King County announced on Sept. 23 that it is investing $50,000 for a strategic push in the final weeks of the 2020 Census to ensure a fair count of all King County residents, and help boost return rates in SeaTac and Tukwila.
The funds are targeted to areas of the County where self-response rates have yet to reach their 2010 Census self-response rates. Somali Health Board, Entre Hermanos, Refugee Women’s Alliance, Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle, and Coalition of Immigrants, Refugees & Communities of Color each received $10,000 to conduct outreach and engagement efforts in order to increase the region’s participation rates.
“Every community must be fairly and fully counted so that all King County residents receive their fair share of funding and political representation based on the Census,” said Executive Dow Constantine. “I want to thank Councilmember Dave Upthegrove for championing these additional funds and the entire County Council for their support.”
As of Sept. 20, the self-response rates for South King County are promising, with the cities of Tukwila, Federal Way, Auburn, Kent, Burien, and Renton surpassing their 2010 rates. The community-based strategic investments will help promote participation in SeaTac and throughout south King County to ensure a fair and accurate count of all county residents.