Dora the Explorer Promotes the Census
The Census Bureau has enlisted Dora the Explorer to spread its message that the Census counts babies and children. In a new video, Dora proclaims that counting small children on Census forms “helps us get important things in our town, like day care centers, schools, and more.”
Dora didn’t discover the connection between Census data and federal spending on her own. The Census Bureau is itself emphasizing the link between counting kids and spending:
“The adults among themselves sometimes forget the census is about everyone, and kids should be counted,” said Census Bureau director Robert Groves. “If we fail to count a newborn that is born this month, that newborn misses all the benefits of the census for 10 years.”
If you forget to count your newborn on this year’s form, does that mean your baby won’t get to attend a publicly funded daycare or school for the next decade? Obviously not. So, what “benefits of the Census” are the uncounted babies missing out on?
