Some Reasons You're Not Yet Receiving Your Census Form

We’re receiving calls on the 866-872-6868 toll-free line from folks who haven’t received a 2010 census form yet. There are various reasons that can explain why this occurred. Each of them explain small numbers of cases; if this affects you, you can read these below to see how we’re following up on such cases.
You live in an Update/Enumerate area . For about 1.5 million addresses in remote areas, many American Indian reservations, Texas Colonias, and areas with high concentrations of seasonally vacant housing units, we send census workers to these areas to collect the information in person. This operation only began on March 22, and will continue through the end of May.
Your form is undeliverable. Some of the forms we provide to the United States Postal Service for delivery are returned by them as undeliverable. As of April 3, we had received 12.9 million of these from USPS. Many of these are for vacant housing units, but some will be situations where we had an address error in our file, or the address we have is not actually used for mail delivery. We will visit each undeliverable address during our nonresponse follow-up operation (May 1 – July 10) to collect census information in person or to determine the unit is vacant or non-residential.
You live in an area of new construction. In the spring of 2009, we hired approximately 150,000 people to canvass the ground and update our nationwide master address file. Since the completion of that operation, new homes have been built. We obtained information about such addresses from both the USPS and local governments, but most of these addresses were added to our file too late to include them in the initial mailout or hand delivery of questionnaires. Addresses sent to us by USPS will receive a form during a late mailout that is happening now. Address information sent to us by local governments will be visited during a later operation to make sure we count them and any occupants.
Your addresses had a late code addition for its geographical location. For some of the addresses in our file, we were unable to assign them to a specific geographic block by the time we needed to begin printing and labeling questionnaires. We have since been able to complete this work for many of these cases (about 500,000 addresses) and began mailing questionnaires this week.
Your address is included in the “update review” process. As part of our address list development efforts, local, tribal, and state governments had an opportunity to review our address file and tell us about missing or mis-geocoded addresses. Some addresses have been the focus of an appeals process, and will be included in a late questionnaire mailing going on in the first weeks of April or visited during a later operation.
You have a post office box in a mailout/mailback area. We don’t send census forms to P.O. boxes. The census is all about counting people where they live and sleep, so we must tie each form to a physical location. P.O. boxes are not tied to specific housing units, so we can’t use them to send the forms to specific housing units. One of our census workers will visit houses that rely on P.O. boxes between May 1 and July 10.
Your address is incomplete in our file. We have some address listings on our file that are incomplete, and to which we cannot mail a form: an address with only a street name, or with only a location description. In most cases, we assigned these addresses to a specific location (either with GPS coordinates or a map spot) during the Address Canvassing operation in the Summer of 2009, so we will be able to visit them during the nonresponse follow-up operation (May 1 – July 10).
Your form was misdelivered. It is possible that some of the forms were delivered to the wrong address by either the post office or census workers conducting hand delivery. If these addresses are in an area with historically low mail response rates, they will be included in the blanket replacement mailing that took place the first week of April. If they don't receive a form at all, we still have the address and location on file, and we’ll visit during our nonresponse follow-up operation to collect census information in person (May 1 – July 10).
You live in group quarters. Many people live in what we term “group quarters ” -- college dormitories, military barracks, prisons and jails, most nursing homes, juvenile institutions, and other similar facilities. We do not mail questionnaires to residents of group quarters. Instead, residents are counted during a separate operation where census workers visit the location to distribute and then collect completed forms. There are about 270,000 group quarters facilities to be enumerated in the 2010 Census (between April 1 and May 21).
Your housing unit is miscoded as group quarters . Although most group quarters are fairly easy to identify, we sometimes mis-classify multi-unit buildings as group quarters when they really should have been coded as housing units. Because these units are in the group quarters inventory, they won't have a form delivered in the mail. However, they will be enumerated during the group quarters operation – April 1 through May 21.
We missed your address in our canvassing operation . There may be some units that we completely missed in our canvassing in summer of 2009. If that is the case, we may not be planning any follow-up activity. In this case, we ask that you wait until April 12 and then obtain a “be counted” form from a Be Counted site in your area or call 866-872-6868 for assistance.
Indeed, if you don’t yet have a form, you may not know for sure which of the groups above you may fit into. If you believe you won’t be counted, then beginning on April 12 you can call 1‐866‐872‐6868 and we will either take your information over the phone or send you a form by mail. If you prefer, you can also obtain a form from a Be Counted or Questionnaire Assistance Center site from now through April 19. Locations of these sites can be found on our Web site.
Please submit any questions pertaining to this post to ask.census.gov

Census Info: Call Today!

Give your answers over the phone or request a form be sent to where you live. Do it today, to ensure you can mail it back in time to avoid a census taker coming to your door. Don't be left out of the count for your community.
Telephone Questionnaire Assistance (TQA)
• ENGLISH - 1-866-872-6868
• Chinese: 1-866-935-2010
• Korean: 1-866-955-2010
• Russian: 1-866-965-2010
• Spanish: 1-866-928-2010
• Vietnamese: 1-866-945-2010
• TDD (Telephone Display Device for the hearing impaired): 1-866-783-2010
• Puerto Rico (in English): 1-866-939-2010
• Puerto Rico (in Spanish): 1-866-929-2010

Census Reaching Out

Worth1000 Contests.

Electoral College Reform

The electoral college is a time-honored system that has only produced results in conflict with the popular vote three times in over 200 years. However, it's obvious that reforms are needed. The organization of the states should be altered. This Electoral Reform Map redivides the territory of the United States into 50 bodies of equal size. The 2000 Census records a population of 281,421,906 for the United States. The states ranged in population from 493,782 to 33,871,648.1 In this map, new states have formed, all with equal populations of roughly 5,617,000.2

President Obama: Clear As Black and White

Opinion piece on the President's Census form.

Of course, race is now self-identified.

Analysis of census participation rates by race/ethnicity

The Center for Urban Research at the City University of New York Graduate Center has analyzed 2010 Census “participation rates” through the second week of the Mail-out/Mail-back operation by key variables, including race and Hispanic origin (ethnicity), using its Census 2010 Hard To Count Interactive Mapping Website (www.CensusHardToCountMaps.org).

Key findings through week 2 include:

• Counties with higher percentages of White population have higher participation rates, on average, than counties with higher percentages of Black and Hispanic populations.

