March 16, 2010
2010 Census Forms Arrive in 120 Million Mailboxes Across Nation
Special to Huntingtonnews.net
Washington, DC (HNN) - Asking just 10 questions and taking about 10 minutes to complete, 2010
Census forms began arriving in 120 million mailboxes across the nation on Monday, March 15 - just the 23rd time the
country has undertaken the constitutionally mandated population count that
dates back to 1790.
The only civic event that includes every person in the country, the
Census is the basis for America's representative democracy, ensuring that
Congress is fairly reapportioned every 10 years between the states. Census
counts are also used to redraw state and local legislative boundaries so
that political representation is fairly distributed across their changing
populations.
"When you receive your 2010 Census, please fill it out and mail it
back," Census Bureau Director Robert M. Groves said. "It's one of the
shortest forms in our lifetime with just 10 questions very much like the
questions James Madison and Thomas Jefferson helped craft on the very first
Census."
As America has grown and become more complex and more diverse, it has
become more challenging over the decades to get a complete count of the
population. The 2010 Census faces special challenges during the current
economic downturn, including the housing crisis which has resulted in
higher rates of vacant housing that must be visited to ensure a complete
count.
The Census Bureau today estimated that if every household completed and
mailed back their census form, taxpayers could reduce the cost of taking
the census by $1.5 billion. The Census Bureau saves about $85 million in
operational costs for every percentage point increase in the nation's
participation rate by mail.
"Here is something every family can do to help their government save
money, and get an accurate Census at the same time. Mailing back your
census form when it arrives will contribute to saving hundreds of millions
of taxpayer dollars," Groves added. "It's a lot less expensive to get
responses back by mail than it is to send census takers to knock on doors
of households that failed to respond."
"It costs the government just 42 cents for a postage paid envelope when
a household mails back the form," said Groves. "It costs $57 to send a
census taker door-to-door to follow up with each household that fails to
respond."
Advance letters alerting households to the arrival of the 2010 Census
form last week, as well as reminder postcards sent later this month, are
all part of a mailing strategy that has been proven to increase
participation in the census by mail - a cost savings that could exceed more
than $500 million.
Even with these changes to make the census the shortest and easiest in a
lifetime, the Census Bureau still projects that it will have to send census
takers to an estimated 48 million households that do not respond by mail.
Following up door-to-door to count households from May to July will require
hiring about 650,000 census workers.
Participating in the census is required by law for everyone living in
the United States, and the public is encouraged to promptly mail back their
2010 Census forms once they are delivered this week between March 15-17.
About 12 million addresses, mostly in rural areas as well as Gulf Coast
areas affected by Hurricane Katrina, began receiving hand-delivered forms
March 1.
Census data also help determine how more than $400 billion in federal
funds are distributed to tribal, state and local governments every year -
including funding for schools, roads, health care and other critical
programs.
As a way of encouraging response, the Census Bureau will be publishing
mail participation rates showing the percent of the population that have
mailed back their 2010 Census forms on a daily basis on 2010census.gov.
This map-based feature and widget application allows communities to track
how well they are responding by mail and if they're doing better than
neighboring cities, counties or states. The first participation rates for
the 2010 Census will appear March 22. Rates from the 2000 Census are
already on the new site and serve as a benchmark. We hope communities will
challenge themselves to exceed their 2000 performance for this census.
It's Easy: A Look at the 2010 Census Questionnaire
The census mailing package includes a cover letter, the 2010 Census form
and a postage-paid return envelope. The 10 questions are basic and should
take about 10 minutes to complete. The 2010 Census asks the following
questions:
1. The number of people living in the residence
2. Any additional people that might be living there as of April
1, 2010
3. Whether the residence is owned or rented
4. Telephone number (in case the Census Bureau has follow-up
questions)
5. Name
6. Sex
7. Age and date of birth
8. Whether of Hispanic origin
9. Race
10. Whether that person sometimes lives somewhere else
Census forms are available upon request in six languages: English,
Spanish, Chinese (Simplified), Korean, Vietnamese and Russian. For the
first time, bilingual English/Spanish forms will be mailed out to 13
million households where Spanish is the predominant language spoken at
home. Braille and large print forms are also available on request. For the
hearing impaired, a TDD program is available at 1-866-738-2010.
Language assistance guides are available in 59 languages on
2010census.gov to assist non-English speaking residents fill out their
forms. There are also short, in-language videos on the Web site to help
with form filling. Telephone Questionnaire Assistance is also provided in
Spanish (1-866-928-2010), Chinese (1-866-935-2010), Vietnamese
(1-866-945-2010), Korean (1-866-955-2010) and Russian (1-866-965-2010) in
addition to English (1-866-872-6868).
The Census Bureau will also be staffing more than 30,000 Questionnaire
Assistance Centers around the country where people can get help with their
forms in multiple languages. Locations of the centers are being publicized
locally and can also be found on 2010census.gov. These locations are
temporary and may change based on levels of local assistance needed by
residents.
It's Safe: Your Personal Information is Confidential by Law
All census responses are confidential; they are protected by law and not
shared with anyone. The Census Bureau takes extreme measures to protect the
identity of individuals and businesses. By law, the Census Bureau cannot
share respondents' individually identifiable answers with anyone, including
tribal housing authorities, other federal agencies and law enforcement
entities. All Census Bureau employees take the oath of nondisclosure and
are sworn for life to protect the confidentiality of the data. The penalty
for unlawful disclosure is a fine of up to $250,000, imprisonment of up to
five years or both.
ABOUT THE 2010 CENSUS
The 2010 Census is a count of everyone living in the United States and
is mandated by the U.S. Constitution. Census data are used to apportion
congressional seats to states, to distribute more than $400 billion in
federal funds to tribal, state and local governments each year and to make
decisions about what community services to provide. The 2010 Census form
will be one of the shortest in U.S. history, consisting of 10 questions,
taking about 10 minutes to complete. Strict confidentiality laws protect
the respondents and the information they provide.