2020 CENSUS

Bureau Is Making 

Progress Opening 

Offices and 

Recruiting, but Could 

Improve Its Ability to 

Evaluate Training 

Report to Congressional Requesters

July 2019

GAO-19-602

United States Government Accountability Office
______________________________________ United States Government Accountability Office

July 2019

2020 CENSUS

Bureau Is Making Progress Opening Offices and 

Recruiting, but Could Improve Its Ability to Evaluate 

Training 

What GAO Found

To help control the cost of the 2020 Census while maintaining accuracy, the 

Census Bureau (Bureau) is making significant changes in three areas—office 

space, recruiting and hiring, and training—compared to prior decennials. The 

Bureau is reducing its use of office space, hiring fewer census field staff, and 

adopting a blended training approach of instructor-led, computer-based, and 

hands-on training (see figure).

Comparison of Census Bureau 2010 and 2020 Logistical Activities

GAO found that the the Bureau generally appears to be positioned to carry out 

these activities as planned, if implemented properly. 

Opening offices. While the Bureau experienced early delays when regions were 

trying to find office space and acquire leases, Bureau officials said that the 

deadlines for the later phases of renovations will allow them to make up time lost. 

As of June 2019, there were signed leases for 247 of 248 offices.

Recruiting and hiring. As of June 2019, the Bureau was exceeding its recruiting 

goals for early operations, but identified challenges in areas such as completing 

background checks and hiring during low unemployment, especially for 

partnership specialist positions. GAO will continue to monitor these challenges, 

as recruiting and hiring for the census continues.

Training. The Bureau generally followed its training plans for 2020 and generally 

followed selected leading practices for its training approach. However, GAO

found that the Bureau does not have goals and performance measures for 

evaluating its new training approach. Without goals and performance measures

the Bureau will not be able to accurately assess the cost and benefits of its new

training approach.

Why GAO Did This Study

The decennial census is a crucial, 

constitutionally mandated activity with 

immutable deadlines. To meet these 

statutory deadlines, the Bureau carries 

out thousands of activities that need to 

be successfully completed on schedule 

for an accurate, cost-effective head 

count. These activities include opening 

area census offices, recruiting and hiring 

a large temporary workforce, and 

training that workforce. 

GAO was asked to review the Bureau’s 

plans for critical logistical support 

activities. This report (1) assesses the 

Bureau’s progress in opening area 

census offices; (2) determines the 

extent to which the Bureau is following 

its field hiring and recruiting strategy for 

the 2020 Census; and (3) determines 

the extent to which the Bureau has 

followed its plans for training field staff,

and whether this training approach is 

consistent with selected leading 

practices. 

To assess the extent to which the 

Bureau is following its plans for opening 

area census offices, recruiting and 

hiring, and training, GAO reviewed

current Bureau planning documents and 

schedules, and interviewed Bureau 

officials, including officials at the 

Bureau’s six regional offices. GAO used 

its guide to training (GAO-04-546G) as 

criteria for selected leading practices.

What GAO Recommends

The Secretary of Commerce should 

direct the U.S. Census Bureau to revise 

plans to include goals and performance 

measures for evaluating its new training 

approach. The Department of 

Commerce agreed with GAO’s 

recommendation.

View GAO-19-602. For more information, 

contact Robert Goldenkoff at 202-512-2757 or

goldenkoffr@gao.gov. 

Highlights of GAO-19-602, a report to 

congressional requesters 
Page i GAO-19-602 2020 Census

Letter 1

Background 3

The Bureau’s Efforts to Open Area Census Offices Appear on 

Track, Despite Some Schedule Slippages 6

The Bureau Has Exceeded Its Early Recruiting Goals for the 2020 

Census; However, It Faces Some Challenges Going Forward 12

The Bureau Is Following Its Planned Training Approach for 2020, 

but Has Opportunities to Improve Its Ability to Assess 

Performance 25

Conclusions 33

Recommendation for Executive Action 34

Agency Comments and Our Evaluation 34

Appendix I Objective, Scope, and Methodology 37

Appendix II Comments from the Department of Commerce 39

Appendix III GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments 40

Tables

Table 1: Deviations from Area Census Office Requirements 9

Table 2: Expected and Actual Productivity Rates for the In-Field 

Address Canvassing Operation in the 2018 End-to-End 

Test 14

Figures

Figure 1: 2020 Census Area Census Office Structure 5

Figure 2: 2020 Census Area Census Office Locations 7

Figure 3: Recruiting and Hiring Timeline for In-field Address 

Canvassing and Nonresponse Follow-up 13

Figure 4: An Example of Census Bureau Website Spanish 

Language Recruitment Advertisement 15

Figure 5: An Example of the MOJO Recruit Interactive Map 

Identifying Early Operation Recruiting Status of Specific 

Census Tracts 17

Contents
Page ii GAO-19-602 2020 Census

Figure 6: Background Check Process for Employment with the 

Bureau 20

Figure 7: Assessing the Bureau’s Planned Training Approach for 

Design/Development against Selected Leading Practices 29

Figure 8: Assessing the Bureau’s Planned Training Approach for 

Evaluation against Selected Leading Practices 31

Abbreviations

AAAP Automated Advanced Acquisition Program

ACO Area Census Offices 

Bureau U.S. Census Bureau 

CIS Census Investigative Services

Commerce Department of Commerce 

e-QIP Electronic Questionnaires for Investigations Processing

System 

GSA General Services Administration

IT Information Technology

OF306 Optional Form 306: Declaration for Federal Employment 

OIG Office of the Inspector General 

OPM Office of Personnel Management 

RCC Regional Census Center

ROAM Response Outreach Area Mapper

SF85 Standard Form 85: Questionnaire for Non-sensitive Positions

This is a work of the U.S. government and is not subject to copyright protection in the 

United States. The published product may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety 

without further permission from GAO. However, because this work may contain 

copyrighted images or other material, permission from the copyright holder may be 

necessary if you wish to reproduce this material separately.
Page 1 GAO-19-602 2020 Census

441 G St. N.W.

Washington, DC 20548

July 19, 2019

Congressional Requesters

The decennial census is a crucial, constitutionally mandated activity with 

immutable deadlines.1 The U.S. Census Bureau (Bureau) is required by 

law to count the population as of April 1, 2020; deliver state 

apportionment counts to the President by December 31, 2020; and 

provide redistricting data to the states by April 1, 2021. To meet these 

deadlines, the Bureau carries out thousands of activities that need to be 

successfully completed on schedule for an accurate, cost-effective head 

count. These activities include opening area census offices, recruiting and 

hiring a large temporary workforce, and training that workforce. An 

operation of this scale with these fixed deadlines comes at a high cost 

and with many risks. 

The Bureau estimates the 2020 Decennial Census could cost as much as 

$15.6 billion after adjusting for inflation to the current 2020 Census time 

frame (fiscal years 2012 to 2023), which would be the most expensive 

decennial census to date. In February 2017, we added the 2020 Census 

to our High-Risk List because of operational and other issues, and the 

census remains on our 2019 High-Risk List as these issues have 

persisted.2

In an attempt to control escalating costs, the Bureau re-engineered its 

approach to the 2020 Census. Among other innovations, the Bureau is 

making logistical changes, such as using an electronic case management 

system to assign door-to-door field work for two of its largest field 

operations—address canvassing and nonresponse follow-up.3 This 

change is intended to allow the Bureau to reduce its footprint by opening 

fewer offices and hiring fewer people than in 2010. The Bureau also plans 

 1

U.S. Const. art. I, § 2, cl. 3.

2

GAO, High-Risk Series: Substantial Efforts Needed to Achieve Greater Progress on 

High-Risk Areas, GAO-19-157SP (Washington, D.C.: Mar. 6, 2019). 

3

The address canvassing operation has census workers verify and update addresses to 

ensure the Bureau has accurate address and map information for every location where a 

person could reside. For nonresponse follow-up, census workers visit the homes of people 

who did not respond to their census questionnaires and attempt to enumerate the 

household.

Letter
Page 2 GAO-19-602 2020 Census

to incorporate technology into its training processes, such as using webbased training.

