The National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (NACDD) congratulates the over 12,000 advocates who wrote in to the Census Bureau objecting to proposed changes to data collection on disability and questions related to the household roster for the American Community Survey (ACS) and Puerto Rico Community Survey (PRCS). This week, the Census Bureau announced that due to concerns raised by the disability community, it would not move forward with their proposal that would have severely undercounted the disability population and undermined the diligent efforts of disability rights activists and federal agencies who have worked collaboratively to address flawed data on disability prevalence in our country.
“This decision by the Census Bureau is the direct result of robust advocacy by the disability community, including NACDD and 41 state councils on developmental disabilities, that opposed the changes,” said Robin Troutman, Interim Executive Director, NACDD. “Data and evidence are key tools for communities, policymakers, and other practitioners working to improve the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We will continue to hold the Census Bureau accountable to people with disabilities who need reliable data about us.”
Additionally, the Census Bureau committed to bring together various stakeholders in the disability community, federal agencies, researchers, data users and others to discuss data needs and data uses surrounding the topic of disability. NACDD will be following up with Census and continuing to engage in this very important policy issue. You can read the full Census Bureau statement here.
“The Census Bureau’s decision to abandon the flawed data methodology and recommit to engaging stakeholders with disabilities in decisions that impact their lives is an example of how advocacy the state developmental disability councils and other organizations can make a difference,” said Troutman.
