Census Legacies – American Community Survey Educational Workshop
by the CSI UCR – November 3, 2021
Census Legacies – Strategy Session on a Stronger ACS and 2030 Census
by CSI UCR – October 20, 2021
American Community Survey Handbooks for Data Users
produced by the Population Reference Bureau and U.S. Census Bureau, Sept. 2019 – March 2021
American Community Survey: Information Guide
by the U.S. Census Bureau – October 2017
How a Question Becomes Part of the American Community Survey
produced by the U.S. Census Bureau – August 2017
Why We Need the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey
by the Census Project, March 2016
“The American Community Survey is Essential,” a statement from the American Economic Association
Letters from state and local chambers of commerce in support of full funding for the American Community Survey and keeping response mandatory.
Letter to the House Commerce, Justice and Science appropriations subcommittee
Letter to the Senate Commerce, Justice and Science appropriations subcommittee
March 24, 2015
The ACS 3-year Demographic Estimates Are History. A blog post from the Association of Public Data Users by Ken Poole.
The American Community Survey: Development, Implementation, and Issues for Congress – Dec. 2, 2013
This Congressional Research Service report on the ACS offers helpful background on why the Census Bureau created the ACS to replace the traditional census long form, congressional support for and concerns about the ACS over the past two decades, and issues that Congress might consider to improve the survey while ensuring the continued availability of data needed for policy and programmatic purposes. The report was written by Jennifer Williams, CRS Specialist in American National Government.
Choices Magazine on Federal Data. Choices Magazine published an important article on the uses of federal statistics (including the ACS) for rural and farm areas.
Congressional ACS Briefing Materials. In late September 2013, the Census Project coordinated a congressional briefing for House aides. For the session the Census Project put together a comprehensive set of handouts, including several PowerPoint presentations, on how the ACS works and its uses.
Cutting the Census; Impairing Our Democracy
This blog post by Wilder Research Executive Director Paul Mattessich, describes the consequences of the May 2012 U.S. House of Representatives vote to eliminate funding for the American Community Survey, and significantly reduce the Census Bureau’s overall budget, for sound research and decision-making. Minnesota-based Wilder Research is part of the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit health and human service organization that assists thousands of people each year through direct service programs, research, leadership and community capacity building. Wilder’s Minnesota Compass project tracks and analyzes trends that affect the quality of life in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region – important work that wouldn’t be possible without objective, reliable and comprehensive data.
Webinar on ACS – January 30, 2013. The Association of Public Data Users (APDU) held a webinar on private sector uses of the American Community Survey (ACS). Census Project Co-Director Terri Ann Lowenthal gave an update on the status of ACS funding and oversight in Congress. Her remarks are available on APDU’s website.
Testimony on ACS – July 18, 2012. Senate Testimony of Dr. Andrew Reamer on ACS. On July 18, 2012 Dr. Reamer testified before a subcommittee of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. In his testimony, Dr. Reamer focused on the American Community Survey.
Fact Sheet on ACS. Fact Sheet on ACS. The Census Project has prepared a one-page fact sheet detailing what the elimination of the American Community Survey will mean to communities throughout the country. Please feel free to circulate the fact sheet to friends, allies and colleagues.
Elimination of America’s Playbook. Scores of Case Studies and Comments from Census Project Stakeholders and Allies on how the American Community Survey is used to their goals and improve their communities.
Evolution of American Community Survey Questions. A description of how the questions on first the long form decennial census and then the American Community Survey have changed and evolved beginning with the first decennial census. By the acclaimed Census historian Margo Anderson.
George Washington University Institute of Public Policy American Community Survey: Uses and Users. A brief description of both the myriad ways in which the American Community Survey is used and the many groups, individuals, and levels of government that use the survey. It includes many links to outside sources and further information about just how vital and useful the ACS is.
Webinar on the Applications of the American Community Survey for Reporters
On April 10, 2012, The Census Project coordinated a 50-minute audio and visual webinar for media covering census issues and data base reporters on how to use the information from the American Community Survey for local/state reporting. This call featured:
- Terri Ann Lowenthal, former staff director, U.S. House of Representatives Census Subcommittee
- D’Vera Cohn, Senior Writer, Pew Research Center
- Mary Jo Hoeksema, Public Affairs Specialist, Population Association of America/Association of Population Centers
Members of Congress’ Letter to Committee Chair Opposing Voluntary ACS Bill. A March 13, 2012, letter signed by more than a dozen members of Congress urging Darrell Issa, chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, to oppose a bill making the ACS voluntary.
House Panel holds hearing on making American Community Survey voluntary. A report on the March 6 hearing by Steve Pierson of the American Statistical Association
Congressional Testimony on ACS. Testimony given on March 6, 2012 before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform’s Subcommittee on Health Care, District of Columbia, Census and the National Archives
Stakeholder Letter Opposing a Voluntary ACS. A March 5, 2012, letter from Census Project stakeholders, urging House census subcommittee leadership to reject a measure that would make the ACS voluntary rather than mandatory.
Enhancing the American Community Survey: Congress and the ACS. In late September 2011, Mary Jo Hoeksema, director of government affairs at the Population Association of America and a co-director of the Census Project, gave a presentation on the legislative history of the American Community Survey (ACS) and the challenges that lie ahead in Congress in order to assure that the ACS has adequate resources to meet its mission.
The Census Project 