• Within counties, the correlation between greater percentages of Black population and lower participation rates is even stronger. At the census tract level, higher percentages of Blacks, Hispanics, and Asian Americans all were associated with lower participation rates.

• Several major cities stood out from these trends. For example, the association between higher percent Black population at the tract level and lower participation was much stronger in cities such as St. Louis, Boston, and Oakland (CA), while much weaker in cities such as Houston, Dallas, and Georgia.

• Detroit stood out altogether. Participation rates in Detroit tended to be lower in tracts with a greater percentage of Whites, and higher in tracts with a greater percentage of Blacks.

• In three cities with substantial Hispanic populations (Miami; Newark, NJ; and New York), higher percentages of Hispanics at the tract level were associated with higher participation rates.

The analysis continues to track the correlation between tract level hard-to-count (HTC) scores and mail response. The Center’s analysis through Week 1 of the mail-out/mail-back operation is posted at www.urbanresearch.org/news/resources/census2010participation.

The Mail-out/Mail-back phase ends on April 19; after that, the Census Bureau will begin to compile the addresses that census takers must visit in the massive door-to-door operation (Nonresponse Follow-Up), scheduled for May 1 – July 10. The Census Bureau might be able to remove some “late mail returns” received in the last week of April from the lists to be used in Nonresponse Follow-Up but cannot guarantee that census takers will not visit those households.

For further information:
Steven Romalewski (CUNY), 212-817-2033, SRomalewski@gc.cuny.edu
Terri Ann Lowenthal (FCI), 203-353-4364, TerriAnn2K@aol.com

Infor For Out-Of-State Tax Filers Affected By Spring Storms And Flooding

The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance today announced guidance for taxpayers who are unable to file their personal income tax returns - including partnership and fiduciary returns - by April 15 because of last month's severe storms and flooding in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island and West Virginia.

To view the entire document please visit HERE.

Updated Public Authority Payrolls Posted Online

Updated payroll files for Public Authorities have been posted on www.SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center's government transparency web site for taxpayers. The new data includes names, titles, base pay rates and total pay received for the 59,979 public authority employees added this week.
The full text of this press release is available here.

Census will count gay couples

Gay and lesbian couples who share a home may identify one another as "husband or wife" on their 2010 census forms if that's how they view their relationship — even if they have not legally married in any of the places where it is allowed.

And whatever they say on that form is precisely how the government will count them.

MORE HERE.

Latinos and the 2010 Census

Census-related article from the Pew Hispanic Center

Overall, seven-in-ten (70%) Hispanics say the census is good for the Hispanic community. However, foreign-born Hispanics are more likely than native-born Hispanics to feel this way -- 80% versus 57%.

With the health reform law adopted, the questions begin

From the Rockefeller Institute of Government [info@rockinst.org]

Congress may have concluded its long journey to pass health reform legislation, but questions about the law's implementation are only just beginning. Two Institute experts offer commentary about some of the issues that New York and the nation now face.
A key feature of the newly enacted law is expansion of Medicaid, the government health insurance program for the poor. Courtney Burke, director of the Institute's Health Policy Research Center, points out that New York already spends more than any other state on Medicaid — a total of $51 billion under Governor David Paterson's proposed budget. But much needs to be done to ensure that New York gets the best value — and health care — for its dollar, she says in a commentary now on the Institute's Web site. Burke also contributed to the March 25 Huffington Post blog, with her thoughts on the ingredients needed for effective implementation of the new law at the state level.
Deputy Director Robert B. Ward, who heads the Institute's research on state and local finances, writes in a separate commentary that the new law presents all sorts of questions whose answers may not be revealed for years. Among them: How much will the expanded coverage provided by the new law ultimately cost federal, state and local governments? His observations are also available on the Institute's Web site.

Social Studies and the Young Learner - "2010 Census:Count Me In!

Preparing for the 2010 census has created many opportunities for the Census in Schools team to establish fruitful partnerships with the nation's educational community.

The theme of the March/April 2010 issue of Social Studies and the Young Learner (SSYL) is "2010 Census: Count Me In!"-- This issue includes several articles about using census data and resources in K-5 classrooms.

Read abstracts at www.socialstudies.org/publications/ssyl. SSYL is a peer-reviewed journal of National Council for the Social Studies.

2007 Economic Census - Retail Trade Data

The first of the 2007 Economic Census data for New York State and smaller areas is now available on American FactFinder. This is the Retail Trade data. The other sectors are expected over the next few months.

2010 Census Barcode - it makes sure your household is counted!

This short video? discusses the use of barcodes on the 2010 Census questionnaires. It responds to the concerns about the addresses on the 2010 Census forms.

Spuds

From NYLINK

The most recent "Potatoes" statistical release from the United States Department of Agriculture cooperating with New York Department of Agriculture and Markets was emailed by the USDA on St. Patrick's Day, March 17, 2010 ... no fooling!

These seasonal reports, over time, include Planting and Harvesting data, Production and Stock figures, and Value comparisons.

Potato Reports can be found online courtesy of the National Agricultural Statistics Service ghere where you can also subscribe to email releases.

Census Data Can Impact Your Business Strategy

April 1 is National Census Day and by now we should all have received, completed, and returned our 2010 Census forms. Because just by answering 10 simple questions, we can all directly affect the quality of life, services, and job creation in our communities. To help ensure communities are counted, the U.S. Census Bureau is asking small businesses to voluntarily raise awareness and advocate the importance of the 2010 Census with its 2010 Census Partner Program.

READ MORE.

100 Years of U.S. Consumer Spending

Here's a Consumer Spending Breakdown.

The Power of SUNY

The most recent version of the strategic plan, The Power of SUNY is available for public comment for about one week.

Questions on the Census Form

AGE asked since 1790

HOW WE ASK IT
What is this person’s age and what is this person’s date of birth?
WHAT IT MEANS FOR EVERYONE

Federal Uses (also see the selected statutory uses on the opposite page):
• Provides data on voting age population required for legislative redistricting
• Used to identify school districts with school age children in poverty
• Needed by the Department of Veterans Affairs to develop state projections on the need for hospitals, nursing homes, cemeteries, and other benefits for veterans
• Used in Federal programs to target funds or services to children, working-age adults, or the elderly


Community Impact:
• Used to allot funds to counties and school districts to improve the education of economically disadvantaged children
• Used to identify locations needing new schools as well as the required grade levels (elementary, middle or high school)
• Needed by planners to determine the number of highways, hospitals, health services, and retirement homes
• Used to enforce equal employment opportunities under the Age Discrimination and Employment Act
• Used to forecast the number of people eligible for Social Security and Medicare benefits


WHY WE ASK IT THIS WAY

Age is asked in a two-part question: the first part asks for the age of the person, and the second part asks for the date of birth. Since one person in each household usually fills out this census questionnaire for every other household member sometimes ages are reported incorrectly or left blank. This two-part format increases the number of people that we get answers for and improves the accuracy of those answers.