You asked us to review the Bureau’s plans for critical logistical support 

activities. This report (1) assesses the Bureau’s progress in opening area 

census offices; (2) determines the extent to which the Bureau is following 

its field hiring and recruiting strategy for the 2020 Census; and (3) 

determines the extent to which the Bureau has followed its plans for 

training field staff, and whether this training approach is consistent with 

selected leading practices.

To address our objectives, we reviewed current Bureau planning 

documents and schedules, and we interviewed Bureau officials, including 

officials at the Bureau’s six regional offices. To assess the status of those 

logistical support activities, we interviewed Bureau officials and compared 

the current status of the activities to the Bureau’s plans, schedules, and 

timelines, and identified differences. We also reviewed a randomly 

selected non-generalizable sample of Area Census Office (ACO) files at 

the Philadelphia Regional Census Center (RCC) to determine whether 

justification was included when changes to ACO locations occurred.

As part of our analysis of the Bureau’s new training approach, we 

compared the Bureau’s planned approach to 11 selected leading 

practices from GAO’s Guide to Assessing Strategic Training and 

Development Efforts in the Federal Government.4 The guide includes four 

phases of training—planning/analysis, design/development, 

implementation, and evaluation. This report includes the 

design/development and evaluation phases of training. We did not assess 

the implementation phase because field staff training for the 2020 Census 

had not yet begun during our audit. 

We also did not assess the planning/analysis phase because practices in 

that phase are more applicable to agency-wide rather than programspecific training development, and focus on full-time permanent 

employees rather than temporary employees. Within the 

design/development phase and evaluation phase, we did not assess all 

best practices because some of those best practices were also more 

applicable to agency-wide rather than program-specific training 

 4

GAO, Human Capital: A Guide for Assessing Strategic Training and Development Efforts 

in the Federal Government (Supersedes GAO-03-893G), GAO-04-546G (Washington, 

D.C.: Mar. 1, 2004). 
Page 3 GAO-19-602 2020 Census

development, or we had already evaluated the practices such as the 

cost.5 This report primarily focuses on training for the address canvassing 

and nonresponse follow-up operations. For more details on our scope 

and methodology, see appendix I.

We conducted this performance audit from August 2018 to July 2019 in 

accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. 

Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain 

sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our 

findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that 

the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and 

conclusions based on our audit objectives.

Counting the nation’s approximately 140 million households is an 

enormous undertaking requiring such essential logistics as the opening of 

hundreds of area offices to conduct essential field activities, recruiting and 

hiring hundreds of thousands of temporary workers to carry out those 

activities, and developing an approach to training those employees. To 

help control costs while maintaining accuracy, the Bureau is making 

significant changes in each of these areas compared to prior decennials. 

According to Bureau planning documents, the Bureau intends to use 

technology to efficiently and effectively manage the 2020 Census 

fieldwork, and as a result, reduce the staffing, infrastructure, and brickand-mortar footprint required for the 2020 Census. The three main 

components of the reengineered field operations are increased use of 

technology, increased management and staff productivity, and 

streamlined office and staffing structure.

The Bureau’s 2020 Operational Plan states that 2020 Census field 

operations will rely heavily on automation. For example, the Bureau plans 

to provide most listers—temporary staff who verify and update addresses 

and maps—and enumerators— temporary staff who follow up with 

households that do not respond to the census questionnaire—with the 

capability to receive work assignments and perform all administrative and 

 5

GAO, 2020 Census: Census Bureau Improved the Quality of Its Cost Estimation but 

Additional Steps Are Needed to Ensure Reliability, GAO-18-635 (Washington, D.C.: Aug. 

17, 2018), and 2020 Census: Census Bureau Needs to Improve Its Life-Cycle Cost 

Estimating Process, GAO-16-628 (Washington, D.C.: June 30, 2016).

Background

Area Census Offices
Page 4 GAO-19-602 2020 Census

data collection tasks directly from a mobile device allowing them to work 

remotely. Supervisors will also be able to work remotely from the field and 

communicate with their staff via these devices—precluding them from 

needing access to a nearby local office.

The Bureau’s 2020 Operational Plan states that these enhanced 

capabilities will significantly reduce the number of offices required to 

support 2020 Census fieldwork. In the 2010 Census, the Bureau 

established 12 RCCs and nearly 500 ACOs. The new design for the 2020 

Census field operations includes six RCCs with 248 ACOs. Those 248 

will be split into two waves, with 39 of the offices opening for Wave 1 by 

March 2019 to support early census operations such as in-field address 

canvassing, and the remaining 209 opening for Wave 2 by September 

2019.

Recruiting enough workers to fill the hundreds of thousands of temporary 

positions needed to conduct the 2020 Census is a tremendous challenge. 

According to Bureau plans before hiring begins, the Bureau needs to 

assemble an applicant pool in the millions. For the decennial census, 

Bureau plans indicate the Bureau will need a large and diverse workforce 

to ensure the accuracy of its maps and address list, and to follow up by 

phone or in person with households that do not respond to the 

questionnaire. Making these efforts even more difficult are external 

factors beyond the Bureau’s control, such as low unemployment rate, 

which can make it harder to recruit.

According to Bureau plans, recruiting of potential employees will be 

conducted throughout the ACOs’ geographic area, based on projected 

operational workloads and staffing models developed for 2020 Census 

operations. Selected candidates will be invited to be fingerprinted and 

submit selected appointment paperwork prior to attending classroom 

training. The candidates will be sworn in and hired during the first day of 

training.

The ACO staff model is as follows: one ACO Manager, one Lead Census 

Field Manager, one Administrative Manager, one Recruiting Manager, 

one Information Technology (IT) Manager, and Office Operations 

Supervisors, Clerks, and Recruiting Assistants. For data collection, it is: 

multiple Census Field Managers, Census Field Supervisors, and 

Enumerators; specific numbers based on workload; and supervisory 

ratios to be determined (see fig. 1).

Recruiting and Hiring
Page 5 GAO-19-602 2020 Census

Figure 1: 2020 Census Area Census Office Structure

According to Bureau plans, the 2010 Census approach to training was 

predominantly instructor-led training with some hands-on training. This 

primarily consisted of instructors standing in front of a room of trainees 

and reading training materials to them from a prepared script. For 2020, 

the Bureau has developed training materials that use a blended training 

approach including instructor-led training, computer-based training, and 

hands-on training. This approach is intended to maximize trainee learning 

and on-the-job performance during the 2020 Census. According to the 

Bureau’s Detailed Operational Plan for the Field Infrastructure and 

Decennial Logistics Management Operations, it has developed training 

Training
Page 6 GAO-19-602 2020 Census

materials based on the lessons learned from previous censuses, such as 

the need to provide computer-based training.

The Bureau’s Detailed Operational Plan for the Field Infrastructure and 

Decennial Logistics Management Operations also states that this 

innovation to training combines multiple modes of training delivery 

designed to maximize training outcomes for various types of learning 

styles: visual, auditory, and hands-on, blending online training methods, 

instructor-led classroom training, and on-the-job training or role-playing to 

prepare field staff to effectively fulfill their duties. Blended training is 

intended to:

• Provide a standardization of training, limiting the impact of instructor 

interpretation.

• Allow for easily updateable training materials in the case of errors or 

operational changes, minimizing the burden of errata materials.

• Provide automated assessment tools to enable a more consistent and 

reliable way to measure learner understanding of concepts.

• Provide post-training support through easily accessible online 

manuals and job aids.

Training materials are designed to maximize self-paced learning. These 

accompanying training materials are developed to provide the most up-todate methodologies for recruiting, onboarding, and training-the-trainer to 

carry out field data collection activities.

For the 2020 Census, the Bureau plans to open 248 ACOs. Similar to the 

2010 Census, the total number of ACOs for 2020 was derived from the 

projected workload for field operations based on the number of 

enumerators needed for nonresponse follow-up. The Bureau allotted a 

specific number of ACOs to each of its six regional offices. Regions then 

developed boundaries for the ACO based on seven mandatory criteria 

that are described in a program memorandum, including that every state 

have at least one ACO; federally-recognized American Indian areas and 

military bases (regardless of county, state, or regional boundaries) will be 

managed by only one ACO; and ACO areas of responsibility will not cross 

state boundaries (with the exception of Indian reservations and military 

bases). See figure 2 below for the location of the 248 offices.

