The Census
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Original Air Date: 01/07/2010
The Census
It’s time to be counted, Washington. The once-a-decade, constitutionally mandated census of everyone living in America begins in March .
Why should we care? Information from the census is used to draw up congressional districts, allocate Electoral College votes, and distribute over 400 billion dollars of government support. The information is also used to conduct market research, prepare for disaster response, and locate pools of skilled workers.
The 2010 census faces some new challenges. The housing crisis has left many families without a permanent residence, making them difficult to locate, and the count of immigrants living in the country could prove difficult as many are apprehensive to disclose their personal information to government officials. The census bureau is committed to avoid the pitfalls that marred the 2000 census, when a reported 4.5 million people, mostly minorities, were not counted.
Join our conversation as we explore the impact of the census, and discuss how we prepare to take part in this vital population count.
Guests
Visit the Census website here.
Susan Ross – Local Census Office Manager, Tacoma Census Office
This will be the third census that Susan has worked on. She has experience working on every level of the local census, and has done everything from knocking on doors to managing the office. She has expertise on the reach of the census, its impact on the community and how the census spurs employment, civic responsibility, and community partnerships in Pierce County and beyond.
Lilah Gael - Partnership Specialist, Tacoma Census Office
As a partnership specialist for the Census office in Tacoma, Lilah works with community partners to spread information about the census and reach out to populations that may be apprehensive or uneducated about their part in the census. She has worked with community organizations in Pierce County in the past, and has expertise in organizing and service within the community.
Stats and Facts
According to Commerce Secretary and former Washington Governor Gary Locke, the 2010 census will cost the country $14 billion, with most of that money going toward printing and mailing census forms and employing census workers. Locke estimates that 800,000 people will find temporary employment through the census. Most will be paid between 10 and 20 dollars an hour and will work for one to four months.
Pierce County will hire approximately 2,500 people to work on the census, but need to test 9,000 people for those positions.
You can reach the Census Jobline at (866) 861-2010
Census forms will arrive between March 15-17. Residents who don't respond will get a follow-up postcard. Those who still don't respond can expect a visit from a census taker by early May.
According to the News Tribune, In 2000, about 67 percent of households mailed back their forms, ending a three decade decline in the response rate. Follow-up visits are expensive. For every percentage point decrease in the response rate, the Census Bureau says it costs an additional $85 million to find and count those people.
Send your questions or comments to NorthwestNow@kbtc.org