AGE, continued asked since 1790

AGENCIES SELECTED STATUTORY USES

COMMERCE... Legislative Redistricting-- (13 U.S.C. 141(c)]
EDUCATION ...Title I Funds--
Educational Consolidation and Improvement Act/
Compensatory Education for the Disadvantaged Program--
[20 U.S.C. 2711(c)(2)(A)-(C)],
Low-Interest Insured Student Loans-- [20 U.S:.C. 1072(b)],
Adult Education Act--[20 U.S.C. 1204(a)],
Higher Education Act--[42 U.S.C. 2751, 2752b]
EEOC ...Age Discrimination and Employment Act -- [42 U.S.C. 6101 et seq.]
EPA ....Resource Conservation and Recovery Act--
[42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.];
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act--
[42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.]
HHS ....Older Americans Act--[42 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.)
Public Health Service Act--
[42 U.S.C. 254b(b)(3)(A) & (B), 254e(b) & (d) & 254f-1]
Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
[42 U.S.C. 8629(a)(5)]
HUD ...Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program
[42 U.S.C. 5302 & 5306],
Housing and Urban Development Act / Section 202 Grants--
[12 U.S.C. 1701q]
JUSTICE ...Voting Rights Act-Bilingual Election Requirements--
[42 U.S.C. 1973aa-1a],
Civil Rights Act--
[42 U.S.C. 2000f],
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act--
[42 U.S.C. 5632]
LABOR...Job Training Partnership Act--
[29 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.],
Labor Surplus Areas Program--
[Executive Orders 12073 & 10582]
VA ...State Projections of Veteran Population--
[38 U.S.C. 8131(1)]

GENDER asked since 1790

HOW WE ASK IT
What is this person's sex?


WHAT IT MEANS FOR EVERYONE

Federal Uses (also see the selected statutory uses on the opposite page):
• Required by the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services to fund, implement, and evaluate various social and welfare programs, such as the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
• Needed for laws that promote equal employment opportunity for women
• Used to develop the Department of Veterans Affairs’ state projections of veterans' facilities and benefits
• Used to assess the social and economic status of boys and girls in each school district in the Department of Education's report for Congress
• Needed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to establish and evaluate guidelines dealing with equal employment opportunity


Community Impact:
• Needed by state and local planners who analyze social and economic characteristics of males and females to predict future needs for housing, education, child care, health, transportation, and employment
• Used under the Job Training Partnership Act to allocate funds to provide job training services for economically disadvantaged women
• Used to evaluate employment practices under the Civil Rights Act
• Used to allocate funds for programs that promote educational equality for women and girls under the Women's Educational Equity Act
• Used at state and county levels to allocate funds for food, health care services, and classes in meal planning to low-income women with children
• Needed to evaluate housing policies and practices under the Civil Rights Act


WHY WE ASK IT THIS WAY

This item provides the ability to differentiate between males and females.
GENDER, continued asked since 1790

AGENCIES SELECTED STATUTORY USES

COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS ...Civil Rights Act (Discrimination in Housing,
Education, and Employment --
[42 U.S.C. 1975c(a)(4)]
EDUCATION ...Women's Educational Equity Act-- [20 U.S.C. 3341]
EEOC ...Federal Affirmative Action Plans-- [5 U.S.C. 7201(a)(1)],
Federal Affirmative Action Programs-- [42 U.S. C. 2000e-16(b)(1)],
Equal Employment Opportunity Act--[42 U.S.C. 2000e-2(a)(2)]
EPA ...Regulatory Review-- [Executive Order 12866, Oct. 1, 1993],
Environmental Justice-- [Executive Order 12898, Feb. 11, 1994],
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act-- [42 U.S-C. 6901 et seq.],
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act--
[42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.]
HHS ...Older Americans Act--
[42 U.S.C. 3002, 3026(a)(1), 3027,(a)(8)],
Public Health Service Act--
[42 U.S.C. 254b(b)(3)(A) & (B), 254e(b) & (d), & 254f-1],
Voluntary Family Planning Program --
[42 U.S.C. 300a-2],
Collection of Vital Social, and Health Statistics-
[42 U.S.C. 242k]
JUSTICE ...Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act--
[42 U.S.C. 5601 et seq.]
LABOR...Job Training Partnership Act--
[29 U.S.C. 1501 et seq., Sections 1511, 1518, 1532,
1551, 1602, 1603, 1661, 1707, & 1736],
Labor Surplus Areas Program--
[Executive Orders 10582 & 12073],
Employment Practices of Government Contractors--
[Executive Order 11246]
VA ...State Projection of Veteran Population--
[38 U. S. C. 8131]

RELATIONSHP asked since 1880

HOW WE ASK IT
How is this person related to Person 1?
WHAT IT MEANS FOR EVERYONE

Federal Uses (also see the selected statutory uses on the opposite page):
• Provides information about changes in the composition of the American family which is essential for planning and carrying out a number of Federal programs
• Used to define poverty -- which is based on income thresholds that vary by size of family and number of children
• Used to determine, in part, how the money is spent in Federally funded nutrition and education programs such as the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children
• Used by the Social Security Administration to handle a number of planning issues under the Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance and the Supplemental Security Income Programs


Community Impact:
• Used to distribute funds for housing to local governments under the HOME Investment Partnerships Program
• Needed under Title I to allocate funds to states and counties to improve the education of children in low-income families
• Used to identify children in families near or below the poverty line for spending for Head Start
• Needed by local health agencies to plan and administer programs that promote the well-being of families and children


WHY WE ASK IT THIS WAY

Relationship is essential for classifying the population into families and household types. The first group of categories is for persons related to the householder -- these individuals together constitute a family. All others are unrelated individuals. If everyone in a household is unrelated to the householder, it is referred to as a "nonfamily household." Categories showing natural-born, step, and adoptive children are necessary to reflect the increasingly complex family structures created as a result of marital disruption, remarriage, and cohabitation. Data collected about relationships involving in-laws are used to measure multi-generational living arrangements.

