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CENSUS BUREAU FINALIZES PLANS FOR ASSISTANCE
CENTERS & PHONE LINES, BE COUNTED SITES,
INITIATIVE HIGHLIGHTING COUNT OF CHILDREN
PLUS:
- THE REST OF THE NEWS: Obama tapes PSA, and more
- STAKEHOLDER SPOTLIGHT: New websites assist hard-to-count communities
- NEW RESOURCES FOR CENSUS ADVOCATES
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Editor's note: Earlier
this week, the Commerce Department's Office of Inspector General (IG)
released its "2010 Census: Quarterly Financial Report to Congress,
February 2010" (Report OIG-19791-3).
The Associated Press published an article based on "excerpts" of the
report from unnamed sources; the IG's office subsequently posted the
report on its website. The Inspector General, Todd Zinser, is
scheduled to discuss the report's findings at a Senate oversight
hearing next week. We will summarize highlights after the
hearing, when Census Director Robert Groves will have an opportunity to
comment on the IG's concerns and recommendations.
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CENSUS BUREAU POISED TO LAUNCH QACs,
TELEPHONE ASSISTANCE, BE COUNTED SITES;
READIES FOR MAIL RESPONSE REPORTS
INITIATIVE ON COUNTING KIDS PLANNED
Telephone
lines offering information about the 2010 census in multiple languages
and assistance in filling out census forms will go live on February
25. Census workers at eleven call centers nationwide will be
available to answer questions and accept census responses until July 30.
The toll-free number for Telephone Questionnaire Assistance will be posted on the 2010 Census website when the call centers open. The number is printed on census
forms; a targeted postcard with in-language messages for households
whose primary language is Chinese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, or
Vietnamese - which will be sent
after census questionnaires are mailed - also will provide the phone number.
The
Census Bureau is preparing to open 30,000 Questionnaire Assistance
Centers (QACs) and an additional 10,000 Be Counted sites (QACs will
also have Be Counted forms) on a rolling basis. The first QACs,
in rural areas where questionnaires are delivered by hand (the
Update/Leave operation), will open on February 26. Remaining QACs
(in Mail-out/Mail-back areas) will open on March 19 and close on April
19; the Census Bureau will announce these sites, in areas that receive
census forms through the mail, on a rolling basis starting around March
1. Be Counted sites in all communities, regardless of enumeration method, will be open from March 19 - April 19.
The
location and hours of operation for QACs, as well as language
assistance offered, and the location of Be Counted sites, will be
posted on a Google-powered interactive map on the 2010 census web site.
QACs
will be staffed by sworn, trained census workers. Be Counted
sites are unstaffed locations where people who did not receive a
questionnaire at their place of residence or who believe they were not
included on a questionnaire filled out at their home can pick up a form
in one of six languages. Respondents using a Be Counted form must
provide an address of residence; census workers will verify the
existence and location of the housing unit in a subsequent field
operation before people listed on a Be Counted form will be added to
the census count.
'Response feedback' program readied: The
Census Bureau will report "mail participation rates" on a daily basis
for states, counties, and incorporated local areas on an interactive
2010 census website map starting March 22, several days after census
forms are mailed to most homes. The new calculation will reflect
the percent of all households that return a form by mail.
The
universe for initial mail response rates in previous censuses included
both occupied and vacant (and potentially nonexistent) addresses.
The modified measurement will provide "a truer picture of public
participation in the Census, especially with the current economic
climate and housing market," according to the Bureau's website.
The agency will determine participation rates by removing from the
calculation all housing units for which the U.S. Postal Service returns
a form marked "undeliverable as addressed," a sign that a home is
vacant or does not exist. In a late field operation (called
Vacant/Delete), census field workers revisit all addresses identified
as vacant or nonexistent in earlier census operations, to confirm that
they are not occupied housing units.
The Census Bureau has posted participation rates from Census 2000, as a point of comparison, at http://2010.census.gov/2010census/take10map/#PRate.
