US Census 2020 Benefit Calculator

The early steps in this research investigated the historical context of the census and the current challenges facing hard-to-count populations. I identified key misconceptions and fears surrounding the census by engaging with people at Washington Square Park through field interviews and leveraging social media platforms for wider engagement. Some early insights show that 14 out of 21 people mistakenly believed that only citizens could participate, some expressed concerns about the digital divide affecting older family members, and some revealed fears among immigrant communities about government data collection. These insights began to shape a complex narrative between practical barriers (like digital access) and deeper emotional barriers (like government distrust) that would shape the trajectory of my research and design focus.

The research utilized a multi-layered ethnographic approach, from individual stories to community partnerships to system-level workshops. I conducted structured and semi-structured interviews with 20 immigrant families from 9 African nations, focusing on Marie Sesay, a single mother from Sierra Leone supporting multiple households. I engaged with African Organizations in New York and participated in census co-creation workshops with organizations like ABNY and Queens Library. This three-tiered approach embodies a multi-scalar framework, identifying personal, community, and systemic patterns.

The research revealed deep-rooted government distrust based on immigrants’ experiences in their countries of origin, information gaps about federal funding’s impact on daily life, and the insight that parents were more motivated by benefits to their children than by appeals to civic duty due to their socio-economic status.
Our research synthesis led to a challenge mapping activity identifying specific barriers to census participation among immigrant communities. We identified that children of color were at the highest risk of being undercounted, with nearly half a million kids in New York State alone at risk. Examining the reasons behind this undercount, we discovered systemic issues: confusion about counting children (especially young children), complicated household structures not fitting census categories, and fear of revealing family compositions among undocumented households. Through challenge mapping, we focused on immigrant families with children as both most vulnerable to undercounting and potentially responsive to intervention based on benefits to their children.
Our design intervention focused on immigrant parents in New York City, particularly those in the “warrior” stage of their immigration journey—established enough to navigate daily life but still facing significant economic and social challenges. We targeted this group based on our research insight that immigrant parents deeply distrusted government institutions but were highly motivated by opportunities to secure better futures for their children.
The Census Benefit Calculator emerged from abstract discussions about civic duty into practical, personal value propositions. By creating a transactional framing, the tool addresses the core question: “Can the risk of losing federal funds outweigh the risks of distrust towards the government?” For immigrant parents struggling with low wages, expensive rent, healthcare costs, and overcrowded schools, seeing the direct connection between census participation and solutions to these challenges proved a powerful motivator.

In prototyping, I prioritize talking with more census workers who volunteer their time to help in the census count. Insights from these sessions improved the development of a tool for efficient, 10-minute conversations between field workers and immigrant community members. We developed and tested the Census Benefit Calculator through multiple iterations, using digital prototyping tools like Invision and co-creation workshops with community members. User testing revealed the tool needed to maintain privacy (through range selections rather than specific inputs), provide immediate value (through direct program matching), and offer clear next steps (through resource connections). The implementation strategy focused on distributing the tool through trusted community partnerships rather than government channels, leveraging existing relationships with advocacy groups and community organizations. This approach recognized that the messenger was as crucial as the message—information from trusted community sources would have a greater impact than the same information from government entities.