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The Road to the 2010 CENSUS: What Mayors Need to Know. Census Task Force Meeting U.S. Conference of Mayors Providence, RI June 15, 2009 Presented by Terri Ann Lowenthal, Consultant Funders Census Initiative; The Census Project. OVERVIEW OF REMARKS. Why is an accurate census important?
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The Road to the2010 CENSUS:What Mayors Need to Know Census Task Force Meeting U.S. Conference of Mayors Providence, RI June 15, 2009 Presented by Terri Ann Lowenthal, Consultant Funders Census Initiative; The Census Project
OVERVIEW OF REMARKS • Why is an accurate census important? • Who is missed in the census? • 2010 census milestones • Challenges to achieving an accurate count in 2010 • What Mayors can do to help
Why is an accurate census important? • Fair political representation • Congressional apportionment & redistricting • Electoral college • State and municipal legislative bodies • Allocation of $400 billion annually in federal program funds, based in whole or in part on Census Bureau data (Fiscal Year 2007) • Brookings Institution analysis of federal funds distributed based on Census Bureau statistics, as well as state-level distributions, are posted on Census Project web site • County-level distributions, FY2008 update, and state distributions by program area, available Summer 2009 • Informed planning and policy development
Who is missed in the census? • People of color • Low income populations/renters • Highly mobile people • Immigrants and people with limited English proficiency • People living in complex households • Adults without a high school diploma • Young children • Unemployed people
2010 Census Operational Milestones • Spring 2009: Address canvassing • Summer 2009: Validate ‘group quarters’ list • Fall 2009: Open remaining Local Census Offices (LCOs) • Fall 2009: Start recruiting census takers • Late Fall 2009: Begin educational phase of Communications Campaign • January 2010: Launch paid media campaign (awareness phase)
Operational Milestones (con’t.) • Late January 2010: Start census in remote and rural locations (continues through March) • March 2010: Pre-census letter, followed by mailed census forms and “thank-you/reminder postcard” • Late March 2010: Transitory location count • Paid media campaign: Motivational phase • April 1, 2010: CENSUS DAY • April - June 2010: Door-to-door visits to unresponsive housing units
Operational Milestones (con’t.) • Late summer - Fall 2010: Follow-up and coverage improvement operations • December 31, 2010: Deadline for reporting state population totals to President • April 1, 2011: Deadline for reporting detailed population counts to state governments for redistricting • 2010 - 2011: Census ‘accuracy check’ follow-up survey • 2012: Census Bureau publishes “coverage” estimates (undercounts, overcounts, components of error)
Challenges to Achieving an Accurate Count in 2010 • Increasing diversity of population; growth in immigrant population; calls for boycott • Post-9/11 and “Internet age” concerns about data confidentiality • Displacement related to economic downturn • Changes to 2010 census plan late in the process • Lack of complete testing of key systems and operations • Leadership vacuum at critical time
Get Involved! • Become a 2010 Census Partner • Establish a Complete Count Committee • Locate Questionnaire Assistance Centers and “Be Counted” sites in high-traffic city service centers • Host community meetings & events to promote census participation • Help recruit census workers • Distribute census promotional materials at municipal sites; include census message on municipal mailings; launch your own promotional campaign • Carry the message to your constituents
Stay informed! • Free Census News Briefs(e-mail TerriAnn2K@aol.com) • Join the Census Project (www.thecensusproject.org) • Nonprofit Voter Engagement Network 2010 census project (www.nonprofitvote.org/Census-2010) • Leadership Conference on Civil Rights 2010 Census Public Education Campaign (www.civilrights.org/census/) • U.S. Census Bureau (www.census.gov) • Regional Census Offices(www.census.gov/field/www/) • 2010 Census Jobs(http://2010.census.gov/2010censusjobs/) • Brookings Institution(www.brookings.edu/metro.aspx)
For further information:Terri Ann LowenthalLegislative & Policy Consultante-mail: TerriAnn2K@aol.comPhone: 203-353-4364