Short History of the ACS

Every 10 years since 1790, Congress has authorized the government to conduct a national census of the U.S. population, as required by the U.S. Constitution. James Madison ensured that the Constitution gave Congress the authority to collect additional information beyond the population count in order to “enable [future legislators] to adapt the public measures to the particular circumstances of the community.”1 In the twentieth century, the questions were divided between a “short” and “long” form. Only a subset of the population was required to answer the long-form questions. The most recent census consisted of a short form, which included basic questions about age, sex, race, Hispanic origin, household relationship, and owner/renter status. After the 2000 Census, the long form became the ACS and will continue to collect long-form-type information throughout the decade. The ACS includes not only the basic short-form questions, but also detailed questions about population and housing characteristics. It is a nationwide, continuous survey designed to provide communities with reliable and timely demographic, housing, social, and economic data every year. Since its start, the ACS has been providing a continuous stream of updated information for states and local areas, and will revolutionize the way we use statistics to understand our communities.

-Taken from the ACS Information Guide

https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/programs-surveys/acs/about/ACS_Information_Guide.pdf

History of Same Sex Incorporation

When did the Census Bureau first start collecting data about same-sex couples?

In its demographic surveys, the Census Bureau collects the relationship of each member of the household to the householder (the person who owns or rents the home). In 1990, the category unmarried partner was added to the relationship item in the decennial census to measure the growing complexity of American households and the increasing tendency for couples to live together before getting married. The unmarried partner category was also added to the Current Population Survey (CPS) in 1995, the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) in 1996, and has been on the American Community Survey (ACS) since it began in 2005.

Census 2010 marked the first published reports of those who identified themselves same-sex married couples using decennial data. Data from Census 2000 reported all same-sex couples as unmarried couples, as no states performed same-sex marriages at that time. The Census Bureau has also released yearly estimates of same-sex married couple households since 2005, using ACS data.

-Taken from Frequently Asked Questions About Same-Sex Couple Households, Fertility and Family Statistics Branch of the U.S. Census Bureau

https://www2.census.gov/topics/families/same-sex-couples/faq/sscplfactsheet-final.pdf

Incorporation of Gender & Sexual Identity

There has been recent pressure from LGBTQ advocacy groups, individuals and Congress members concerning the incorporation of gender and sexual identity into the upcoming 2020 dicennial census and the ACS. However, the 2020 census will not be incorporating these categories into their data collection. This is not a malicious act on the part of the U.S. Census Bureau, it appears to be a practical and logistical one. "According to the bureau, the problem is that under the law, there’s just no mandate to collect census data on LGBTQ people. “In order for a subject to be included, there must be a clear statutory or regulatory need for data collection,” US Census Bureau Director John Thompson, who was appointed by Obama, wrote in a blog post".

However, Meghan Maury, "criminal and economic justice director at the National LGBTQ Task Force, took issue with Thompson’s claims". Maury, leveraging " a previous federal report " states that some categoric incorporations are not mandated by law, but are included because the subjects have value in the apportionment of funds and development of federal programs. Maury and other advocates would like "the Census Bureau to apply the same standard to inclusion of questions on sexual orientation and gender identity as it does to other questions on the ACS " and the dicennial census.

But for now the debate continues.

-Taken from an article titled, "The real reason there won't be questions about LGBTQ people in the 2020 census", in Vox, by German Lopez

https://www.vox.com/identities/2017/3/29/15106344/census-lgbtq-people-trump