Census 2010
Held every 10 years, the census is a nationwide head count of every person residing in the United States. The information is used by educators, policy makers, and community leaders for distributing government resources, redistricting, and other important decisions.
During the last two censuses, the Census Bureau missed counting millions of people – mostly minorities and low-income people. Undercounting certain populations may reduce federal funding for hospitals, education, child care, disaster preparation – as well as fair representation in Congress. Learn more about how the census affects your community.
President Obama to Nominate Robert Groves to Be Census Director
April 2, 2009 - Posted by Tyler Lewis
President Obama is expected to nominate Dr. Robert M. Groves, a former Census Bureau associate director of statistical design, to be the director of the Census Bureau.
The Census Bureau is the federal agency that gathers demographic and economic data about the United States and manages the census, which is conducted every 10 years. The nomination comes as the bureau is in the final stages of preparing for the 2010 Census.
Census data is used to determine voting representation in the House of Representatives and the distribution of federal funding for services like education, housing, and transportation.
Groves is currently the director of the University of Michigan's Survey Research Center. He must be confirmed by the Senate before assuming the post.
Link to this post
Civil Rights Groups Launch Campaign to Encourage Latino Participation in 2010 Census
April 1, 2009 - Posted by Jenna Wandres
 Arturo Vargas, executive director of NALEO, speaking at an April 1 National Press Club event announcing the "ya es hora HAGASE CONTAR!" campaign This morning, a coalition of prominent Latino organizations and national Spanish-language media outlets announced their campaign, "ya es hora HAGASE CONTAR!" (It's Time, Make Yourself Count!), to motivate U.S. Latinos to participate in the 2010 Census.
During the last two censuses, the Census Bureau missed counting millions of people – mostly minorities and low-income people. Latinos, who are the largest minority group in the nation, were missed at a higher rate than other racial and ethnic groups.
"A census that fails to accurately count all Latinos is a failed census," said Arturo Vargas, executive director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund (NALEO). "As a community we need to understand that full participation in American life requires standing up and being counted."
One year from today, the Census Bureau will begin mailing census forms to every household in the country. Newly confirmed Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke noted that the Obama administration has not nominated a candidate for Census Bureau director yet but said that "the census is the priority issue for the Commerce Department."
Link to this post
Census Bureau Faces Challenges in Ensuring Minority Groups Are Counted
March 27, 2009 - Posted by Tyler Lewis
This week, NPR ran a short piece on the challenges the Census Bureau will face with next year's census, particularly with minorities who have been historically missed in previous censuses.
Terry Ao, director of the census and voting programs for the Asian American Justice Center (AAJC) and LCCR coalition member, talks about how the recession and the foreclosure crisis, which have been particularly hard on minorities, will make the census even harder.
Ao also participated in a LCCREF census 2010 conference call this week that addressed the challenges of getting an accurate count of underrepresented communities.
Link to this post
Census Bureau to Launch Ad Campaign Targeting Minority and Low-Income Communities
March 24, 2009 - Posted by Isha Mehmood
The Census Bureau announced plans today to launch a $250 million advertising campaign aimed at encouraging minorities in urban areas to fill out their census forms for the 2010 Census. Nearly a quarter of the funding will go towards minority news outlets.
Since minorities and low-income people have been less likely to be counted in past censuses, the bureau uses tools like this ad campaign to reach members of those groups. Traditionally, minorities have been less likely to participate in the census than Whites due to distrust of the government. Latinos, in particular, may be afraid because of the rise of anti-immigrant sentiment and raids in the U.S.
In addition, the 2010 Census presents several challenges that will make it difficult to count minorities, like the displacement of millions of people after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the foreclosure crisis.
Census data is used to determine voting representation in the House of Representatives and the distribution of federal funding for services like education, housing, and transportation.
Link to this post
Commerce Secretary Nominee Wants to Get the 2010 Census Right
March 23, 2009 - Posted by Katie Kohn
 Gary Locke Gary Locke, President Obama's nominee for Secretary of Commerce, has vowed to make the 2010 Census a priority.
The Census Bureau is facing serious challenges that may affect the accuracy of the 2010 census. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the foreclosure crisis displaced millions of people, which will make the count difficult. In addition, many people are concerned about their privacy and confidentiality and are reluctant to share any information with the federal government. At his March 18 confirmation hearing, Locke underscored the importance of the census while outlining the plan to overcome these challenges: "The census only happens once every ten years and we need to get it right – no exceptions, no excuses. That is why it will be run out of the Department of Commerce and by a director who will work with the Congress, the administration and our state and local leaders to make sure you and they are involved every step of the way in making this a successful count."
Link to this post
Census Funding in the Economic Recovery Package
February 19, 2009 - Posted by Katie Kohn
The recently-enacted economic recovery package includes an additional $1 billion in funding for the 2010 Census, which will enable the Census Bureau to run the census more effectively.
The money will be used to help the bureau hire temporary staff that will go door-to-door and help people fill out their census forms, fund promotional activities like ads targeted at hard-to-count populations, and fund the bureau's Partnership Program. The Partnership Program encourages local leaders and organizations in poor and minority areas to help educate people about the importance of filling out the census form.
An accurate count is extremely important to the civil rights community because a disproportionate number of minorities and low-income people have been historically missed in the census. Census data is used to determine voting representation and to distribute federal funds for key services like education.
Link to this post
Fully Counting Latinos in the 2010 Census Presents Some Challenges
February 12, 2009 - Posted by Maggie Owner
The recent rise in anti-immigrant rhetoric and raids over the past few years has made Latinos fearful of giving information to the government, which creates challenges for civil rights organizations that are working to ensure that Latinos are fully counted in the 2010 census.
During the last two censuses, the Census Bureau missed counting millions of people – mostly minorities and low-income people. Latinos, who are the largest minority group in the nation, were missed at a higher rate than other racial and ethnic groups.
Undercounting certain populations may reduce federal funding for hospitals, education, child care, disaster preparation – as well as fair representation in Congress.
Addressing this challenge is a major priority for Latino advocacy groups like the National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO) and the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), who just had its 4th annual legislative conference in Washington, D.C.
Both groups will be working in partnership with other civil rights organizations like LCCREF to inform minority communities about the importance of the census and encouraging people in those communities to fill out their census forms.
Link to this post
Census Bureau Hiring for 2010 Census
January 6, 2009 - Posted by Tyler Lewis
The 2010 census will take place on April 1, 2010. But the U.S. Census Bureau is already getting ready by hiring part-time employees to help with the census.
Most of the jobs are for census takers. Census takers travel house to house, updating address lists and interviewing families. They will be hired in nearly every community around the country based on that community’s needs.
The census is administered every 10 years. The new employees will play a critical role in ensuring that the 2010 census is completed successfully. Despite more resources and better planning, the 2000 Census missed over 3 million people. Minorities were disproportionately represented in those the Bureau did not count.
The data the census collects is very important. It is used by the federal government to allocate funds to state and local governments and to determine representation in Congress.
Link to this post
|
|
