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Published Monday, March 08, 2010 in Local

Census forms to arrive starting March 15

By Winston Skinner

The Newnan Times-Herald

Forms for the 2010 Census will be arriving in Coweta County mailboxes soon, and a local committee is joining with Census Bureau staff to encourage people to fill out the forms and mail them back quickly.

Census numbers are used to reallocate seats in the U. S. Congress and to divide funds for various purposes. If large numbers of Americans complete the mail form and return it promptly, their actions will also save the government millions of dollars.

For each census form returned by mail, the Census Bureau saves $60-$70 -- about $85 million for every one percent increase in mail participation. Plus, "you will not get a phone call, and you will not get anybody coming to knock on your door," noted Doris Turner, the partnership specialist for the Census Bureau serving several counties including Coweta.

Census forms are scheduled to be mailed starting March 15. Recipients are asked to mail the forms back no later than April 1.

A theme for this year's Census is 10-10-10. "That's our slogan. It takes 10 minutes to fill it out," Turner said. "It's 2010 -- 10 questions, 10 minutes."

The census is mandated by the U. S. Congress, and the federal government has conducted a census every ten years starting in 1790. The Census Bureau is a division of the U. S. Commerce Department.

Complete Count Committees have been established across the country to coordinate local efforts and to help address community needs in reaching people who may be unlikely to be counted such as transients and people who do not speak English.

Sandra Parker, AICP, a comprehensive planner with the Coweta County Planning Department, is serving as chairman of the Coweta County Complete Count Committee. The committee has met several times in recent months.

The group's most recent meeting brought together leaders from various areas of the community to meet with Turner.

Local volunteers have been busy getting information out about the Census and the importance of completing the form. "Posters and brochures have been displayed in many locations that include public buildings, businesses, community-based organizations and churches," Parker said.

Newsletters, Web sites, utility bills and local cable television are all being used to get the word out.

Parker also is collecting information from other committee members to let Turner know what is being done in Coweta County to encourage Census participation. "We want the Census Bureau to know that Coweta County has been an active partner," she said.

County Commission Chairman Paul Poole welcomed the group to the Complete County Committee meeting -- which is scheduled to be the last. "You're doing a very good job of informing the community," Turner said at the meeting in the commission chambers.

Turner emphasized the confidential nature of Census form data. "It's sealed for 72 years," she noted.

Census employees take an oath "that they will not divulge anybody's information," Turner said. The nondisclosure oath is for life. The penalty for unlawful disclosure is a fine of up to $250,000 or imprisonment of up to five years, or both.

Questionnaire Assistance Centers will be set up to assist those unable to read or understand the census form. There will be QAC's in Coweta County. Turner said they will be open for at least four weeks for at least 15 hours per week. Someone at each QAC "will be able to answer questions or help individuals fill out forms," she said.

Be Counted sites will also be established. Those sites will not have personnel, but will have forms for people who need them.

The Census Bureau has produced a wide range of materials. Some materials are aimed at people who speak a language other than English. There are church bulletin inserts, as well as other materials for houses of worship.

Posters -- including one emphasizing the confidentiality rules -- have been produced for placement in various locations.

"You're going to see a lot of TV ads. You'll see us talking about the Census," Turner said.

A 70-80 percent return rate by mail is considered good, but Census officials are hoping to get as many forms mailed back as possible. "We want everybody to have 100 percent -- a 100 percent count," Turner said. "You want your county and our state to be in the highest return rate."

"This is just so important to us," noted Patricia Palmer, the county's public information officer. "It really is," Turner agreed.

Getting as accurate a count as possible not only will save tax dollars now, but could secure federal dollars for Coweta County for the next 10 years.

Parker said local residents "want that funding" that will be based on the Census numbers. "Today more than ever," Poole added.

[Correction: In the story above, it was incorrectly stated that Sandra Parker is chairman of the Coweta County Complete Count Committee.

Coweta County Commission Chairman Paul Poole is actually the chairman of the committee. Parker, an employee of the county’s planning department, is helping coordinate the local U.S. Census efforts and working with Doris Turner of the regional Census office.

We regret this error.]

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Census at a glance

* The census process is incorporated into the U. S. Constitution, and a census has been taken every 10 years, starting in 1790.

* Census forms will begin to arrive in Coweta County mailboxes around March 15. Local residents are asked to mail the forms -- which require no postage -- by April 1.

* More than 130 million addresses across the nation will receive a census form later this month.

* For the first time in its history, the Census Bureau will mail about 13 million bilingual forms in English and Spanish to households in areas with high concentrations of Spanish-only speakers.

* Census forms will be available upon request in five languages in addition to English: Spanish, Chinese (Simplified), Korean, Vietnamese and Russian.

* Census data are used to determine the number of congressional seats by state and how more than $400 billion annually in federal funds to local, state, and tribal governments gets allocated.

* Mailing your census form reduces overall costs of the census. For each census form returned by mail, the Census Bureau saves $60-$70.

* During peak recruiting for 2010 field operations, nearly 500 local Census offices will hire more than 1.2 million people to conduct all remaining 2010 Census field operations. It is estimated that census workers will have to visit about 47 million homes, and census workers will make up to six attempts to obtain data from households that do not respond by mail.

* The law requires that everyone participate in the census -- Americans of all ages, races and ethnic groups -- as well as non-citizens currently in the United States.

* Census information is confidential. By law, the Census Bureau cannot share respondents' answers with anyone, including other federal agencies -- such as the Internal Revenue Service and the Immigration and Naturalization Service -- and law enforcement entities.

* Information about the location of Questionnaire Assistance Centers will be announced soon in The Times-Herald.

* From March 22-May 3, daily mail participation rate data will be available at 2010census.gov in the form of maps and tables.

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