Don’t forget to make yourself counted

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March 18, 2010

Anonymous Pharos-Tribune Thu Mar 18, 2010, 02:27 PM EDT

More than 120 million U.S. census forms begin arriving Monday in mailboxes across the country, and officials are urging everyone to fill them out and send them back.

It shouldn’t be difficult. The form includes only 10 questions and shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes to fill out.

And that 10 minutes can make a big difference for Logansport and Cass County. The data collected during this once-a-decade population count will be used in calculating how many seats Indiana should have in Congress and in allocating more than $400 billion in federal funding.

The local Complete Count Committee is doing its part to raise awareness.

Representatives have been working to spread the word to the city’s undercounted Hispanic population by working with employers and local community groups such as Diversity Dynamics.

Why are so many people worried about ensuring a complete count? The answer is simple.

The Census Bureau estimates that 10 years ago Cass County’s response rate was only about 69 percent, even worse than the national average of 72 percent.

Here’s another reason to fill out those forms: If everyone who receives a census form mails it back, the government will save an estimated $1.5 billion in follow-up visits.

Or how about this reason? Failure to respond to the census carries a fine of up to $5,000.

Of course, census representatives admit that law is rarely enforced, but they do promise that if you fail to send in your form, they’ll do what they can to track you down. From May until July, census-takers will head out to knock on doors at every house that doesn’t reply by mail.

The Census Bureau estimates that in 2000 it had a nationwide overcount of 1.3 million people, mostly from duplicate counts of more affluent whites with more than one home. Still, it figures it missed 4.5 million people, most of them lower-income blacks and Hispanics.

Don’t be one of those uncounted people.

The form is one of the shortest in history. It asks your name, address, phone number, age, race and ethnicity, gender, living arrangements and home ownership.

And you don’t have to worry about anyone sharing the answers you provide.

The Census Bureau is required by federal law to keep your information strictly confidential. It can’t give the information to any other agency, including law enforcement.

So go ahead. Fill out your form.

Want to know more?

• Census data detailed by county and city: www.census.indiana.edu.

• Foreign language census forms: www.2010census.gov

• Sample 2010 census form: tinyurl.com/yfurltt

• Regional mail participation rates for 2000: tinyurl.com/yh4wmx9

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Don’t forget to make yourself counted

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