The Bureau’s Efforts 

to Open Area Census 

Offices Appear on 

Track, Despite Some 

Schedule Slippages
Page 7 GAO-19-602 2020 Census

Figure 2: 2020 Census Area Census Office Locations

In addition to the criteria used to delineate boundaries for its ACOs, the 

Bureau also had requirements for the ACO leased space. These 

requirements, for example, included that the ACO have a certain amount 

of contiguous square footage depending on the ACO type, and that an 

ACO not be co-located in a building that also houses agencies with law 

enforcement responsibilities because of privacy and confidentiality 

Requirements for Leased 

Office Space for Area 

Census Offices
Page 8 GAO-19-602 2020 Census

concerns. The Bureau also designated an “area of consideration” for each 

of its ACOs. According to Bureau officials, the area of consideration, 

which is a smaller geographic range where they would like to house the 

office, was based on such factors as access to public transit, general 

centrality within the ACO work boundaries, and proximity to eating 

establishments.

In some cases, the Bureau had to deviate from its requirements for 

leased space or initial area of consideration. The decision to deviate from 

requirements usually arose from a lack of viable options in the real-estate 

market coupled with the Bureau’s need to meet its time frames. According 

to RCC staff, any deviations from requirements were presented at weekly 

staff meetings and then subsequently approved by the Regional Director, 

and in some cases such as co-location with law enforcement Bureau 

Headquarters approval was needed. 

According to Bureau officials, co-location with law enforcement is 

sensitive because of concerns that census data may be shared with 

others. Census data are kept confidential for 72 years. However, Bureau 

officials told us either the law enforcement offices were deemed 

innocuous, for example, the office housed a public defender or the law 

enforcement offices operated undercover, whereby no one entering the 

building would have been aware of their presence.

In another case, Bureau officials told us that the Philadelphia region was 

struggling to find space for its ACO in Frederick, Maryland. When the 

General Services Administration (GSA) proposed a space in Hagerstown, 

Maryland, 30 miles away, the Bureau accepted it, though it was outside 

the initial area of consideration. According to officials at the regional 

office, the Bureau saved time and money by using a readily available 

cost-effective option by choosing Hagerstown, Maryland. The Bureau also 

had to expand the area of consideration for more than 31 percent or 77 of 

its 248 ACOs. According to Bureau officials, designating an area of 

consideration was an iterative process based on market availability, and 

having to expand the area was often necessary to secure space (see 

table 1).
Page 9 GAO-19-602 2020 Census

Table 1: Deviations from Area Census Office Requirements

Requirement Number of Deviations

Co-location with law enforcement 11

Change from Wave 1 to Wave 2 and vice 

versa

3

Less square footage than initially requested 9

Co-location with other ACOs 5

Located outside ACO boundaries 6

Expanded area of consideration for ACO 77

Total 111

Source: GAO analysis of Census Bureau data. | GAO-19-602

Note: Some ACOs had deviations from more than one requirement and summing the numbers in this 

table will not provide an accurate total of ACOs with deviations from requirements.

In select cases, the Bureau co-located ACOs in the same building. For 

example, instead of having one office in North Philadelphia and one in 

South Philadelphia, Bureau officials in the Philadelphia Region Census 

Center agreed to accept space in the same building located within the 

boundaries of the South Philadelphia ACO. The Bureau hired staff for 

each ACO from the original designated areas and kept the two offices 

completely separated. Bureau officials provided documentation indicating 

that this compromise came with considerable cost savings.

The Bureau also abandoned other planned requirements in a number of 

cases to secure space, such as access to loading docks, assigned 

parking, and freight elevators.

When we reviewed selected ACO files at the regional offices to determine 

whether the files included support for when deviations from space 

requirements and initial areas of consideration were documented, we did 

not find documentation. Instead, documentation was in staff emails. Files 

included a checklist of documents required, such as the signed lease and 

design intent drawings; however, there was not a requirement that 

documentation of deviations from space requirements or initial areas of 

consideration be maintained. Bureau officials at the regional level said 

that all procedures for handling waivers and expansions of the area of 

consideration were driven by the RCCs as well as informal guidance that 

was not documented.
Page 10 GAO-19-602 2020 Census

Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government calls for 

documentation and records to be properly managed and maintained.6

Based on our suggestion that the Bureau develop a procedure for 

documenting these deviations in ACO areas of consideration or 

requirements, Bureau officials sent an email requiring that staff keep 

documentation (electronic or paper) on deviations in ACO areas of 

consideration or requirements in the ACO’s lease file folders. In cases 

where decisions are made via telephone or email, Bureau officials asked 

staff to write notes and scan emails, and add them to the ACO files. 

Maintaining this documentation will help ensure the transparency and 

integrity of Bureau decision-making, and ensure the information is readily 

available.

The Bureau experienced some early delays when regions were trying to 

find space and acquire leases. The Bureau attributed some of these 

delays to the use of the GSA’s Automated Advanced Acquisition Program 

(AAAP) process. This procurement process provides building owners and 

their authorized representatives with the opportunity to offer general 

purpose office space for lease to the federal government. The AAAP 

process accepts bids the first week of each monthly cycle. Then the 

remaining three weeks of the month are used to evaluate submitted offers 

and identify a potential lessor.

According to GSA documents, in tight real estate markets, the first cycle 

did not always yield a suitable lessor due to lack of available inventory, 

and the short lease term the Bureau was seeking. Therefore, the Bureau 

had to wait three weeks until the start of the next cycle to re-open the 

bidding process. Bureau officials stated that during these 3 weeks, the 

Bureau regions would conduct additional market outreach and 

communicate outreach efforts with GSA to find a lessor.

According to GSA, they agreed that too much time was elapsing in Wave 

I trying to receive offers without making any changes to the requirements 

or areas of consideration. To address this issue for Wave 2, the Bureau 

stated that GSA provided additional training to the Bureau’s regional staff, 

increased market outreach which included dedicated support from GSA’s 

national office, and the development of a strategy to use all of GSA’s 

 6

GAO, Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government, GAO-14-704G 

(Washington, D.C.: Sept.10, 2014). 

The Bureau Is Managing 

Schedule Slippage in 

Opening Area Census 

Offices
Page 11 GAO-19-602 2020 Census

tools, such as using GSA’s contract brokers in regions with the greatest 

number of Wave 2 ACOs. Bureau regional staff also told us they were 

able to meet leasing milestones in part because of flexibility in their 

requirements and in the areas of consideration.

As of June 2019, there were signed leases for 247 of 248 offices. 

However, during our review, the Bureau reported that it had missed 

several construction (meaning renovations such as new electrical layouts, 

heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) and deployment deadlines. 

According to Bureau documents, for Wave 1 offices, nine of 39 offices 

had missed the February 28, 2019 deadline for having furniture and IT 

equipment; and for Wave 2 offices, 49 of 209 offices missed the February 

20, 2019 deadline for having construction drawings complete. According 

to Bureau officials they are managing each of these delays on an officeby-office basis, and headquarters officials meet weekly with the RCCs to 

discuss the status of each office. They are also actively communicating 

with GSA on how to best work with the landlord to meet deadlines.

Agency officials also indicated that the schedule deadlines for the later 

phases of construction allow for more time than may be necessary, 

allowing them to make up time lost from early delays. For example, at the 

Concord, New Hampshire ACO, the Bureau plans to make up lost time in 

construction with actions such as using a fence to divide two office areas 

instead of adding a wall, and using a “cage” for badging instead of 

constructing a separate room inside the space. As of June 3, 2019, 38 of 

39 Wave 1 offices are ready for business. Seven of 209 Wave 2 offices 

are still working to finish the milestone of completing construction 

drawings, which had an original deadline of February 20, 2019. According 

to Bureau officials, the seven offices without completed construction 

drawings are being given priority attention by both GSA and the Bureau. 

