The 2020 census is imminent, and the people involved locally are preparing for the undertaking in Butler County.

As directed by the Constitution, the U.S. conducts a census of its population every 10 years. In Butler County, the census is going to be conducted through a regional office that opened in Cranberry Township this year. The earliest mailers go out in March.

Susan Licate, a media specialist for the U.S. Census Bureau, said the new innovation in their process this time is in technology. For the first time in the nation's history, Americans will have the option to respond to the census online.

“We're hopeful it'll help,” Licate said. “It makes it very easy and secure. It's much easier for folks to respond.”

The March mailers give their recipients information to either go online or call a number and respond. The online forms are encrypted, Licate said, meaning responses are safe regardless of the device used to fill out the form. Public libraries are a suitable venue for census takers wanting to use the online option.

If those early forms don't work, the bureau sends out a second mailer after April 1 — the day informally referred to as Census Day. That time, the envelopes will hold a paper form that can be filled out and mailed back to complete the census survey.

After a few attempts of mailers, Licate said, the bureau starts sending out enumerators, or counters. These workers go door to door at homes that haven't responded and attempt to track down information.

That's where the census's hiring wave comes in. Every 10 years, the census represents a seasonal work opportunity nationwide. Licate said they have hundreds of job openings for census takers in the Butler area paying $20 an hour.

Licate noted that applicants need only be 18 years old and in possession of a valid driver's license to apply. They hire people for any amount of hours, from a few weeks up to full time employment.

Jobs aside, the census' real economic impact comes over the next decade. Census data is used to determine how massive amounts of federal and state funding is allocated.

“Results of the census are what drives over $675 billion in federal funding every year for the next 10 years,” Licate said.

George Washington University's GW Institute of Public Policy released data last month showing how much funding each state received in fiscal year 2016 from 55 federal spending programs. Pennsylvania received about $40 billion.

In Butler, the Butler County Complete Count Committee is preparing for an education campaign to try and get as much of the county counted as possible.

Kiana Tralongo, one of the committee's members, said they want residents to understand that answering the census is safe, easy and important. It's your civic duty, she said.

“If the population doesn't get counted appropriately, that could decrease the amount of funding going here,” Tralongo said.

Members of the committee believe, for instance, that Zelienople was undercounted in the 2010 census, leading to fewer dollars being allocated to the town than its population should actually have warranted.

One avenue the committee is pursuing is in working with schools. They're going to hold an essay contest in middle schools across the county, along with a poster contest in elementary schools. The hope is that getting children to talk about and understand the census will also help families understand it.

They're also heavily targeting the Slippery Rock area, as universities tend to be some of the more difficult areas for the census to be conducted. Everyone is supposed to answer the survey for wherever they live, including students in campus housing. Renters should do the same.

The group has connections with 15 to 20 community groups to spread the message, Tralongo said.