1) May 1 [press release]: Census Bureau Seeks Public Comment on Test of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Questions
https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2024/test-sogi-questions.html
2) Apr 29 FRN -- The Census Bureau invites the public to submit comments to OMB by May 30, 2024 regarding the American Community Survey Methods Panel: 2024 Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) Test.
The American Community Survey (ACS) is an ongoing monthly survey that collects detailed housing and socioeconomic data from a sample of about 3.5 million addresses in the United States and about 36,000 addresses in Puerto Rico each year, where it is known as the Puerto Rico Community Survey (PRCS). The ACS also collects detailed socioeconomic data from a sample of residents living in group quarters (GQ) facilities in the United States and Puerto Rico. Resulting tabulations from this data collection are provided on a yearly basis. The ACS allows the U.S. Census Bureau to provide timely and relevant housing and socioeconomic statistics, even for low levels of geography.
The ACS conducts research, testing, and evaluations, through its Methods Panel program, aimed at improving the survey. The ACS Methods Panel is a research program designed to address and respond to survey issues and needs.
The Census Bureau requests authorization from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to revise the previous authorization for the ACS Methods Panel to conduct a test of new content to the survey, called the 2024 ACS Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) Test. The information collected in the 2024 ACS SOGI test will be used to evaluate the quality of data from questions on sexual orientation and gender identity. The research will inform recommendations for potential production ACS implementation on question wording and response options, whether a confirmation question is asked of everyone or only of those people with discrepant responses for sex at birth and current gender identity, and the style of write-in boxes to use for internet respondents. Federal agencies have expressed interest in and identified legal uses for this information, including civil rights and equal employment enforcement.
The information collected in the 2024 ACS SOGI test will be used to evaluate the quality of data from questions on sexual orientation and gender identity. The research will inform recommendations for potential production ACS implementation on question wording and response options, whether a confirmation question is asked of everyone or only of those people with discrepant responses for sex at birth and current gender identity, and the style of write-in boxes to use for internet respondents. The data will also be used to produce descriptive statistics on the test topics, assess the impact on other questions on the survey that have changed, and gain insight into terminology by analyzing write-in responses and responses to qualitative questions asked in the test. Data will be assessed by mode of response as well as type of respondent (proxy or self-reported data), in addition to other sub-groups of interest.
Because the questions being tested under this clearance have yet to be asked in the American Community Survey, the data gathered will not be considered official statistics of the Census Bureau or other Federal agencies. Test results will be included in research reports that will be published on the Census Bureau's website. Results may also be prepared for presentations at professional meetings and conferences or for publication in professional journals. All published test results will be statistical products that contain only aggregated data that do not reveal individual responses.
In 2023, the Census Bureau received requests from federal agencies to add content to the ACS on sexual orientation and gender identity. These requests included federal statutes that require data on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex (LGBTQI+) individuals, including the Violence Against Women Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the Fair Housing Act of 1968, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act, and the Violent Crime and Law Enforcement Act of 1994.
The OMB Interagency Committee for the ACS, co-chaired by OMB and the Census Bureau, includes more than 30 participating federal agencies and meets periodically to examine and review ACS content. This committee provides an extra safeguard to ensure that other agencies are aware of the ACS content and do not duplicate its collection and content with other surveys.
The ACS Methods Panel program is the only field-testing vehicle for the ACS. There is no other program designed to improve the ACS. Testing for the ACS builds on research conducted for other surveys and by other statistical agencies. Staff from the ACS program meet regularly with staff working on other demographic surveys to share test plans and research results. Proposals for content changes in the ACS also frequently build on research conducted for other federal surveys.
SOGI data are not collected on any federal survey that can provide the data at low levels of geography like the ACS is designed to do. The proposed questions being tested in the 2024 ACS SOGI Test build on existing research conducted by federal agencies (including guidance from OMB Recommendations on the Best Practices for the Collection of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Data on Federal Statistical Surveys), thus not duplicating effort.
The Census Bureau published a notice of our intent to conduct the 2024 Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Test for the ACS in the September 19, 2023, edition (Vol. 88, No. 180, pages 64404-64407) of the Federal Register (regulations.gov Docket ID USBC-2023-0007-0001). The Census Bureau received 91 public comments on this information collection submission. A summary of the comments received and the Census Bureau’s response are below. Note that the count of comments below sums to more than 91 as one public comment could contain several statements or suggestions. . . . [See pp. 7-17 of Supporting Statement Part A at
https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewDocument?ref_nbr=202404-0607-003]
The 2024 ACS SOGI Test will begin with self-response data collection in August 2024. Content Follow-up (CFU) Reinterview data collection will begin a few weeks later, with data collection for self-response and CFU expected to end in the late 2024/early 2025. Data collected in the test will be coded and analyzed after data collection ends. The Census Bureau will publish at least one report discussing the results of the test roughly 18 months later. This timing allows time to code write-in responses, conduct thorough analysis, document the findings accurately, and apply disclosure protections to the summary report.
The timing of the Nonresponse follow-up data collection with a CFU followup reinterview is still being determined. Data collection for the test is expected to last for several months because of the workload once it begins. A separate report will be produced for the nonresponse follow-up portion of the test approximately 18 months after the completion of data collection. It is expected that the nonresponse followup portion of the test would start no earlier than the spring of 2025.
ACS:
https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
Census submission to OMB:
https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=202404-0607-003 Click on IC List for survey instruments, View Supporting Statement for technical documentation. Submit comments through this site.
FRN:
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2024-09101
For AEA members wishing to submit comments, "A Primer on How to Respond to Calls for Comment on Federal Data Collections" is available at
https://www.aeaweb.org/content/file?id=5806