We will continue to monitor the opening of ACOs in ongoing work.
Page 12 GAO-19-602 2020 Census

According to Bureau reporting documents, as of June 2019, the Bureau is 

exceeding its recruiting goals for early operations. This includes field staff 

for in-field address canvassing where census staff verify address and 

map information for housing units in selected areas of the country, office 

staff at the 39 Wave 1 ACOs, recruiting assistants, and partnership 

specialists. The Bureau had a goal of recruiting approximately 205,000 

individuals for its 2020 early operations efforts by the end of June 2019, 

and plans to recruit between 2.4 million and 2.6 million applicants for all 

field operations. By comparison, in 2010, the Bureau recruited about 3.9 

million applicants. As of June 17, 2019, the Bureau had processed job 

applications and assessments for approximately 428,000 applicants 

which represent about 208 percent of its roughly 205,000 recruiting goal.

For the 2020 Census, the Bureau plans to hire nearly 400,000 temporary 

field staff from its applicant pool for two key operations: in-field address 

canvassing and nonresponse follow-up, where census staff visit 

households that do not return census forms to collect data in person. In 

2010, the Bureau hired approximately 628,000 temporary workers to 

conduct the address canvassing and nonresponse follow-up field 

operations. Below is the recruiting and hiring timeline for the in-field 

address canvassing and nonresponse follow-up operations (see fig. 3).

The Bureau Has 

Exceeded Its Early 

Recruiting Goals for 

the 2020 Census; 

However, It Faces 

Some Challenges 

Going Forward

The Bureau Has 

Exceeded Its Early 

Recruiting Goals
Page 13 GAO-19-602 2020 Census

Figure 3: Recruiting and Hiring Timeline for In-field Address Canvassing and 

Nonresponse Follow-up

According to Bureau officials, they are recruiting and hiring fewer 

temporary staff in 2020 compared to 2010, in part, because automation 

has made field operations more efficient. For example, there is less paper 

to manage and process as daily payroll records and daily field work 

assignments are electronic. As a result, productivity has increased and 

mileage and labor costs have decreased because census field staff do 

not meet daily with their supervisors, as was the case in 2010. Moreover, 

the automation of assignment routing to housing units has optimized the 

time spent by enumerators driving to housing units. During the 2018 Endto-End Test, the Bureau found the productivity for in-field address 

canvassing had exceeded its goal at all three test sites (see table 2). The 

Bureau attributes these efficiencies to the automation of work 

assignments.7

 7

In May 2019, the Bureau provided revised numbers for actual productivity from what was 

reported in GAO, 2020 Census: Actions Needed to Improve In-Field Address Canvassing 

Operation, GAO-18-414 (Washington, D.C.: June 14, 2018).
Page 14 GAO-19-602 2020 Census

Table 2: Expected and Actual Productivity Rates for the In-Field Address 

Canvassing Operation in the 2018 End-to-End Test

State test site Expected productivity rates

(addresses per hour)

Actual productivity rates

(addresses per hour)

Rhode Island 11.36 21.04

West Virginia 6.9 13.73

Washington 10.07 18.44

Source: GAO analysis of Census Bureau data. | GAO-19-602

For the 2020 Census, the Bureau plans to use some of the same 

strategies it used to recruit and hire all temporary workers as during the 

2010 Census—because those strategies were successful—while also 

leveraging technology and social media. For example, according to the 

Bureau, the overarching strategy for hiring enumerators is to hire people 

who will work in the communities where they live. This strategy provides 

the Bureau with enumerators who are familiar with the areas where they 

will be working and who speak the languages of the local community. To 

recruit staff, recruiting assistants are to work with local partnership staff 

and use paid advertisements and earned media (e.g., publicity gained 

through promotional efforts, news reports, etc.). 

The Bureau plans to also continue to use its recruiting website, 

http://www.2020census.gov/jobs, which provides information about the 

various positions, local pay rates, application materials, and job 

qualifications. Moreover, Bureau officials stated that a diverse multilingual 

workforce is needed and that the Bureau has tailored its approach to that 

end. For example, the website includes Spanish language pages and 

recruitment materials (see fig. 4).

The Bureau Plans to Use 

Successful Recruitment 

Strategies from Prior 

Censuses while 

Leveraging Technology
Page 15 GAO-19-602 2020 Census

Figure 4: An Example of Census Bureau Website Spanish Language Recruitment Advertisement

Bureau documentation indicates that similar to 2010, the Bureau will 

continue to use waivers and hiring exemptions to enable well-qualified 

individuals to work on the 2020 Census who otherwise might not have 

applied for jobs, particularly in hard-to-recruit areas. These waivers allow 

the Bureau to temporarily hire federal retirees and individuals receiving 

public assistance without impacting their benefits, and to hire current 

federal employees without impacting their job status or salary. As of 

February 27, 2019, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) had 

given the Bureau approval to hire 44 re-employed annuitants for the 2020 

Census. The Bureau also had dual employment agreements with 28 

federal agencies and commissions.
Page 16 GAO-19-602 2020 Census

For the 2010 Census, the Bureau had these agreements with a total of 81 

federal agencies. To obtain waivers for individuals on public assistance, 

the Bureau is partnering with the Office of Management and Budget and 

working with Health and Human Services to obtain waivers for Temporary 

Assistance for Needy Families and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance 

Program recipients. The Bureau is also working with tribal governments to 

acquire similar waivers.

In addition to these previously used strategies, the Bureau is planning to 

leverage technology in its recruiting strategy for 2020. This technology 

includes the Bureau-developed Response Outreach Area Mapper 

(ROAM) application, a publicly available online mapping tool that Bureau 

staff can use to better understand the sociodemographic makeup of their 

assigned areas. The Bureau plans to use ROAM to identify areas where 

recruiting could be hard and to develop recruitment strategies such as 

hiring staff with specific language skills.

The new technology also includes the MOJO Recruiting Dashboard (also 

referred to as MOJO Recruit), which is software for Census recruiting 

personnel to plan and manage recruiting activities and track recruiting 

progress.8 For example, MOJO Recruit includes an interactive mapping 

feature which lets the Bureau plan recruiting activities and track recruiting 

status for each census tract. The map draws attention to areas that may 

be experiencing recruiting problems (see fig. 5). Red indicates areas 

where the Bureau is less than 50 percent of the way toward meeting its 

recruiting goal. Yellow indicates areas where the Bureau is 50 to 79 

percent of the way toward meetings its goal. Green indicates areas where 

the Bureau is 80 percent or higher of the way toward meetings its goal.

 8

MOJO is a term for the Census operational control system for re-engineered field 

operations.
Page 17 GAO-19-602 2020 Census

Figure 5: An Example of the MOJO Recruit Interactive Map Identifying Early Operation Recruiting Status of Specific Census 

Tracts
Page 18 GAO-19-602 2020 Census

Bureau officials also stated that that they plan to increase the use of 

social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to 

promote and advertise 2020 Census job opportunities. For example, the 

Bureau’s 2020 Census Recruitment Toolkit includes social media 

guidelines, tips, sample posts, and sample email messages to assist 

recruiting staff in providing information about 2020 Census job 

opportunities. It also assists recruiting staff with responding to questions 

and concerns or directing people to the appropriate location for more 

information about jobs.

For the 2020 Census, the Bureau revised its application and assessment 

process to ease the burden on job applicants and to better assist the 

Bureau in identifying qualified applicants. Job candidates are to apply and 

take a skill assessment online, as opposed to attending recruiting 

sessions in person and taking a written test. The Bureau has also 

streamlined both the application and assessment process by asking fewer 

questions and requiring only one assessment for all nonsupervisory 

positions.

According to Bureau officials, the 2020 Census job application should 

take 10 minutes to complete, by comparison the 2010 Census job 

application took 30 minutes to complete. Moreover, for prior censuses, 

applicants had to complete one of two 45-minute assessments to 

determine the appropriate skill set for either working in the office or in the 

field. For 2020, OPM has approved the Bureau giving one assessment for 

all five short-term census positions: Recruiting Assistant, Clerk, Office 

Operations Supervisor, Enumerator, and Census Field Supervisor, 

thereby eliminating the need to give separate assessments for the office 

and field positions. Finally, for those considering a supervisor position, a 

separate supervisory assessment is required. For 2020, this consists of 

nine questions compared to 29 questions in 2010. According to Bureau 

officials, this supervisory assessment should take an additional 10 

minutes to complete instead of 1 hour, as it did on 2010.