RELATIONSHIP, continued asked since 1880

AGENCIES SELECTED STATUTORY USES

EDUCATION ...Title I Funds --
Educational Consolidation and Improvement Act /
Compensatory Education of the Disadvantaged Program--
[20 U.S.C. 2711(c)(2)(A)-(C)],
Higher Education Act--
[42 U.S.C. 2751 & 2752b]
HHS ...Head Start Act--
[42 U.S.C. 9835(a)(3)],
Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)--
[42 U.S.C. 8622 & 8623],
Older Americans Act--
[42 U.S.C. 3002, 3026(a)(1), 3027(a)(8)],
Child Welfare Act--
[42 U.S.C. 192],
School Breakfast Program--
[42 U.S.C. 1773c]
HUD ...National Affordable Housing Act of 1990 /
HOME Investment Partnerships Program--
[42 U.S.C. 12747]
LABOR ...Immigration Act of 1990--
[8 U.S.C. 1182 note & 1182(a)(5)(A)],
Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986--
[8 U.S.C. 1364]
SSA ...Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) Program--
[42 U.S.C. 421-426 & 42 U.S.C. 902]
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Program--
[42 U.S.C. 1381-1383(d) & 42 U.S.C. 902]

RACE asked since 1790

HOW WE ASK IT
What is this person’s race?
WHAT IT MEANS FOR EVERYONE

Federal Uses (also see the selected statutory uses on the opposite page):
• Needed to assess racial disparities in health and environmental risks
• Used under the Voting Rights Act to identify minority language groups that require voting materials in their own language
• Used under the Civil Rights Act to assess fairness of employment practices


Community Impact:
• Necessary to the Community Reinvestment Act to help determine whether financial institutions meet the credit needs of minorities in low- and moderate-income areas
• Needed under the Public Health Service Act as a key factor in identifying segments of the population who may not be receiving needed medical services
• Required by states to meet legislative redistricting requirements by knowing the racial make-up of the voting age population


WHY WE ASK IT THIS WAY

The racial classifications used by the Census Bureau adhere to the October 1997 revised standards for the classification of Federal data on race and ethnicity, issued by the Office of Management and Budget. These standards govern the categories used to collect and publish Federal data on race and ethnicity. Each answer provided by a respondent represents self-classification according to the race or races with which the individual most closely identifies. This question includes both racial and national origin or socio-cultural groups and attempts to reflect the increasing racial and ethnic diversity of the U.S. population. The term "African Am.” is included to reflect the increased prevalence of the term in the past decade. Other changes to the wording and arrangement of the categories were made to improve accuracy.
RACE, continued asked since 1790

AGENCIES SELECTED STATUTORY USES

COMMERCE ...Legislative Redistricting-- [13 U.S.C. 141(c)]

EDUCATION ...Provisions on Strengthening Historically Black Colleges --
[20 U.S.C. 1060]
Grants for Basic Skills of Dropouts--
[20 U.S.C. 7261-7268 (replaces 20 U.S.C. 3241)]
EEOC ...Federal Affirmative Action Plans--[5 U.S.C. 7201(a)(1)],
Federal Affirmative Action Programs-- [42 U.S.C. 2000e-16(b)(1)],
Equal Employment Opportunity Act-- [42 U.S:C. 2000e-2(a)(2)]
FEDERAL RESERVE ...Home Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975--
[12 U.S.C. 2809(a)]
Community Reinvestment Act of 1977--
[12 U.S.C. 2901]
HHS ...Older Americans Act--
[42 U.S.C. 3002, 3026(a)(1), 3027(a)(8)],
Public Health Service Act--
[42 U.S.C. 254b(b)(3)(A) & (B), 254e(b) & (d) & 254f-1]
Native American Programs Act-- [42 U.S.C. 2992],
Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980-- [42 U.S.C. 628]
HUD ...Mortgage Revenue Bonds Program-- [26 U.S.C. 143],
Low-Income Housing Tax Credits-- [26 U.S.C. 42),
Housing Improvement Program (Snyder Act)--󲐀 [25 U.SC. 13]
JUSTICE ...Voting Rights Act-Bilingual Election Requirements--
[42 U.S.C. 1973aa-1a]
Civil Rights Act-- [42 U.S.C. 1975c(a) &- 2000c-2, d, f],
Legislative Redistricting-- [13 U.S.C. 141(c)]
LABOR ...Employment Practices of Government Contractors --
[Executive Order 11246],
Immigration Act of 1990--
[8 U.S.C. 1182 note & 1182(a)(5)(A)],
Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 --
[8 U.S.C. 1364]
USDA ...Food Stamp Act--[7 U.S.C. 612c]
VA ...Veterans Benefits Program--R [38 U.S.C. 317]

HISPANIC ORIGIN asked since 1970

HOW WE ASK IT
Is this person of Spanish/Hispanic/Latino origin?
WHAT IT MEANS FOR EVERYONE

Federal Uses (also see the selected statutory uses on the opposite page):
• Essential to ensure enforcement of bilingual election rules under the Voting Rights Act
• Used to meet guidelines mandated in the October 1997 revised standards for the classification of Federal data on ethnicity (issued by the Office of Management and Budget)
• Used to monitor and enforce equal employment opportunities under the Civil Rights Act


Community Impact:
• Used in identifying segments of the population who may not be getting needed medical services under the Public Health Service Act
• Used under the Community Reinvestment Act to evaluate whether financial institutions are meeting the credit needs of minority groups in low- and moderate-income communities
• Used to allot funds to school districts for bilingual services under the Bilingual Language Act
• Needed under the Voting Rights Act to monitor compliance of local jurisdictions by using counts of the voting-age population by national origin to ensure equality in voting


WHY WE ASK IT THIS'WAY

This question provides information that is needed for a more complete understanding of the composition of our population. It adheres to the October 1997 revised standards for the classification of Federal data on race and ethnicity, issued by the Office of Management and Budget, which provide standard classifications for collection and presentation of such data. Each answer provided by the respondent represents self-classification. The categories are arranged and worded to reduce respondent confusion and to lower the nonresponse rate. The category, "No, not Spanish/Hispanic/Latino" is listed first so that the question more clearly will show that it pertains to all respondents and to convey that respondents, Hispanics as well as non-Hispanics should provide an answer. The terms "Mexican Am." and "Chicano" are shown with "Mexican" so that more Mexican Americans will identify with this category and, thus, improve the accuracy of the data.

