This memorandum documents updates that have been made to the Enumeration at Transitory Locations (ETL) operation since the release of the Enumeration at Transitory Locations Detailed Operational Plan (DOP) on September 10, 2018. The operational changes are modifications or additions to the ETL activities and subactivities in the ETL DOP, which includes several updates that are related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The updates, summarized below, are provided to ensure accurate final documentation is available to the public.

• Operational Decisions, page 5: After additional planning, the “reinterview” (RI) process was descoped from the ETL operational plan and replaced with quality control checklists at each level of the operation. The ETL operation uses a minimum of two enumerators to enumerate at each transitory location (TL), with a lead enumerator overseeing the enumeration. The use of multiple staff for enumeration largely prevents the opportunity for the data falsification that reinterview is intended to identify. In addition, there is limited opportunity for rework during the ETL operation due to the respondents being a transient population. At the same time, the duration of the operation is only 25 days, which may be too short to make any meaningful use of the RI process. One additional complication to the original plan was that ETL RI would have used a telephone operation to validate the data collected, but Census Bureau experience with similar operations demonstrates that the phone response rate is extremely low. For the quality control checklists that were ultimately used for the ETL operation, each quality item on the checklist was reviewed by another field staff member to ensure procedures were followed. Quality control checklists were used by enumerators, census field supervisors, and clerks when the enumeration questionnaires (EQs) were checked into the Field Operational Control System (FOCS). There was also quality control (QC) built into FOCS. Note: This change replaces operational activity 3.5.4 in the ETL DOP: Conduct ETL Reinterview (pg. 47). This change also descoped the administrative processes that were required for reinterview, such as the clerk process step of entering phone numbers from questionnaires into FOCS (pg. 46).
• Operational Decisions, page 5: The decision to not use administrative records or third-party data sources for ETL frame development was modified for the purpose of updating the hotel/motel frame. Hotel units occupied by individuals on a daily/weekly/monthly basis or occupied as a shelter for people experiencing homelessness are constantly changing. Hotels that were classified as TLs or group quarters in the 2010 Census could have changed their status by the time of the 2020 Census. Therefore, it was important to contact each hotel during the TL Advance Contact operation to determine if hotel units were housing units or group quarters. The 2020 Census used a third-party administrative record list of all the hotels and motels in the U.S. and Puerto Rico to create a universe from which a hotel/motel calling operation was devised to determine which hotels and motels to include in the TL and GQ frames for advance contact and enumeration. Note: This additional universe source also impacts operational activity 3.3.1 in the ETL DOP: Receive Initial ETL Universe from Response Processing Operation (RPO) (pg. 33).
• Operational Decisions, page 5: The decision to conduct Transitory Locations Advance Contact (TLAC) from February 24, 2020 to March 21, 2020, and to conduct the ETL data collection operation from April 9, 2020 to May 4, 2020, was updated in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. While the initial TLAC was conducted as planned during the original planned dates of February 24, 2020 to March 21, 2020, the remaining components of the operation were postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. A decision was made to conduct a second and final TLAC operation from July 20, 2020, to August 7, 2020. Data from the initial TLAC operation were carried over to the final TLAC operation. The ETL data collection operation was moved to September 3, 2020, to September 28, 2020.
• 2.3.2.1 ETL Operational Inputs (Table 1), page 9: Transitory unit (TU) information, including “maximum units” and “estimated occupied units,” was collected during TLAC. This replaces the “estimated population” data field that was previously in Table 1. As the operation was developed more fully, planning took into account that the population of a transitory location is based on the number of occupied units during the time of enumeration. Therefore the focus of the data collection for TLAC was shifted to collect the maximum number of units and estimated number of occupied units at a location to gauge the population of a transitory location.
• 2.3.2.1 ETL Operational Inputs (Table 1), page 9: The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the plan to create a list of carnival/circus locations and dates prior to TLAC. The National Processing Center (NPC) calling center called the carnival/circus/fair companies for the initial advance contact, using a frame list provided by headquarters (HQ). For the final advance contact, HQ did not call the carnival companies to determine active carnivals in September 2020. The plan was updated for area census offices (ACOs) to determine if there were active carnivals in their area. If an ACO had knowledge of a carnival/circus/fair that was occurring in September 2020, they added it in the Production Control System (PCS) to enumerate. Note: This change also impacts operational activity 3.1.5 in the ETL DOP: Conduct Carnival/Circus Research.
• 2.3.2.2 ETL Operational Controls (Table 2), page 10: The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the plan for all ETL training to be conducted in the classroom. The operation was updated to provide virtual/online trainings.
• 2.3.2.4 ETL Operational Mechanisms (Table 6), page 16: The table for Systems Used Within ETL Operational Activities is updated to include the Automated Tracking and Control (ATAC) System. The ATAC System was used by NPC clerks for the Hotel and Motel Advance Calling (HMAC) process to record responses and manage calls.
• 2.3.2.4 ETL Operational Mechanisms (Table 6), page 16: The table for Systems Used Within ETL Operational Activities is updated to include a new geocoding system. A mobile geocoding application (GApp), installed on the iPhone, was developed to capture the state/county/basic collection unit of the transitory unit (TU). This geocoding app replaced the Listing and Mapping Application (LiMA) for ETL geocoding functions. Note: This change also impacts operational activity 3.5.2.2 in the ETL DOP: Enumerate TLs (Collecting Geocodes, pg. 45).
• 3.1.3.3 Provide Requirements for ETL Staff Supplies and Materials, page 29: The list of printed materials used by field enumerators is updated to also add the information communication (INFO-COMM) form, which was used to communicate information between Census Bureau field and office staff during the operation. This is a standard field use form that is added to the form list for completeness.
• 3.1.3.3 Provide Requirements for ETL Staff Supplies and Materials, page 29: The requirements for Kit # 761: ETL Enumerator Supply Kit were updated because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The ACO provided personal protective equipment (PPE) for employees to use while interacting with transitory location (TL) contacts or coworkers.
• 3.1.4 Prepare for and Conduct ETL-Specific Training, page 30: The ETL-Specific Training Content and Requirements were updated to include additional health and safety guidance because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The TLAC CFS Refresher Training for the In-Field Operation added a new COVID-related health topic: “Health Safety Guidelines While Working.”