For 2020, the Bureau has also changed the assessment questions it asks 

applicants from situational-judgment questions to biodata and personality 

The Bureau Took Steps to 

Improve Its Application 

and Assessment Process 

for Potential Hires
Page 19 GAO-19-602 2020 Census

questions.9 In making this decision, during the 2018 End-to-End Test, the 

Bureau asked situational-judgment questions in the assessment 

questionnaire, and then administered a set of biodata and personality 

questions after hiring. The Bureau conducted an analysis of both types of 

questions and concluded that the biodata and personality questions were 

a better predictor of job success. Bureau officials told us they will be 

evaluating their new job assessment processes for 2020, including the 

use of biodata.

The Bureau has identified challenges that exist in some areas, such as: 

(1) delayed background checks; (2) low unemployment; and (3) language 

barriers.

Employment with the Bureau is contingent upon successfully completing 

a background check. The Bureau found that the process for four positions 

(recruiting assistants, office operation supervisors, clerks, and partnership 

specialists) was taking longer than it expected. These positions require a 

full background check because employees will have access to the 

Bureau’s network, they will be issued expensive equipment (e.g., laptops 

and desktops), and their employment will likely last more than 6 months. 

For the full background checks, applicants must complete two security 

background forms—Standard Form 85: Questionnaire for Nonsensitive 

positions (SF85) through the Electronic Questionnaires for Investigations 

Processing system (e-QIP) and Optional Form 306: Declaration for 

Federal Employment (OF306)—and must have their fingerprints

 9

OPM defines biographical data (biodata) as assessments that ask applicants questions 

about their past experiences. The experiences, behaviors, and events occurring 

throughout an individual’s life can provide some indication of how an individual will 

perform in a job. Personality can be defined as the relatively stable pattern of thinking, 

feeling, and behavior that uniquely describes an individual. Personality measures that are 

based upon a thorough job analysis can improve the selection process over what 

cognitive ability measures provide by predicting how individuals will behave when faced 

with different situations.

Despite the Progress 

Made in Recruiting, the 

Bureau Still Faces Several 

Hiring Challenges

Delayed Background Checks
Page 20 GAO-19-602 2020 Census

processed, in which the Federal Bureau of Investigations conducts a 

review for any prior arrest or convictions.10

Once completed, the forms are reviewed by the Census Investigative 

Services (CIS) where OPM-trained staff make either a favorable, 

unfavorable, or inconclusive precheck employment determination. 

According to Bureau officials, certain crimes, for example violent crimes, 

automatically exclude the applicant from further consideration. If the 

determination is inconclusive, then CIS is to send the form to the Office of 

Employee Relations to make a favorable or unfavorable determination. All 

favorable determinations are then sent to OPM for adjudication with a full 

background check (see fig. 6).

Figure 6: Background Check Process for Employment with the Bureau

 10The e-QIP system is a web-based automated system that was designed to facilitate the 

processing of standard investigative forms used when conducting background 

investigations for federal security, suitability, fitness and credentialing purposes. It allows 

users to electronically enter, update, and transmit their personal investigative data over a 

secure internet connection to the requesting agency.
Page 21 GAO-19-602 2020 Census

According to Bureau officials, in December of 2018, they began to 

encounter a backlog of pre-employment background checks Bureau-wide 

as they began hiring some 800 recruiting assistants and about 1,970 

office staff for the first wave of 39 ACO openings. As of March 21, 2019, 

Bureau officials told us that Bureau-wide there were 7,092 background 

clearances pending, of which, 4,900 were for field positions.11 In response 

to the backlog, Bureau leadership said it created a team to determine the 

cause of the backlog and started having weekly meetings to prioritize 

which job positions needed to be cleared first.

Bureau officials stated that the delays arose, in part, because a significant 

number of applicants did not completely or correctly fill out the e-QIP

form. This, they said, coupled with the increase in required preemployment background checks, resulted in a growing backlog of 

clearances for which the Bureau did not have the resources to clear. In 

response, in February 2019, the Bureau began to bring on, through a 

combination of new hires and reassignments, about 130 temporary staff. 

New staff was assigned to either review the forms for accuracy and 

completeness prior to being submitted to the CIS office, or help the CIS 

offices conduct the pre-employment background checks.

Additionally, Bureau officials told us that they meet weekly to reprioritize 

job positions for the clearance process. The CIS office is to process 

background checks for all Census employees requiring them, including 

decennial census field staff, decennial census contractors, and staff 

needed for nondecennial census surveys in headquarters and in the field. 

According to Bureau officials, the decennial census takes precedence 

and within the decennial census positions are also prioritized. For 

example, in January 2019, the 800 recruiting assistants were given

priority and now the hiring of 1,501 partnership specialists has been given 

priority.

Bureau officials told us that in December 2018 they were processing 110 

background checks a week, and have set a goal that each CIS analyst 

process 25 pre-employment packages a week. There are 40 analysts on 

board, giving the Bureau the ability to process 1,000 pre-employment 

background check packages a week. Bureau officials also told us that 

they anticipate the clearance process for the positions of 

 11The 4,900 field positions included both the decennial census and nondecennial census 

surveys. However, according to Bureau officials, the majority of field positions are for the 

decennial census.
Page 22 GAO-19-602 2020 Census

enumerator/lister and census field supervisor will not experience the 

same delays because these positions only require fingerprint processing, 

which is quicker.

According to Bureau officials, these results can be made available within 

3 hours. Moreover, although the Bureau has taken steps to address the 

backlog, the bulk of pre-employment background clearances has yet to 

be processed and Bureau officials told us that they remain concerned. In 

the coming months, the Bureau will need to conduct background checks 

for an additional 3,991 recruiting assistants and about 10,300 office staff 

for the remaining 209 offices. We will continue to monitor the backlog of 

background clearances through our ongoing work.

Although the Bureau has exceeded its recruiting goals for early 

operations, recruiting a sufficient number of job applicants for the job of 

partnership specialist is a challenge. Bureau officials told us that a robust 

economy and low unemployment rate have resulted in a smaller pool of 

applicants for that position. For example, as part of its 2020 Census 

efforts, the Bureau had planned to hire 1,181 partnership specialists by 

May 1, 2019 and 1,501 partnership specialists by June 30, 2019, to help 

increase awareness and participation in the 2020 Census in minority 

communities and hard-to-reach populations. The Bureau did not meet its 

goal to hire 1,181 partnership specialists by May 1, 2019.

To hire sufficient partnership staff, Bureau officials told us they have an 

“open and continuous” posting for partnership specialist positions instead 

of discrete individual job postings, and they are selecting two candidates 

from each certification list of qualified applicants. Moreover, Census 

leadership tracks the weekly progress of the partnership specialist 

positions. 

As of July 9, 2019, the Bureau’s latest biweekly reporting indicated that it 

had hired 813 partnership specialists as of June 22, 2019. Moreover, as 

of July 10, 2019 Bureau officials told us that another 830 applicants were 

waiting to have their background checks completed. According to Bureau 

officials hiring data are based on payroll dates generated biweekly, while 

background check data are tracked internally. Therefore, according to 

Bureau officials, more current hiring data were not available as of July 10, 

2019 to indicate whether the Bureau had met its June 30 hiring goal.

Hiring partnership specialists in a timely manner is key to the Bureau’s 

ability to carry out its planned outreach efforts, especially for hard-tocount communities.

Low Unemployment
Page 23 GAO-19-602 2020 Census

In addition, several RCC officials said the pay rate and the low 

unemployment rate in some ACO locations initially affected their ability to 

recruit well-qualified staff for office positions.

• Atlanta RCC officials stated it was challenging to recruit managers in 

the Gainesville, Florida, area. According to Bureau officials, the pay 

rate was too low and potential recruits were seeking employment 

elsewhere. The Bureau increased the managers’ pay rate to be more 

competitive for the area.

• Philadelphia RCC officials stated that in rural ACO locations the pay 

rate is lower and potential recruits would rather travel to the metro 

areas to get the higher pay rates offered there.

