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What the census
measures, how the information is used and
why it's important to fill it out
Part 2 of a series
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[March 03, 2010]
As
Americans will soon find a U.S. Census
Bureau form in their mailboxes, it is
natural to wonder what the census measures,
how the information is used and why it is
important to fill it out at all.
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 The
census is mandated by the Constitution to
count everyone living in the United States,
regardless of their citizenship or
immigration status. While the purpose is to
take an enumeration, the data collected from
the forms is used by the government to
determine many other things.
First, the population of a state and
areas within each state determine
representation in the House of
Representatives. Thus, how many seats each
state will have in Congress, and how those
congressional district boundaries are
redrawn after the next election, will be
guided by census figures. Even people living
in a given area temporarily, if counted on
the census form, are in the population count
for that area.
A great amount of government funding for
programs is based on census statistics.
Federal dollars are distributed based on the
population count in funding services
including school lunch and Head Start
programs, education, transportation, health
care, and job training. Census results are
also used to compile statistical information
for use in decision-making, such as planning
future locations of schools, fire and police
departments, new roads, hospitals,
child-care and senior centers -- even where
to locate supermarkets, new housing,
businesses and other facilities.
By federal law, every household in the
United States must participate in the 2010
census. One of the shortest census forms in
history, the 2010 census form asks 10
questions and takes about 10 minutes to
complete. Census forms will be delivered or
mailed to households in March. Households
should complete and mail back their forms
upon receipt. Census workers will visit
households that do not return forms, to take
a count in person.
Personal household information collected
on census forms is protected by federal law
and kept confidential for 72 years.
Immigration officials, the Internal Revenue
Service and even the White House are
prohibited from access. All responses are
safe and confidential. By law, the Census
Bureau cannot share respondents' answers
with anyone, including other federal
agencies and law enforcement entities. All
Census Bureau employees take an 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 or imprisonment of up to five
years, or both.
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Residents who do not complete a form
after being sent one may be sent an
additional replacement form. If no form is
mailed back, residents can expect a personal
visit from a census worker after March. The
census taker will ask the questions on the
form, record the answers and submit the form
for that household.
Respondents are required by federal law
to complete and return the census form. A
code of federal law states that anyone who
fails to submit required information, or
does so falsely, may be fined up to $500.
There is not currently a way to fill out
the form online, though the Census Bureau is
experimenting with that for the next census.
In areas served by the U.S. Postal
Service, postal workers will deliver the
initial mailing in mid-March. In all other
areas, census takers will deliver the form
packages between March 1 and April 30. If an
additional form or additional help is
needed, many communities have set up
community centers for census information.
One such place in Logan County is at the
Lincoln Heritage Museum at Lincoln College.
For more information about the 2010
census, visit
2010census.gov or call 866-872-6868.
[Text from
file received from Ron J. Keller]
Part 1 of series:
A brief history of the
U.S. Census and what to expect with this
year's form
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