HISPANIC ORIGIN, continued asked since 1970

AGENCIES SELECTED STATUTORY USES

COMMERCE ...Legislative Redistricting--
[13 U.S.C. 141 (c)],
Estimates of Hispanic Origin Population--
[13 U.S.C. 141 note (P.L. 94-311, H.J. Res. 92)]
EDUCATION ...Bilingual Education Act--
[20 U.S.C. 3291 (part a), 3301 (part b), 3321 (part c)]
EEOC ...Federal Affirmative Action Plans--
[5 U.S.C. 7201(a)(1)],
Federal Affirmative Action Programs--
[42 U.S.C. 2000e-16(b)(1)],
Equal Employment Opportunity Act--
[42 U.S.C. 2000e-2(a)(2)]
EPA ...Regulatory Review--
[Executive Order 12866, Oct 1, 1993];
Environmental Justice--
[Executive Order 12898; Feb: 11, 1994);
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act--
[42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.];
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and. Liability Act--
[42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.]
FEDERAL RESERVE ...Community Reinvestment Act of 1977--
[12 U.S.C. 2901]
HHS ...Older Americans Act--
[42 U.S.C. 3002, 3026(a)(1), 3027(a)(8)],
Public Health Service Act--
[42 U.S.C. 254b(b)(3)(A) & (B), 254e(b) & (d), & 254f-1]
JUSTICE ...Voting Rights Act-Bilingual Election Requirements--
[42 U.S.C. 1973aa-1a],
Civil Rights Act--
[42 U.S.C. 1975c(a) & 2000c-2, d, f]

OCCUPANCY asked since 1890

HOW WE ASK IT
Is this house, apartment, or mobile home -?
Owned by you or someone in this household with a mortgage or loan?
Owned by you or someone in this household free and clear(without a mortgage or loan)?
Rented? Occupied without payment of cash rent?

WHAT IT MEANS FOR EVERYONE

Federal Uses (also see the selected statutory uses on the opposite page):
• Used by the Department of Housing and Urban Development as an integral component of the formula to establish Fair Market Rents and is essential for the Federal Housing Authority's mortgage insurance program
• Needed by the Department of Health and Human Services to profile the tenure of Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program households
• Used by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, along with other census data, to prepare the value of housing services for the National Income and Product Accounts
• Used to assess the costs of utilities based on the type of homeownership
• Used to calculate homeownership vacancy rates and rental vacancy rates that Federal and local agencies need in order to evaluate the overall viability of local housing markets


Community Impacts:
• Used by local planners to assess neighborhood stability since, generally, higher owner-occupancy rates are considered to be a good indicator of neighborhood stability because owners have considerable long-term investments in their homes
• Used to allocate Section 8 and other Federal housing program subsidies that assist Americans to afford decent, safe, and sanitary housing
• Used by the Federal Reserve Bond to determine whether financial institutions are meeting the credit needs of minority groups in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods
• Needed by the Federal Highway Administration (DOT) to allocate funds for public transportation services for elderly and handicapped people based, in part, on proportions of homes rented, since renters are more likely to use public transportation.


WHY WE ASK IT THIS WAY

Tenure is the most basic feature of the housing inventory, and these categories are necessary to classify occupied units as either owner-occupied or renter-occupied. Homeownership rates have served as an indicator of the health of the Nation's economy for decades.
OCCUPANCY, continued asked since 1890

AGENCIES SELECTED STATUTORY USES

COMMERCE ...Statistical Information for the Transaction of Public Business --
[15 U.S.C. 1516]
DOT ...Federal-Aid Highways - Public Transportation --[23 U.S.C. 142]
FEDERAL RESERVE ...Community Reinvestment Act of 1977--
[12 U.S.C. 2901]
HHS ...Older Americans Act --
[42 U.S.C. 3001 et seq., 3002, 3026(a)(1), 3027(a)(8)],
Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)--
[42 U .S.C. 8629],
Health Care for the Homeless Program--
[42 U.S.C. 256(p)],
Community Services Block Grant Act--
[42 U.S.C. 9902(2)]
HUD ...Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program--
[42U.S.C. 5302(a)],
Comprehensive Housing Afford ability Strategies (CHAS)--
[42 U .S.C. 12705(b)(3)]
Emergency Shelter Grant Program--
[42 U .S.C. 11373]
Public Housing/Section 8 Certificate and Housing Voucher Allocation Programs --
[42 U.S.C. 1437f],
Fair Market Rents -- [42•U.S.C. 1437],
Section 8 Income Limits-- [42 U .S.C. 1439],
Mortgage Revenue Bonds Program --
[26 U.S.C. 143(j) & (k)],
National Affordable Housing Act of 1990 / Home Allocations --
[42 U.S.C. 12742(a)(1)],
FHA Multifamily Insurance--
[12 U.S.C. 1702, 1709, 1715(b), 1715(I) & 42 U.S.C. 3535(d)],
President's National Urban Policy Report –
[42 U .S.C. 4501],
Low-Income Housing Tax Credits-- [26 U.S.C. 42(d)(5)(A) & (C)],
Housing and Urban Development Act / Section 202 Grants--
[12 U.S.C. 1701q & 42 U .S.C. 1439]
USDA ...Rural Development Policy Act--
[7 U.S.C. 2204 et seq.]

2010 Census Fraud Awareness

The 2010 Census

The 2010 Census is underway and you may be wondering about whom you can trust. The Census is easy, important, and safe – just fill out your form and mail it back.
In March of 2010, census forms will be delivered to every residence in the United States and Puerto Rico. When you receive yours, just answer the 10 short questions and then mail the form back in the postage-paid envelope provided. If you don’t mail the form back, you may receive a visit from a census taker, who will ask you the questions from the form. A census taker must follow-up in person with every address that doesn’t mail back the form in order to obtain the responses.

The Census is Safe
• The 2010 Census will ask for name, gender, age, race, ethnicity, relationship, and whether you own or rent your home – just 10 simple questions that will take about 10 minutes to answer.
• The Census Bureau safeguards all census responses to the highest security standards available.
• Your answers are protected by law and are not shared with anyone. The census taker who collects your information is sworn for life to protect your data under Federal Law Title 13. Those who violate the oath face criminal penalties. Under federal law, the penalty for unlawful disclosure is a fine of up to $250,000 or imprisonment for up to 5 years, or both.

