Changes to the Census will shortchange our children | Arkansas Democrat Gazette

A commentary from Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families warns that proposed changes to the 2030 U.S. Census could undercount children and reduce funding for states. The piece argues that census data drives federal distributions tied to programs such as Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, the National School Lunch Program, childcare block grants, and transit grants, noting Arkansas receives about $10 billion annually based on its count. The authors say Arkansas had the highest undercount in the 2020 Census and estimate the state could have gained about $5 billion more over a decade if counted correctly. They criticize two proposed approaches: cross-checking census forms with tax records to confirm “usual residence,” which could miss people whose tax addresses differ from where they live, and limiting the count to citizens and green-card holders, potentially excluding others.