The national participation rate in 2000 was 72 percent; the mail
response rate, which included vacant and nonexistent addresses in the
calculation, was around 65 percent.
Census Bureau to
highlight count of children: The
Census Bureau is planning to focus attention on the importance of
including all children on census forms. The Bureau is teaming up with
Nickelodeon and child advocates to promote "Children Count, Too!"
activities the week of March 8 - 12; it will announce more details in the coming weeks.
Research shows that a disproportionate number of young
children are missed in the census. A December 2009 report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Why Are Young Children Missed So Often in the Census?, concluded that the census misses
children under the age of five more than any other age group.
The 2000 census missed more than 750,000,
or nearly four percent, of children under age five, according to the
study. The undercount of minority children in this age group was even
higher, with more than five percent of both Black boys and Black girls
missed. The report cited the greater likelihood of young children
living in large (7+ persons) households, in more mobile families, in
rental units, and in non-traditional households, as primary reasons for
the disproportionate undercount. Census Bureau research shows that it
is more difficult to achieve an accurate count of households with these
characteristics.
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THE REST OF THE NEWS ...
President encourages census participation:
President Barack Obama has taped a Public Service Announcement urging
Americans to participate in the 2010 census. According to a
Census Bureau statement, the PSA "contin[ues] a White House tradition
of strong support for the census dating back to 1790." The press
release highlighted, as examples, statements and PSAs by President
Eisenhower (1960), President George H.W. Bush (1990), and President
Clinton (2000).
President Obama encouraged all households "to
take 10 minutes to answer the 10 questions" on the census form and to
mail it back. The PSA is posted on the 2010 census website
at http://2010.census.gov/mediacenter/index.php. It will be distributed to television and radio stations tomorrow via satellite feed.
RESCHEDULED Senate
hearing scheduled on census operational readiness: The Senate Subcommittee on Federal
Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and
International Security (Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs), chaired by Sen. Thomas Carper (D-DE), has rescheduled its hearing on
"Countdown to Census Day: Progress Report on the Census Bureau's Preparedness for the Enumeration" for February 23. The
subcommittee's examination will highlight final testing of the Operations
Control System, which will manage all activities related to Nonresponse
Follow-Up and subsequent field operations; last fall's Group Quarters
Validation operation; roll-out of the 2010 Census Communications
Campaign; and the status of address list updating. The hearing is
scheduled for 2:30PM in Room 342 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
Invited witnesses include Dr. Groves, Commerce Inspector General Todd
Zinser, and Robert Goldenkoff, Director of Strategic Issues, U.S.
Government Accountability Office (GAO).
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STAKEHOLDER SPOTLIGHT
The Unity Diaspora Coalition (UDC), a collaborative effort of leading Black organizations, has set up its We're the Change ... Be Counted census campaign website. The National Urban League and the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation launched the Coalition last year. The website features
videos, a calendar of events, a toolkit for outreach to Black
communities, posters, and other promotional and educational materials. The website's URL is http://unitydiaspora.ning.com/.
The Asian American Justice
Center and its partner organizations have launched
a new website for their Fill in Our
Future campaign. The multi-lingual website, a
"clearinghouse" for census materials aimed at Asian Americans, Pacific
Islanders, and Native Hawaiians, includes information on the ten census
questions, confidentiality, the importance of census data for families
and communities, and where to get help in filling out the census form,
as well as PSAs, videos, and brochures. Materials are available in 25
Asian and Pacific Islander languages. The URL is http://www.fillinourfuture.org/.
Moving Forward Gulf Coast, Inc. has launched its 2010 census campaign website.
The Louisiana-based nonprofit was created after Hurricane Katrina and
is "dedicated to rebuilding a better Gulf Coast through the vision of
its residents." The website features resources to help promote
census participation in communities along the Gulf Coast (including in
Mississippi and Alabama) devastated by recent hurricanes, as well as
videos promoting its "Man Up! Be Counted!" campaign aimed at Black men,
who are at greatest risk of being missed in the census. The URL
is http://server3.nmdesigns.com/movingforward/www/.