When Census Takers will be Going Door-to-Door
• From April to July 2010, we will knock on the door of every household that does not mail back a completed 2010 Census form.
• It’s critical that you take just 10 minutes to fill out and mail back your form rather than wait for a census worker to show up on your doorstep. About $85 million in taxpayer dollars are saved for every one percent increase in mail response.
• The Census Bureau must get a census form to – and a completed form back from – every residence in the United States. That’s more than 130 million addresses. This is why the census is the largest domestic mobilization our nation undertakes.

How to Identify a Census Taker
• If a U.S. Census Bureau employee knocks on your door, here are some recognition tips to assure the validity of the employee:
o The census taker must present an ID badge that contains a Department of Commerce watermark and expiration date. The census taker may also be carrying a bag with a Census Bureau logo.
o The census taker will provide you with supervisor contact information and/or the Local Census Office phone number for verification, if asked.
o The census taker will ONLY ask you the questions that appear on the census form.

What the 2010 Census DOES NOT Ask
• 2010 Census takers will not ask you for your social security number, bank account number, or credit card number.
• 2010 Census takers also never solicit for donations and will never contact you by e-mail.
• 2010 Census takers will not ask about your citizenship status.


For more information about the upcoming 2010 Census visit 2010census.gov.


El Censo del 2010

El Censo del 2010 ya está en marcha y quizá usted se pregunte si es confidencial. El Censo es fácil, importante y seguro; sólo llene su cuestionario y envíelo por correo.
En marzo de 2010, el cuestionario del censo fue enviado a todas las personas que viven en Estados Unidos y Puerto Rico. Cuando reciba el suyo, conteste las diez sencillas preguntas y envíelo por correo en el sobre prepagado incluido. Si no lo devuelve, un empleado del censo lo visitará en su domicilio para hacerle en persona las preguntas del cuestionario. Los empleados del censo deben dar seguimiento en persona a cada dirección que no devolvió por correo el cuestionario para poder obtener así las respuestas a este.

El censo es seguro
• El Censo del 2010 solamente pregunta su nombre, sexo, edad, raza, origen hispano, si es usted dueño o alquila la propiedad. Son sólo 10 sencillas preguntas que le tomará responder alrededor de 10 minutos.
• La Oficina del Censo salvaguarda todas las respuestas al censo utilizando los más altos estándares de seguridad disponibles.
• Sus respuestas están protegidas por ley y no son compartidas con nadie, ni siquiera con otras agencias del gobierno. Por ley federal, Título 13, cada empleado del Censo hace un juramento de por vida para proteger su información. Quien lo viola podría enfrentar, por ley federal, una multa de hasta $250,000 dólares, hasta 5 años de prisión o ambas penas.
•
¿Cuándo visitarán los empleados del Censo los domicilios?
• Entre abril y julio de 2010 estaremos visitando cada domicilio que no devolvió por correo el cuestionario del Censo del 2010.
• Es importante que tome 10 minutos para completar y devolver su cuestionario y evite así la molestia de que un empleado del censo lo visite en su hogar. Además, por cada punto porcentual (1%) de aumento a nivel nacional en el índice de devolución de los cuestionarios por correo, los contribuyentes podrán ahorrar alrededor de $85 millones de dólares en fondos federales. La Oficina del Censo debe obtener las respuestas al censo de todas las personas que vivan en Estados Unidos. Esto significa más de 130 millones de direcciones. Es por esto que, el censo es la movilización nacional más grande que nuestra nación lleva a cabo.

¿Cómo identificar a un empleado de la Oficina del Censo?
• Si alguien toca a su puerta y dice ser un empleado de la Oficina del Censo, estas son las maneras en que podrá usted verificar si en verdad lo es, o si es un impostor:
o El empleado del censo deberá mostrarle una identificación que contiene el logotipo del Departamento del Comercio y la fecha de expiración. También llevará consigo una bolsa con el logotipo de la Oficina del Censo.
o Para propósitos de verificación, si usted se lo pide, el empleado del censo le proveerá información sobre su supervisor (nombre) y/o el teléfono de la oficina local del Censo.
o Los enumeradores del censo le harán únicamente las preguntas que aparecen en el cuestionario.

¿Qué no se pregunta en el cuestionario del Censo del 2010?
• Los empleados del Censo no le preguntarán su número de seguro social, cuenta de banco o tarjeta de crédito.
• Los empleados del Censo nunca le pedirán donaciones y nunca lo contactarán por correo electrónico.
• Los empleados del Censo no preguntarán acerca de su estatus migratorio o el de su familia o allegados.

Para más información acerca del Censo del 2010 visite, 2010census.gov/espanol.

Early Tax Filers

(Thanks, Dale!)

The Bulk of Shopping...

still takes place in-store, according to our friends at the Census Bureau.

TIME magazine and the Census race questions

Why the U.S. Census Misreads Hispanic and Arab Americans

The gist of the argument: "The Hispanic-origins and race sections should be combined into one, less confusing section that asks folks what ethnic and/or racial group they belong to: white, black, Native American, Asian, Pacific Islander or Hispanic. It should (as it already does for some groups on the form) provide space for designating subgroups - like Arabs, for example."

as though race and ethnicity were ever simple in America.

In case you hadn't heard about the Census...

March 2010
Dear New Yorker,

Census forms have arrived at your address, and I am writing to remind you to take 10 minutes to fill-out the 10 questions for each person living in your home, and mail it back today.

The Census is safe and confidential. By law, no one other than the Census Bureau staff is allowed to see your questionnaire for 72 years – not even the President. As you know, the census is a count of every person, regardless of citizenship or immigration status, living in the United States and its territories. It is required by the United States Constitution and is the foundation of our representative democracy.

The Census is important. Census data will be used to determine everything from how many representatives you get in our political system to how much money our State will receive from the federal government for essential services like education, affordable housing, and health care.

The Census is easy. I am asking all New Yorkers to fill out the census form for each person living in your home and mail it back today. If the Census Bureau does not receive your form, the Census Bureau workers will complete the count by knocking on the doors of households that did not return a census form.

