Census 2010 – The Basics
By Evan Armstrong
Community Engagement VISTA
The following is the first of a series of blogs about Census 2010.
In the coming months, if you ever hear anyone wondering why the government spends so much time every ten years counting everyone, let them know that it isn’t just some fancy government spending operation! A decennial census is actually mandated by the Constitution, and everyone living in the U.S. is required to participate.
The U.S. Census Bureau is in charge of the arduous task of counting everyone in the country. There are tweaks and changes to each decade’s census, going back from the very first census in 1790 that was administered by U.S. Marshals on horseback! That census counted slightly fewer than 4 million people, while the 2010 Census is expected to count well over 300 million. Later entries will go into detail about what the upcoming census will entail, but this initial post will give you a timeline of important dates in the next year.
February-March 2010: Census questionnaires are mailed or delivered to households nationwide.
— Once you get your questionnaire, just fill it out and send it in! If you fill out the questionnaire completely, you will not be visited by any census workers later.
April 1, 2010: Census Day
— This is the last day to send in your questionnaire before census workers begin going door-to-door to locate everyone who has not already been counted. It is much more cost-effective to send the form in rather than being visited by a worker, so do your part!
April-July 2010: Census takers visit households across America
— The government hired over 800,000 census workers in 2000, and the effort is expected to be even greater for the newest census!
December 2010: A population count is given to the President
— After this date, data collected is begun to be used for electoral redistribution, the providing of community services, and the local allocation of over $400 billion annually based on census statistics.
April 1, 2082: Census data from 2010 becomes public.
— If you are concerned about privacy, look at this date. After collection, census data is absolutely private for 72 years! Census employees are held to absolute confidentiality, face jail time and fines if they divulge information, and take their jobs extremely seriously! Census data cannot be used to prosecute individuals for any offenses, even by the federal government. There is absolutely no risk of filling out a census form, your information is both confidential and safe.
For more information on the 2010 census, see: http://2010.census.gov/2010census/