• The Denver RCC reported that low unemployment rates throughout 

the regions make recruiting difficult, and that Census enumerators 

jobs are not as competitive with many other wages offered in the 

region.

• The Los Angeles RCC reported having difficulty recruiting local 

applicants in high-cost areas like Beverly Hills, the San Francisco Bay 

Area, and Silicon Valley.

Bureau headquarters officials acknowledge that some ACO locations 

have experienced some recruiting challenges, but said that the RCCs 

were ultimately able to fill the office positions. Headquarters officials 

stated that their pay rates either match or exceed the competitive pay rate 

in the majority of the ACO locations. According to Bureau headquarters 

officials, regional offices that may be experiencing challenges recruiting 

staff must demonstrate or prove that the pay rate for a specific ACO is 

causing difficulty recruiting. The Field Division is responsible for 

approving or denying the request to adjust pay. For the 2010 Census, the 

Bureau reported 124 requests for pay rate adjustments, of which 64 were 

approved. The Bureau stated that it will continue to monitor how low 

unemployment affects its ability to recruit and hire.

The Bureau reports that the demographic and cultural makeup of the 

United States continues to increase in complexity, including a growing 

number of households and individuals whose proficiency in English is 

limited. Language barriers could make it difficult to enumerate these 

households, whose members may have varying levels of comfort with 

government involvement. Several RCC officials also mentioned that 

language barriers could impact their recruiting efforts:

Language Barriers
Page 24 GAO-19-602 2020 Census

• Both the Los Angeles and New York RCCs reported it is hard to 

recruit in immigrant communities where residents speak a foreign 

language or dialects, and often have no organizational infrastructure 

(such as associations of individuals of the same national origin, print 

news media, or radio).

• The New York RCC reported challenges in locating applicants who 

are bilingual in English and other languages such as Chinese, 

Russian, Arabic, Korean, Creole, Polish, Portuguese, Bengali, Urdu, 

Punjabi, Gujarati, Hindi, and Hebrew, as well as Yiddish and African 

languages.

• The Atlanta RCC reported challenges related to the diverse language 

needs (e.g., Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Creole, Portuguese, etc.) 

in south and central Florida.

• The Chicago RCC reported recruiting outreach challenges in urban 

areas, including Chicago, Indianapolis, Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul, 

St. Louis, and Kansas City, that have higher minority and immigrant 

populations as well as in rural areas with increasing diversity.

Bureau officials responded that later this fall, in preparation for their peak 

operations effort, they will begin to focus recruiting efforts on foreign 

language recruiting. Specifically, partnership and recruiting staff plan to 

work with partners and advertise jobs locally (at the grassroots level) in 

places where persons with these skills are likely to look to ensure they 

are meeting recruiting goals in those areas.
Page 25 GAO-19-602 2020 Census

For the 2020 Census, the Bureau is following its plans to use a blended 

training approach combining technology-assisted training with classroom 

instruction.12 According to Bureau planning documents, on the first day of 

in-person classroom training, the Bureau will provide orientation 

information and issue devices that trainees will use to conduct census 

operations. The Bureau plans to use local institutions such as schools, 

libraries, churches, and fire halls to host training. ACO staff are to 

coordinate the training location setup, device deliveries to training sites, 

and manage other logistics for large-scale field staff training.

After the first day of training, field staff will spend the next 4 to 6 days 

(depending on the operation) completing at-home training online using 

their own personal device at their own pace. This training will include, for 

example, operation-specific skills, use of the data collection device (smart 

phone or tablet), and general field processes. Trainees who complete the 

online portion of the training program will return to the classroom to 

practice what they learned through role-playing, mock interviews, or live 

cases (for listing operations) facilitated by managers or supervisors. 

According to Bureau officials, employees will also have access to just-intime training materials on their devices for use in the field.

The Bureau encountered a number of challenges in implementing and 

testing its blended training approach, but is taking steps to mitigate those 

challenges. Specifically, during the 2018 End-to-End Test, the Bureau (1) 

experienced problems with the proper recording of online training scores 

for census staff, (2) was unable to test online training for one of its

operations because the operation was added late, and (3) encountered 

challenges with census staff not always having access to the internet, 

which is required to complete the training.

The 2018 End-to-End Test of address canvassing and nonresponse 

follow-up training revealed some technical challenges in using the 

Learning Management System. The Learning Management System is the 

online training system for the 2020 Census; it contains online training 

modules and tracks final assessment scores and training certifications. 

 12For the 2010 Census we recommended that the Bureau consider alternate approaches 

to instructor-led delivery of field staff training content, such as video or computer-based

instruction. The Bureau did not implement this recommendation for 2010 because it 

believed alternative approaches would be cost prohibitive and that instructor-led training 

from a script ensured consistency across training sites.

The Bureau Is 

Following Its Planned 

Training Approach for 

2020, but Has 

Opportunities to 

Improve Its Ability to 

Assess Performance

The Bureau Took Steps to 

Manage Some Challenges 

in Implementing Its 

Blended Training 

Approach During the 2018 

End-to-End Test

The Bureau Is Taking Action to 

Ensure the Completion of 

Training Is Accurately Tracked
Page 26 GAO-19-602 2020 Census

In February 2019, the Department of Commerce (Commerce) Office of 

the Inspector General (OIG) noted that during the address canvassing 

operation there was no final assessment scores recorded for 23 trained 

listers. The Bureau was also unable to provide documentation that 

another three lister trainees who failed the final assessment had been 

observed by their supervisor before being permitted to work.13 Bureau

officials said they provided an action plan to the Commerce OIG in April 

2019. According to Bureau officials, the action plan has not been finalized 

because they are incorporating changes to the action plan based on 

Commerce OIG comments.

In December 2018, we reported that roughly 100 enumerator trainees in 

the nonresponse follow-up operation were unable to transmit their final 

test scores because the Learning Management System had an erroneous 

setting.14 According to Bureau officials, this problem delayed the start of 

unsupervised work for these otherwise-qualified enumerator trainees by 

an average of 2 days per trainee, and resulted in the attrition of some who 

were able to quickly find other work. Bureau officials reported that they 

have fixed the system setting. Moreover, according to Bureau officials, 

they have also developed an alternative means to certify training by 

incorporating the employee final assessment into the final day of 

classroom training.

According to Bureau officials, Update Leave online training was not tested 

during the 2018 End-to-End Test due to the late addition of the operation 

to the 2020 Census design.15 Officials told us that the Update Leave 

operation was approved in May 2017, leaving just 10 months for the 

development team to create and implement software and the systems to 

support this field operation for the End-to-End Test. This left no time to 

develop online training that would be ready for the End-to-End Test in 

March 2018.

 13Department of Commerce Office of Inspector General, 2020 Census: Issues Observed 

During the 2018 End-to-End Census Test’s Address Canvassing Operation Indicate Risk 

to Address List Quality, OIG-19-008-A (Washington, D.C.: Feb. 6, 2019).

14GAO, 2020 Census: Additional Steps Needed to Finalize Readiness for Peak Field 

Operations, GAO-19-140 (Washington, D.C.: Dec. 10, 2018). 

15The Update Leave operation is designed to occur in areas where the majority of housing 

units either do not have mail delivered to the physical location of the housing unit, or the 

mail delivery information for the housing unit cannot be verified. 

The Bureau was Unable to 

Test All Online Training, but 

Has Plans in Place to Conduct 

Dry-Runs of the Untested 

Training
Page 27 GAO-19-602 2020 Census

Therefore, the Bureau classroom-trained headquarters staff instead of 

temporary field staff for the operation. According to the Bureau’s risk 

register, the utilization of Bureau headquarters staff did not properly 

simulate training conditions or staff characteristics in which new 

employees have no prior knowledge of census operations. Therefore, the 

2018 End-to-End Test did not allow for proper training feedback or the 

capture of lessons learned with regard to temporary staff or the mode of 

training. According to Bureau officials, the Bureau plans to conduct 

scheduled dry runs of training in September 2019 to collect feedback and, 

if necessary, make changes to Update Leave-specific training.