If you need help completing your questionnaire, Questionnaire Assistance Centers (QACs) have been set up at community organizations and businesses throughout the state to make sure you have the necessary resources to complete your census form, including a staff person to answer census-related questions, language assistance, and Be Counted forms if you have misplaced or lost the original questionnaire. For information in English call 1-866-872-6868 or for help in the following languages call: Spanish: 1-866-928-2010; Chinese: 1-866-935-2010; Korean: 1-866-955-2010; Russian: 1-866-965-2010; Vietnamese: 1-866-945-2010. The TDD telephone number for assistance is 1-866-783-2010.

Please visit www.census2010.ny.gov to get up-to-date information on Census 2010 in New York State. You are New York, Make Yourself Count! Mail back your form TODAY!

Best,


David A. Paterson
Governor of New York State

Loving the DMV

Good source of info (noted by a colleague).

www.nysdmv.com

•In the yellow bar at the top, click on “online-transactions”
•Then under “Online services” click on “DMV-Regulated Business Transactions”
•Click on “Find DMV-Regulated Businesses”
•In the middle of the page you can click on “Find DMV-Regulated Businesses Now”
•You can then choose from Public Vehicle Inspection Stations, Motor Vehicle Repair Shops, Dealers, or Businesses that Deal in Junk or Salvage Vehicles. At the bottom you can select by ZIP Code or County.
•Once you get to your selection, you can sort by clicking on the headings, e.g. by Facility Number, Facility Name, Street, City, ZIP or County.
•If you click on the Facility Number, you can get additional information, for example, if the facility is licensed both as a dealer and an inspection station.

On the DMV site you can also get the annual # of registered cars, commercial vehicles, etc. by county.

Nonfatal occupational injuries, illnesses: govt workers

Nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses requiring days away from work for State government and local government workers, 2008
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

There were 277,680 occupational injuries and illnesses with days away from work reported for State and local government combined in 2008, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Fifty percent occurred in service occupations, including health care support and protective service workers. In contrast, 22 percent of the injuries and illnesses in private industry occurred in service occupations.

State government workers sustained occupational injuries and illnesses at an incidence rate of 170 cases per 10,000 full-time workers and required a median of 8 days away from work to recuperate. The incidence rate for local government workers was 195 and the median days away from work was 9. For comparison, the incidence rate for private industry was 113 cases per 10,000 full-time workers.

There were a total of 206,580 cases of days away from work in local government and 71,100 cases in State government. Sprains and strains comprised 43 percent of the injuries and illness in local government at an incidence rate of 83 cases per 10,000 full-time workers. For State government, sprains and strains comprised 39 percent of the cases at a rate of 67 per 10,000 full-time workers.

Statistics Explained, your guide to European statistics

Statistics Explained is an official Eurostat website presenting all possible statistical topics in an easily understandable way. Together, the articles make up everyone's encyclopedia of European statistics, completed by a statistical glossary clarifying all terms used and by numerous links to further information and the very latest data and metadata, a portal for occasional and regular users alike.

Statistics Explained currently features 762 articles.

History of the Census

Interesting mix of information here, including several useful links.

Loss of 1890 Census data to fire: a genealogist’s nightmare

Of the decennial population census schedules, perhaps none might have been more critical to studies of immigration, industrialization, westward migration, and characteristics of the general population than the Eleventh Census of the United States, taken in June 1890. United States residents completed millions of detailed questionnaires, yet only a fragment of the general population schedules and an incomplete set of special schedules enumerating Union veterans and widows are available today.

UAlbany's Census 2010 event

To the University at Albany Community:

UAlbany students are pledging to be counted in Census 2010 by dipping their hands in purple and gold paint and placing their handprints on the Lecture Center windows, starting at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, March 23. I invite faculty and staff to add their handprints, as well. The handprints will be a reminder "It's in Our Hands," one of the key Census 2010 messages. The event will take place in the Lecture Center area downstairs from the University Library. It is all part of UAlbany's efforts, in partnership with census officials, to build awareness of the importance of being counted. Census staff will be on hand to answer questions and distribute information.

Each person counted is worth about $1,600 a year in federal funding to a region. U.S. Census data is used to determine funding for education, health care, transportation and other important services that affect our daily lives as members of the UAlbany community.

I appreciate everyone's efforts to make Census 2010 a success by completing your census forms and returning them.

Sincerely,

George M. Philip
President

Secretary Locke on Daily Show with Jon Stewart

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke appeared as a guest on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart last night on the cable channel Comedy Central.

The Secretary was on the show to raise awareness of the 2010 Census and encourage Americans to promptly mail their forms back. As a colleague noted, "Secretary Locke was on point about the importance of the census and reassuring about its safety and confidentiality."

The episode featuring the Secretary has been posted on The Daily Show's website, and will remain there today and through the weekend.

The Locke segments:
Part 1
Part 2

The whole show.

Article I, Section 2

In recognition today of the 259th birthday of James Madison, the principal writer of the Constitution and the fourth President of the United States, Census Bureau Director Robert Groves visited Montpelier — Madison's colonial home near Orange, Va. Groves stood in Madison's library, the very room that one of the Founding Fathers used to draft the Virginia Plan that became the Constitution.

As each U.S. household receives a 2010 Census form, every resident is encouraged to participate in a process that is as old as the nation itself. That process is the decennial census, mandated in Article I, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, mainly written by James Madison, one of our nation's founders and our fourth president. U.S. Census Bureau Director Robert Groves recently visited Madison's historic home, Montpelier, in Orange, Va., and stood in the room that was the library where Madison drafted the Virginia Plan that became the Constitution. Groves paused to reflect on his own obligation to participate in the 2010 Census and to "ensure that we get it right."

Please view and share this video with family, friends, neighbors, and networking community.

Updated Legislative Spending Posted on Internet

Office expenditures of individual state Senators and Assembly members for the six months ending September 30, 2009, the latest period for which data are available, have been posted in a searchable format on the Empire Center's government transparency website, SeeThroughNY.net.

The full text of this press release is available here.

Contact: Lise Bang-Jensen
518.434.3100

Begorrah, Return Your Census Forms!

Dr. Groves' Take 10 Message On YouTube

Census Bureau Director Robert Groves explains how people can view 2010 Census mail participation rates of their communities and compare them with the rates of other areas around the country.

Population of the Dead

We know that there are about 6.8 billion people on the Earth right now. But how many people have EVER lived on the planet? Here's a guesstimate from 2002, when the world had a mere 6.215 billion people.

(Thanks again, Dale.)

