For urban centers and suburban neighborhoods across the U.S., the decennial census is a relatively straightforward process. Return a mailed form or wait for a helpful census worker adorned in the iconic blue vest to knock on your door.

Either way: You aren't likely to go uncounted.

For the thousands of families living in hundreds of rural and unincorporated Central Valley communities in California — often without formal addresses or precariously piled under one roof — it's a different and much more complicated story.

"Getting an accurate count is a huge issue for Tulare County," said Cindy Quezada with the Sierra Health Foundation, one organization spearheading census outreach efforts in the Central Valley.

Over the past three years, Quezada visited Allensworth, Alpaugh, Richgrove and other rural Tulare County communities. The Visalia native saw farmworker families pack into rooms and backhouses, unable to afford much else. She fears many will go uncounted in the 2020 census without the help of grassroots organizations who already have "boots on the ground," she said.

"It's ironic that the communities most in need are the ones least likely to get counted," she said. "If you live in a backhouse that doesn't have a formal address, you're not getting an invitation to participate in the census."

Even if they do, Quezada says, many are reluctant to answer out of fear that code enforcement, ICE or other officials will use their answers against them — fears stoked by the Trump administration's unsuccessful efforts to have a citizenship question included in the 2020 census.

Even though a citizenship question won’t be included, hype around the issue has caused many unauthorized immigrants to be concerned about their safety participating.

The bureau has assured residents that personal data collected cannot be shared with other agencies, such as Homeland Security Department, and, before it is published, it is stripped of all personally identifiable information.

In Tulare County, 65% of the population reported Hispanic or Latino, according to 2018 census data.

"The consequences of undercounting these communities is dire," Tulare County Supervisor Eddie Valero said. "Sadly, being hard to count can mean unequal access to vital public and private resources."

The problem could be further exacerbated this year as census officials move to a digital system for the first time, allowing people to participate in the census online. Broadband internet access remains a challenge for several Tulare County communities, despite sitting less than a few hours drive from Silicon Valley, Valero said.

"There are many unincorporated communities in California that require additional infrastructure needs, suffer from unearthed potential and lack resources to be at par with neighboring cities," said Valero, whose District 4 covers three cities and 11 unincorporated communities. "These particular communities are at a higher risk of not being counted."

Quezada says that's why community organizers are so important in getting the word out.

"We're wearing the blue vests to get everyone used to the idea that census workers are trusted messengers," she said.

The foundation is partnering with more than 60 community organizations from a wide cross-section of Valley peoples considered hard-to-count, from the deaf and hard-of-hearing to racial and religious minorities to immigrant and farmworker groups.

Visalia's The Source LGBT+ Center is among those partnering with the foundation to increase census participation.

While immigrant advocates and many states fought to have the citizenship question removed from this year's census, others have pushed to get a different question included.

"There is no LGBT-specific question on the census, and so the erasure of our identities, our sexual orientation means our needs are often overlooked," said Brian Poth, the Source's founder. "Because of that exclusion, there is some pushback about participating.

"If we're not counted anyway why should we even answer? The answer is: We're people. We are people first, and we count."

Poth said the Source is working to "change the narrative" to encourage LGBT people, regardless of their color or immigration status, to participate in the census and "let them know that it's safe."

The stakes of the decennial count are hard to overstate.

As much as $675 billion is allocated each year to fund education, transportation infrastructure and safety net programs based largely on census data.

By the year's end, the Census Bureau will hire half a million workers nationwide to help with the count. Upward of $6.3 billion has been budgeted for this year's process.

Organizers said they will fight to make sure the Central Valley gets its fair share.

"Two hundred and sixty-nine miles separates Arvin from Lodi California, but what unites us is 43 languages and 6.5 million people," said Deep Singh of the Jakara Movement, a Sikh youth organization. "This Central Valley is also noted for its storytelling, and the census isn't telling our stories.

"If we believe in a California for all, we must stand for a California for all and make sure all of us are counted."

Joshua Yeager covers water, agriculture, parks and housing for the Visalia Times-Delta and Tulare Advance-Register newspapers. Follow him on Twitter @VTD_Joshy. Get alerts and keep up on all things Tulare County for as little as $1 a month. Subscribe today.