on "Data Protection and Privacy Policy" at the bottom of the home page. This page also includes information about the collection, storage, and use of these records; click on "System of Records Notices (SORN)" and look for Privacy Act System of Records Notice COMMERCE/CENSUS-5, Decennial Census Program.

Yes, your participation is mandatory. The U.S. Constitution directs the Census Bureau to conduct a complete count of all people living in the United States every 10 years. Census information helps in determining how federal, state, local, and tribal governments make decisions affecting the people of this country and how over $675 billion per year of taxpayers’ money is allocated by government. Participating in the census is in everyone’s best interest. People who answer the census help their communities obtain state and federal funding for neighborhood improvements, such as deciding where to build schools, hospitals, and roads, or about services for the elderly, job training, and more. The best way to make sure that everyone in your facility is counted in the census is to encourage individuals living or staying in your facility to participate with Census Bureau workers in filling out the form or for you to provide a paper listing or upload a completed eResponse template with requested data for all individuals living or staying in your facility.