1) Intended Use of Administrative Records in the 2020 Census
To meet the strategic goals and objectives of the 2020 Census, the Census Bureau has made fundamental changes to the design, implementation, and management of the decennial census. These include the significantly expanded use of administrative records, third-party data, internal, and public sources (collectively referred to in this document as “administrative data”) to avoid cost, maintain quality, and improve efficiency of operations. This report identifies the uses of specific administrative records for specific 2020 Census operations, as well as for the block-level citizenship file ordered by President Trump in July 2019.
The intended uses of administrative data and the expected sources of data have evolved throughout the research and planning for the 2020 Census. This document reflects information as of May 1, 2020. It does not attempt to fully reconcile information provided in previous documents or presentations, which was current at their release. Given our changing census operations due to the corona virus pandemic, we are exploring whether additional uses are warranted. Should the uses described in this document change, we will be transparent about those changes. Additionally, we will provide final documentation with complete details of the 2020 Census administrative records effort.
Report:
https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/2020-census/planning-management/planning-docs/administrative-data-use-2020-census.html
Cover memo:
https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/2020-census/planning-management/memo-series/2020-memo-2020_06.html
2) Formal Privacy Methods in the 2020 Census
In preparation for the 2020 decennial census, the Census Bureau asked JASON to examine the scientific validity of the vulnerability that the Census Bureau discovered in its traditional approach to Disclosure Avoidance, the methods used to protect the confidentiality of respondent data. To address this vulnerability, the Census Bureau will employ differential privacy, a mathematically rigorous formal approach to managing disclosure risk. JASON judges that the analysis of the vulnerability performed by Census is scientifically valid. The use of Differential Privacy in protecting respondent data leads to the need to balance statistical accuracy with privacy loss. JASON discusses this trade-off and provides suggestions for its management.
Report:
https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/2020-census/planning-management/planning-docs/privacy-methods-2020-census.html
JASON author list:
https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/2020/program-management/planning-docs/privacy-methods-2020-census-author-list.pdf
Cover memo:
https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/2020-census/planning-management/memo-series/2020-memo-2020_07.html
Disclosure Avoidance and the 2020 Census:
https://www.census.gov/about/policies/privacy/statistical_safeguards/disclosure-avoidance-2020-census.html
