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2010 census under way

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By CAROLE DICKEY

Tribune correspondent

Published: November 1, 2009

Across America, Census Bureau workers are knocking on doors. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that 140,000 census workers, hired from within each local community, are canvassing neighborhoods to identify each residential address. This is preliminary to distributing the actual census questionnaires.

When these workers knock on a door, how will the resident know it's an official worker and not someone trying to pull a scam?

For one thing, they will look the part. While canvassing neighborhoods, the workers will carry an ID card, a hand-held computer, a canvas bag and a confidentiality notice. They will not ask for a Social Security number, credit card or banking information, they will not solicit donations, and will not ask to enter a home. The address verification takes only a few minutes.

Kevin Doll, public information officer for the Pasco County Sheriff's Office, recommends residents use reasonable caution when talking to strangers who come to their door.

"I would say not just census workers, but anybody you don't know," Doll said. "Don't invite a stranger into your home or give out personal information to a stranger."

The Better Business Bureau cautions to be on the lookout for e-mail scams impersonating the U.S. Census Bureau and to never click on a link or open any attachments in an e-mail that are supposedly from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Although the U.S. census comes around every 10 years, the Census Bureau has a trained, professional workforce that conducts a variety of surveys year-round, said Manuel Landivar, assistant regional census manager.

"In any given county, the census takers randomly collect data for the government through surveys," Landivar said. "The U.S. Census is mandatory, but the surveys are voluntary."

These professional survey interviewers will not have the hand-held computer and carry a canvas bag to identify themselves. However, they will have an ID badge and a laptop computer. More importantly, prior to conducting a survey in an area, the residents are notified by mail, Landivar said, so they will be expecting them. The surveys usually take longer, maybe a half-hour or longer, and are usually done indoors.

"If someone from the Census Bureau has contacted you at home and you have a question or concern, please go to the Census Bureau Web site at www.census.gov and click on the 'Are You In A Survey?' link on the left side of the screen," Landivar said. That will verify whether a survey is being conducted.

The 2010 U.S. Census questionnaire, as explained on the census Web site, will be mailed or delivered to households in March. It will contain about 10 questions, such as name, sex, age, race, relationship, own or rent. It will not ask for Social Security numbers or legal status.

April 1 is National Census Day, when households are encouraged to mail the completed questionnaires back to the Census Bureau. From April through July, census takers will visit households that did not return the form.

In December, the Census Bureau delivers population information to the president for apportionment purposes, and by March 2011, the Census Bureau, by law, completes delivery of redistricting data to states.

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