In June 2018, we reported that some listers had difficulty accessing the 

internet to take online training for address canvassing.16 According to the 

Bureau, in addition to the Bureau-provided laptop, listers also needed a 

personal home computer or laptop and internet access at their home to 

complete the training. However, while the Bureau reported that listers had 

access to a personal computer to complete the training, we found some 

listers did not have access to the internet at their home and had to find 

workarounds to access the training. We recommended that the Bureau 

finalize plans for alternate training locations in areas where internet 

access is a barrier to completing training.

The Bureau took action and in March 2019 finalized its plans for 

identifying alternate training locations in areas where internet access is a 

barrier to completing training. Specifically, Bureau officials told us that in 

areas of known low connectivity rates, regional staff will identify sites that 

trainees can access to complete online components of the training. In 

addition, the Bureau provided us with a training module for identifying 

training field staff locations that emphasized training sites need to be 

located in areas with a good cellular connection and also have access to 

the internet.

 16GAO-18-414.

The Bureau Has Plan to 

Address Trainee Access to 

Online Training
Page 28 GAO-19-602 2020 Census

Effective training can enhance the Bureau’s ability to attract and retain 

employees with the skills and competencies needed to conduct the 2020 

Census. Our Guide for Assessing Strategic Training and Development 

Efforts in the Federal Government describes components for developing 

effective training in the federal government. Our strategic training guide 

identifies four phases of the training—planning, design/development, 

implementation, and evaluation. We assessed the Bureau’s training 

approach and found that it generally aligned with selected leading 

practices.17 This report includes the design/development and evaluation 

phases of training. We did not assess the implementation phase because 

field staff training had not yet begun during our audit, and we did not 

assess the planning phase because practices in that phase are more 

applicable to agency-wide rather than program-specific training 

development.

The design/development phase involves identifying specific training and 

development initiatives that the agency will use, along with other 

strategies, to improve individual and agency performance. According to 

the guide, well-designed training and development programs are linked to 

agency goals and to the organizational, occupational, and individual skills 

and competencies needed for the agency to perform effectively. 

Moreover, in response to emerging demands and the increasing 

availability of new technologies, agencies, including the Bureau for the 

2020 Census, are faced with the challenge of choosing the optimal mix 

for the specific purpose and situation from a wide range of mechanisms, 

including classroom and online learning as well as structured on-the-job 

experiences (see fig. 7).

 17GAO-04-546G. 

The Bureau Has Generally 

Met the Criteria for 

Selected Leading 

Practices for Training 

Development, but Could 

Better Document 

Measures of Success

Design/Development
Page 29 GAO-19-602 2020 Census

Figure 7: Assessing the Bureau’s Planned Training Approach for 

Design/Development against Selected Leading Practices

In developing its training approach we found the Bureau met all five 

selected leading practices related to design/development. Specifically,

• Bureau training aligned with achieving results for the Bureau’s reengineered field operations. Specifically, the Bureau has a formal 

online training program that uses the Learning Management System 

as a control mechanism to provide and record training results for all 

2020 Census field staff who take online training.

• The Bureau’s training program is integrated with other strategies to 

improve performance such as building team relationships. For 

example, the training includes modules for supervisors that focus on 

guiding and motivating employees, communicating effectively, and 

resolving conduct issues. To ensure the training is properly integrated 

with device issuance, for larger scale operations, the Bureau plans to 

stagger training sessions to help ensure there is the necessary 
Page 30 GAO-19-602 2020 Census

support during the first day of training when census field staff receive 

their devices.

• The Bureau also plans to use different training delivery mechanisms. 

For example, the Bureau will use a blended training approach which 

includes a mix of computer-based and instructor-led classroom 

training.

• The Bureau has measures of effectiveness in its course design. The 

Bureau relied on an in-house training development team that worked 

with the data collection operations staff to develop learning objectives. 

We found that that the Bureau has procedures to incorporate 

feedback. Specifically, the Bureau incorporated lessons learned from 

previous census tests, such as the refinement of procedures for 

reassigning work in the field and emphasizing the importance of 

knocking on doors to find a proxy respondent during the nonresponse 

follow-up operation.

• Finally, the Bureau’s training documents contained goals for achieving 

results for its new training approach. Specifically, the Operational 

Assessment Study Plan for Recruiting, Onboarding, and Training for 

the 2018 End-to-End Test contained the following measures of 

success for training—reduce cost and increase efficiency over what 

was reported in 2010.

In developing its evaluation phase for training, the Bureau met five of six 

selected leading practices and partially met one leading practice. The 

evaluation phase involves assessing the extent to which training and 

development efforts contribute to improved performance and results. We 

have previously found that it is increasingly important for agencies to be 

able to evaluate their training and development programs, and 

demonstrate how these efforts help develop employees and improve the 

agencies’ performance (see fig. 8).

Evaluation
Page 31 GAO-19-602 2020 Census

Figure 8: Assessing the Bureau’s Planned Training Approach for Evaluation against 

Selected Leading Practices

Overall, we found that the Bureau has a robust evaluation plan for the 

2020 Census that gathers data from multiple sources. For example,

• The Bureau has a plan to evaluate the effectiveness of training for the 

2020 Census. Specifically, operational and assessment study plans 

set priorities for evaluations and cover the methods, timing, and 

responsibilities for data collection, including assessment questions, 

metrics, data sources and expected delivery dates, and division 

responsibilities.

• The Bureau has an analytical approach to assess training programs. 

For example, the Field Decennial Data Collection Training Branch has 
Page 32 GAO-19-602 2020 Census

developed three separate training evaluation surveys which will be 

administered to field staff through the Learning Management System.

The three evaluations provide training feedback after the completion 

of the online training; after the completion of the classroom training; 

and near the completion of the operation. According to the Bureau, 

these assessments will help determine the effectiveness of training.

• The Bureau incorporated evaluation feedback into planning and 

design of training. For example, the Bureau held debrief sessions with 

census workers during the 2018 End-to-End Test and told us they 

were also incorporating recommendations made by a training vendor. 

Feedback from the 2018 End-to-End Test is being used to inform 

training for the 2020 Census.

• The Bureau incorporates different perspectives in assessing the 

impact of training. Bureau officials stated that they incorporated 

feedback from a variety of stakeholders when evaluating the 

effectiveness of its training during testing, including participant 

debriefs and evaluations from vendors. As previously discussed, the 

Bureau used three different surveys at different points in time to 

evaluate training, and relied on debrief sessions with census 

managers and staff in the field.

• Bureau officials said they considered the training methods of another 

organization. For example, Bureau officials told us they used training 

vendors that followed requirements, including e-learning content 

developed by the Department of Defense.

However, we found that the Bureau does not have performance goals or 

measures for training in its corresponding study plan for the 2020 

Census. Specifically, we found that in the Detailed Operational Plan for 

the Field Infrastructure and Decennial Logistics Management Operations 

for the 2020 Census, the Bureau had planned to include the following 

success measures:

• Process Measures that indicate how well the process works, typically 

including measures related to completion dates, rates, and 

productivity rates.

• Cost Measures that drive the cost of the operation and comparisons 

of actual costs to planned budgets. Costs can include workload as 

well as different types of resource costs.

• Quality Measures, such as, the results of the operation, typically 

including rework rates, and error rates.
Page 33 GAO-19-602 2020 Census

However, according to Bureau officials they decided not to include the 

measures from the study plan for training because the study plan was 

intended to provide descriptive information about operations rather than 

evaluate them.18 We have previously reported that a fundamental element 

in an organization’s efforts to manage for results is its ability to set 

meaningful goals for performance and to measure progress toward those 

goals. Thus, without specific performance goals and measures for its new 

blended training approach that considers cost and benefits when 

compared to 2010, the Bureau will not be able to determine whether its 

blended training approach reduced costs or increased efficiency.

Moreover, not having goals and measures in place could inhibit the 

Bureau’s ability to develop meaningful lessons learned from the 2020

Census. Bureau officials agreed and stated they will consider including 

goals and measures on cost and efficiency in its plans; however, the 

Bureau has not yet provided us with documentation to reflect the goals 

and measures it will use to evaluate training, and has no time frame for 

doing so. Training for in-field address canvassing operation will begin in 

July 2019. Having performance goals and measures will help the Bureau 

assess the impact of its new training approach on cost, quality, and 

resources expended.

