As part of the 2018 Census Test, Service-Based Enumeration is conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau to refine its methods and procedures for counting people who are experiencing homelessness or receiving services at a service-based facility (e.g. soup kitchens and regularly scheduled mobile food vans).

During the Service-Based Enumeration for the 2018 Census Test, we will count people who receive services at the following types of locations:

• Emergency and Transitional Shelters for People Experiencing Homelessness where people experiencing homelessness stay overnight. These include shelters that operate on a first-come, first-served basis where people must leave in the morning and have no guaranteed bed for the next night, shelters where people know they have a bed for a specified period of time, even if they leave the building every day, and places that provide temporary shelter during extremely cold weather (such as churches). Examples include missions, hotels and motels used as shelters, and places for children who are runaways, neglected, or experiencing homelessness.
• Soup Kitchens that offer meals for people experiencing homelessness. These places may use service lines or serve bag or box lunches.
• Regularly Scheduled Mobile Food Vans that visit certain locations to provide food to people experiencing homelessness.
• Targeted Non-Sheltered Outdoor Locations where people experiencing homelessness live without paying to stay.

The Service-Based Enumeration for the 2018 Census Test will occur from July 25, 2018, through July 27, 2018.

The Service-Based Enumeration for the 2018 Census Test will be conducted in Providence County, Rhode Island.

The Service-Based Enumeration interview with each person for the 2018 Census Test will take approximately 10 minutes.

Service-Based Enumeration for the 2018 Census Test will study respondent information collection using the individual census questionnaire, procedures to prevent duplication of records of individuals, and determine the number of staff needed for this effort in the 2020 Census.

Yes, a respondent is required to participate in the 2018 Census Test by completing the census questionnaire. Enumerators will visit each service-based location to collect respondent data or interview people.

The type of data collected for the Service-Based Enumeration for the 2018 Census Test are name, sex, date of birth, age on Census Day, Hispanic origin, race, and an alternate address where they live or stay when not at a facility.

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 of taxpayers’ money are 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 with requested data for all individuals living or staying in your facility.