Clearfield Stand Up and Be Counted! 2010 Census

Thursday, 31 December 2009

2010 marks the year for the U.S. Census, an event that has occurred every ten years since 1790. The 2010 Census forms will be mailed to households in mid-March and households will be asked to answer ten questions as accurately as possible, and return the form on April 1, National Census Day. “The goal of the 2010 Census is to count everybody, count them only once, and count them in the right place,” explained Daniel Pacheco, a Partnership Specialist with the Census Bureau. “The Census Bureau does not ask about the legal status of respondents in any of its surveys and census programs. The short form that is being mailed out to all households has ten questions and can be filled out in ten minutes.” The Decennial Census is mandated by the U. S. Constitution which calls for an actual enumeration or count of the people every ten years, to be used for apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives (Article 1, Section 2). The first census was conducted in 1790 by U.S. marshals on horseback, a time consuming process. Fortunately for the 2010 Census, census workers or Enumerators won’t have to ride horses; they’ll be using handheld computers with a Global Positioning System (GPS) to check addresses. “One of the main reasons that people need to be diligent in cooperating with the Census Bureau in a timely and accurate way is because it impacts the state in which we live,” stated Clearfield City Mayor Don Wood. “Utah lost the opportunity for a Congressional seat after the 2000 Census. If people don’t submit information it impacts our state’s representation in Congress, which ultimately impacts how our city receives federal and state funds. It is to our advantage to have the optimum amount of representation in Washington, D.C. These are the people who go to bat for our cities and counties.” The data collected by the 2010 Census does indeed impact the residents of Clearfield. According to the Census Bureau, each question on the form helps to determine how more than $300 billion will be allocated to communities across the country. The federal government uses population data to allocate funds for Title 1 grants to school districts, Head Start programs, Women, Infants and Children (WIC) food grants, public transportation, road rehabilitation and construction, programs for the elderly and emergency food and shelter. Census data establishes the demographics of a city, which in turn assists the city in receiving federal and state dollars for road construction funds, Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) and sales tax revenue. In the past, the city has been able to use CDBG funds for the Down Payment Assistance Program for first-time home buyers, street improvements, sidewalks, a home repair program, and for staffing of the city’s Youth Resource Center. “The state collects sales tax revenue,” explained Adam Lenhard, Community Development Director. “A portion of that revenue goes back to the community where it originated. The remainder of the revenue is allocated to cities based on population. As our population grows, the allocation increases.” Clearfield City’s population for the 1990 Census was 21,435, and grew to 25,974 in the 2000 Census. In 2008 an American Community Survey (ACS) conducted by the Census Bureau was sent to a sample of Clearfield households establishing our population at 27,851. An ACS is sent to a small percentage of the U.S. population on a rotating basis, and has replaced the long form for the 2010 Census. The ACS provides annual data for social and economic characteristics for geographic entities and population groups. New homes are built, and older homes are torn down. Gregg Benson, one of Clearfield’s City Planners, had the task of ensuring that every address in Clearfield was included in the Census Bureau’s database using map coordinates for the Bureau’s GPS and Graphic Information System (GIS). “It’s important to have every address in Clearfield included in the census database, so that each household has a chance to be counted,” explained Benson. Even though one of the primary goals of the 2010 Census is to increase national mailback response rate, thereby reducing the overall cost of the census and increasing the accuracy of the data, there are always those who chose not to return the completed census form. “Some individuals are hesitant about giving too much information to the federal government; others may lose the form; some are just too busy to sit down and complete it; some may be undocumented citizens who don’t want to complete the form for fear of being deported,” explained Pacheco. Physical disability, illiteracy as well as language may also be a deterrent to completing the Census form. In all of these instances a field Enumerator will attempt to visit the household and assist in the completion of the form. Census forms are available in Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Vietnamese, and Korean. Your answers on the Census form are strictly confidential and are protected by law (Title 13 of the U.S. Code, Section 9). It is illegal for the Census Bureau, or its employees to share your personal information with any other government agency – not law enforcement, IRS, Welfare, FBI, Immigration, etc. No court of law, not even the President of the United States, can access your individual responses. The Census Bureau also protects the information that identifies respondents for 72 years. “Old census data is the premier source for family genealogy,” shared Benson, who is an avid genealogist. “The older census data is a great way to find out information about your family from long ago.” The 2010 Census asks for name, gender, age, race, ethnicity, relationship, and whether you own or rent your home. Due to the safety and security of every respondent’s personal information forms will not be available to complete online at this time. Sample 2010 Census forms can be viewed at http://2010.census.gov. “You want to complete the form as close to April 1 as possible,” explained Pacheco. “As odd as it seems, if you complete it too early you may have a birth or death in the household which affects the census numbers. If you don’t return the completed form, a Numerator worker will have to visit your home in order to gather the data. We can save the government millions of dollars by returning the form through the mail, on time.” Information for this article was provided by the U.S. Census Bureau handbook “United States Census 2010, It’s In Our Hands, as well as the website http://2010.census.gov.”

Last Updated ( Sunday, 21 February 2010 )

 

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