Successfully carrying out the thousands of activities needed to complete 

an accurate, cost-effective head count on schedule is an enormous and 

challenging task. However, for those activities we examined, the Bureau 

appears to be positioned to carry them out as planned, if implemented 

properly. While Bureau officials acknowledged there were some early 

delays when regions were trying to find office space and acquire leases, 

they said that the deadlines for the later phases of construction allow 

extra time—giving them a chance to make up lost time.

Regarding recruiting and hiring, the Bureau was exceeding its recruiting 

goals for early operations, but identified challenges in areas such as 

promptly completing background checks, hiring in a time of low 

unemployment, and overcoming language barriers. Moreover, although 

 18In the design/development phase we determined the Bureau met the best practice for 

having goals and measures because during the 2018 End-to-End Test, when the Bureau 

was designing and developing online training, the 2018 End-to End test study plans for 

training had measures of success including a training solution that reduces cost and 

increases efficiency when compared to 2010.

Conclusions
Page 34 GAO-19-602 2020 Census

the Bureau has exceeded its recruiting goal for early operations, 

recruiting a sufficient number of job applicants for partnership specialist is 

a challenge. The Bureau’s continued response to and management of 

these challenges will be important as it begins recruiting for its peak 

operation efforts later this fall.

The Bureau has generally followed its training plans for 2020, but has 

opportunities to improve its ability to evaluate training efforts. The Bureau 

notes that the blended training approach is intended to maximize trainee 

learning and on the job performance during the 2020 Census. However, 

2020 Census documents do not contain performance goals or measures 

for determining the cost and benefits of the training when compared to 

2010. Revising plans to include goals and measures will better position 

the Bureau to determine how its blended training approach will impact the 

cost, quality, and resources expended on the 2020 Census.

We recommend that the Secretary of Commerce direct the U.S. Census 

Bureau to revise plans to include goals and measures for assessing the 

cost and benefits of the Bureau’s new blended training approach. These 

measures might include, but are not limited to, measures of cost, quality, 

and resources associated with training when compared to 2010. 

(Recommendation 1)

We provided a draft of this report to the Secretary of Commerce. In its 

written comments, reproduced in appendix II, the Department of 

Commerce agreed with our findings and recommendation and said it 

would develop an action plan to address our recommendation. The 

Census Bureau also provided technical comments, which we 

incorporated.

We are sending copies of this report to the Secretary of Commerce, the 

Under Secretary of Economic Affairs, the Director of the U.S. Census 

Bureau, and interested congressional committees. The report also is 

available at no charge on GAO’s website at http://www.gao.gov.

If you have any questions about this report please contact me at (202) 

512-2757 or goldenkoffr@gao.gov. Contact points for our Offices of 

Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last page

Recommendation for 

Executive Action

Agency Comments 

and Our Evaluation
Page 35 GAO-19-602 2020 Census

of this report. GAO staff who made major contributions to this report are 

listed in appendix III.

Robert Goldenkoff

Director

Strategic Issues 
Page 36 GAO-19-602 2020 Census

List of Requesters

The Honorable Elijah E. Cummings

Chairman

The Honorable Jim Jordan

Ranking Member

Committee on Oversight and Reform

House of Representatives

The Honorable Gerry Connolly

Chairman

The Honorable Mark Meadows

Ranking Member

Subcommittee on Government Operations 

Committee on Oversight and Reform

House of Representatives
Appendix I: Objective, Scope, and 

Methodology

Page 37 GAO-19-602 2020 Census

This report assesses the extent to which the Census Bureau (Bureau) is 

following its plans for space acquisition, recruiting and hiring, and training. 

For all of our objectives, we reviewed current Bureau planning documents 

and schedules, and interviewed Bureau officials including officials at the 

Bureau’s six regional offices.

To assess the Bureau’s progress in opening area census offices (ACO), 

we obtained and reviewed current Bureau leasing agreement information 

and construction (meaning renovations such as new electrical layouts, 

heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) and deployment information. We 

also gathered information on the General Services Administration’s role in 

obtaining office space. To determine whether the Bureau is on track, we 

compared the current status of opening, construction, and deployment of 

ACOs to the Bureau’s plans, schedules, and timelines, and identified 

differences for follow-up with Bureau officials. We also reviewed a 

randomly selected nongeneralizable sample of ACO files at the 

Philadelphia RCC to determine whether justification was included when 

changes to ACO locations occurred.

To determine the extent to which the Bureau is following its field hiring 

and recruiting strategy for the 2020 Census, we reviewed Bureau 

documentation regarding its strategy for recruiting and hiring temporary 

field staff for the 2020 Census. We also reviewed output and analysis 

from relevant Bureau human resources systems/databases, such as 

MOJO Recruit. We interviewed Bureau officials in both headquarters and 

the field who are knowledgeable about and responsible for recruiting and 

hiring temporary field staff to determine the extent to which the Bureau is 

meeting its recruiting and hiring goals, to describe their perspectives on 

any challenges facing the 2020 Census, and to understand the Bureau’s 

actions to mitigate any challenges. To understand changes from 2010, we 

compared the 2010 Census recruiting and hiring plans to those of the 

2020 Census to determine differences, and interviewed Bureau officials to 

discuss what drove these changes.

Finally, to determine the extent to which the Bureau has followed its plans 

for training field staff, and whether this training approach is consistent 

with selected leading practices, we examined relevant documents and 

interviewed Bureau officials to determine the Bureau’s planned approach 

for training, lessons learned from prior Census tests, the extent to which 

the Bureau is incorporating lessons learned as a result of its own testing, 

and what changes to training need to be made before the start of 2020 

field operations. Additionally, we interviewed Bureau officials responsible 

for developing training curriculum to understand how training was 

Appendix I: Objective, Scope, and 

Methodology
Appendix I: Objective, Scope, and 

Methodology

Page 38 GAO-19-602 2020 Census

developed (e.g. what courses to develop, challenges to using technology, 

etc.). We also reviewed federal guidance and our prior reports, and 

selected 11 leading practices from GAO’s Guide for Assessing Strategic 

Training and Development Efforts in the Federal Government

(GAO-04-546G) as leading practices for training. Our strategic training 

guide identifies four phases of the training development process 

(planning/analysis, design/development, implementation, and evaluation). 

We assessed the approach against leading practices in two of these 

phases: design/development and evaluation. We did not assess the 

implementation phase because field staff training for the 2020 Census 

had not yet begun during our audit, and we did not assess the 

planning/analysis phase because practices in that phase are more 

applicable to agency-wide rather than program-specific training 

development, and focus on full-time permanent employees rather than 

temporary employees. Moreover, within the design/development phase 

and evaluation phase, we did not assess all best practices because some 

of those best practices were also more applicable to agency-wide rather 

than program-specific training development, or we had already evaluated 

such practices as cost.1 Moreover, this report primarily focuses on 

training for the address canvassing and nonresponse follow-up 

operations. We then compared the Bureau’s training approach to those 

leading practices and identified practices being followed and any 

differences.

We conducted this performance audit from August 2018 to July 2019 in 

accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. 

Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain 

sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our 

findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that 

the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and 

conclusions based on our audit objectives.

 1

GAO-16-628 and GAO-18-635.
Appendix II: Comments from the Department 

of Commerce

Page 39 GAO-19-602 2020 Census

Appendix II: Comments from the Department 

of Commerce
Appendix III: GAO Contact and Staff 

Acknowledgments

Page 40 GAO-19-602 2020 Census

Robert Goldenkoff, (202) 512-2757 or goldenkoffr@gao.gov

Other key contributors to this report include Lisa Pearson, Assistant 

Director; Timothy Wexler, Analyst-in-Charge; Mark Abraham; Michael 

Bechetti; Jessica Blackband; James Cook; Rob Gebhart; Kerstin Hudon; 

Kayla Robinson; and Cynthia Saunders.

Appendix III: GAO Contact and Staff 

Acknowledgments

GAO Contact

Staff 

Acknowledgments

(102953)
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