The NAACP has begun its "Yes We Count" mobilization to "identify hard-to-count
neighborhoods" and "educate people on the importance of Census
participation." The campaign urges people to Take the Pledge! to fill out a census form and encourage their friends and neighbors to do so.
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NEW RESOURCES FOR CENSUS ADVOCATES
?
The Census 2010 Hard To Count mapping
website, developed
by the CUNY Mapping Service at the Graduate Center, has some new
features. Census advocates can now download demographic and
socio-economic statistics on hard-to-count areas from Census 2000 or
the American Community Survey (if applicable). After clicking on
a geographic area, pick the "HTC Stats" tab in the pop-up window.
A new option to download relevant census data will appear in the right
hand corner of the profile tables. The website now also offers a
Twitter feature that tracks census-related "tweets" from across the
country.
? The Leadership Conference Education Fund census campaign, It's Time. Make Yourself Count., has developed Lunar New Year materials promoting the census. Go to http://www.civilrights.org/census/census-resources/lunar-new-year/ to
download palm cards and Lunar New Year calendars in Chinese, Korean,
Vietnamese, and English (not all materials are available in all
languages), as well as a fact sheet on the importance of the census to
Asian Americans.
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QUICK LINKS:
2010 Census Website: The
Census Bureau's new 2010 census website offers useful basic
information on the census process, as well as sample questionnaires,
information on job opportunities, and in-language materials. Add it to
your "Bookmarks" bar to track mail response rates daily for your state
and locality starting in late March.
2010 Census en Espanol Website: New official 2010 census Spanish language website.
2010 Census Jobs: Visit this web page to download a Census Practice Test and find
information about the application process and a Local Census Office
near you.
The Census Project: Visit the Census Project website for previous Census News Briefs,
fact sheets, and a weekly blog in support of an accurate 2010
census. Become a fan of the Census Project on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Census-Project/251237523383.
Census 2010 Interactive Hard To Count Mapping Site:
This new mapping site, developed by the City University of New York
Mapping Services at the Graduate Center, allows users to pinpoint
hard-to-count census tracts and identify the socio-economic
characteristics that contribute to difficult enumeration conditions,
allowing advocates to target outreach and tailor messages.
Leadership Conference Education Fund: The LCEF 2010 Census campaign, "It's time. Make yourself count." offers
fact sheets, a toolkit, data on the census undercount, and promotional
materials to reach historically hard-to-count communities.
Nonprofits Count:
The Nonprofit Voter Engagement Network's 2010 census campaign features
fact sheets, a toolkit, posters and swag, and state-specific resources
to help nonprofits promote census participation. Check the
website for information on webinars on important census topics.
ya es hora !HAGASE CONTAR¡: Resources and promotional materials, in Spanish and English, targeting the Latino population.
National Urban League:
This Census Information Center web page includes links to demographic
information on the Black population, job opportunities, and other 2010
census materials.
Fill in Our Future:
Multi-lingual clearinghouse for information and educational and
promotional materials targeting the Asian American and Native Hawaiian
and Pacific Islander populations, sponsored by the Asian American
Justice Center and its partner organizations.
Indian Country Counts: Region-specific information, events, job listings, and tools for the American Indian and Alaska Native populations.
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Census News Briefs are prepared by Terri Ann Lowenthal,
an independent legislative and policy consultant specializing in the
census and federal statistics. All views expressed in the News Briefs
are solely those of the author. Please direct questions about the
information in this News Brief to Ms. Lowenthal at TerriAnn2K@aol.com.
Please feel free to circulate this document to other interested
individuals and organizations. Ms. Lowenthal is a consultant to the
nonpartisan Census Project, organized by the Communications Consortium
Media Center in Washington, DC. Previous Census News Briefs are posted
at www.thecensusproject.org.
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Contact information:
TerriAnn2K@aol.com
(tel.) 203-353-4364 |
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