How the Census Counts Prisoners: Significant Political Stakes

From Citiwire.

If the facts in the story are accurate., e.g., if states can now choose how to count inmates, this would likely cause a problem if a prisoner is from one state and incarcerated in another. As a colleague noted: "They could then technically be counted in two states(or neither state) depending on how each state decides to handle this."

Universities play key role in the new economy

Universities and higher education systems across the country are taking leading roles in their states’ economic development efforts — and a report released today by the Rockefeller Institute of Government says this trend seems likely to strengthen as the nation moves into the era of an “innovation economy.” The study found that higher education’s increasingly important role builds on, but goes well beyond, the research strengths of universities — incorporating efforts as wide-ranging as job training, business consulting, housing rehabilitation and even securing seed money for new businesses.

The report, A New Paradigm for Economic Development, was written by David Shaffer, a senior fellow at the Institute, and David Wright, the Institute’s director of urban and metropolitan studies. It was conducted at the request of State University of New York Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher, who has made economic revitalization a centerpiece of the strategic planning process she is conducting for the 64-campus system.
To read the report, see the Institute's Web site.

Census Confidentiality

When you fill out and mail back your 2010 Census form, your responses are safe and confidential.

Every Census Bureau employee must pass a background check before being hired and must swear under oath to protect the confidentiality of census responses. This is an oath for life. Any employee who reveals any personal census information is subject to severe penalties -- including a fine of up to $250,000, imprisonment of up to five years, or both.

By law, no other government agency, law enforcement agency, national security agency, court, or anyone else can access your responses -- not anyone for any reason.

No law overrides the confidentiality law that protects personal information collected by the Census Bureau, or can force the Census Bureau to share census responses.

The Justice Department recently confirmed that no provision of the Patriot Act overrides the confidentiality law that protects census responses.

The Department of Justice Letter is Below (click on it to make larger)

9th Census (1870) Graphically

STATISTICAL ATLAS OF THE NINTH CENSUS (1870), published 1874


Presented here are all of the maps and charts from the first statistical atlas of the US Census, widely praised in its time and still a wonderful example of sophisticated graphics, the out-of-date racial/psychological nomenclature notwithstanding.


(Thanks to Dale.)

Hey, the Census Can Be Fun!

On Wednesday, March 10, as part of Feet in Two Worlds' coverage of the 2010 Census, WNYC's The Brian Lehrer Show hosted a live conversation on New Yorkers at risk of being undercounted. Annie Correal, a reporter for Feet in Two Worlds and El Diario/La Prensa, was at the event and recorded her impressions.

Something unexpected happened at our event on WNYC's The Brian Lehrer Show about the census: people laughed.

The census is the biggest number-crunching story of the year, and yet, amid the talk of statistics and the maps of hard-to-count neighborhoods, the panelists on the live panel organized by Feet in Two Worlds found time to show a little humor.

Angelo Falcón, chair of the Census Advisory Committee on the Hispanic Population, told listeners that when it comes to the census, the Hispanic community is receiving a positive message, focused on all the things they stand to gain by being counted and receiving more federal funding. But, he joked, he also told people to fill out their forms precisely because some anti-immigrant groups don't want them to.

Latinos should take part in the Census to bust anti-immigrants' chops: Angelo Falcón, chair of a census advisory committee on Hispanics.

"There are a lot of people who don't want you to sign the forms, so fill them out just to bust their chops!" Falcón said.

When Lehrer asked how you would say that in Spanish, Falcón shot back, "Busta de chops!"

Despite the collective good humor, the theme was serious. Lehrer reminded his listeners that historically, New York has had the lowest rate of response to the census in the nation, and that it has lost billions in federal funding as a result. His questions for the panelists were, "Why is it so hard to get New Yorkers to get people to send back their census forms?" And, as a corollary, "Why are immigrants so hard to count?"
As a way of reminding his audience of the perennial difficulties in counting the population, Lehrer played a clip of a vintage Saturday Night Live skit featuring Christopher Walken, which the host dated to 1990. In it, a census enumerator knocks on Walken's door, and asks him how many people live there.

"Oh boy, that's a good question. I'm bad with numbers. Maybe eighty."

When the census worker balks, he says, "Seems high, doesn't it?" and adjusts: "Not eighty, how about four?"



The Feet in Two Worlds project on the Census is made possible thanks to the generous support of the 2010 Census Outreach Initiative Fund at The New York Community Trust. Link above leads to audio.

House Bans Misleading Census Surveys

From the DCCC (partisan barking removed):

The House of Representatives voted yesterday 416-0 to ban misleading fundraising letters disguised as 2010 Census forms.

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) and the Republican National Committee (RNC) recently sent out political fundraising letters that looked like U.S. Census letters.

The Census Bureau was concerned that these misleading mailings would undermine response rates for the official census forms, which arrive in mailboxes next week. By misleading and confusing Americans about which forms to return, lower mail response rates of census forms increase government costs because a census employee is sent to every home that does not respond by mail.

The US Census estimates every one percent decrease in the mail response rate costs taxpayers approximately $85 million to send census workers back to re-count.

Sales Tax Jurisdiction and Rate Lookup

If you have a mail order/Internet business in New York State, and you have NYS customers, you need to charge sales tax on the eligible items at the rate of the location of the purchaser. This can seem quite onerous.

Fortunately there is an electronic Sales Tax Jurisdiction and Rate Lookup. You type in the street address and ZIP Code and it will generate the correct rate. Incidentally, trying to find a list of sales tax rates by ZIP Code would be fruitless, since ZIP Codes are no respecters of county boundary.

One thing this lookup does NOT do, however, is to indicate which counties have set aside, at the county level, the sales tax on individual clothing items that cost $110 or less. You need to check this chart.

2009 State Payroll Posted Online

New Yorkers today can search the complete 2009 state government payroll on www.SeeThroughNY.net, the government transparency website. The updated database includes names, titles, base pay rates and total pay received by the 298,247 people who worked in the state's executive, legislative or judicial branches at any point last year.

The full text of this press release is available here.

Contact: Lise Bang-Jensen. 518.434.3100

The Jobs Of Yesteryear: Obsolete Occupations

National Public Radio has posted an audio slideshow of long-gone or almost-obsolete professions. Aspire to be a pinsetter in a bowling alley? How about a lamplighter? Unfortunately, there may not be much call for those skills in today's job market.

There was a bowling alley affiliated with the Catholic church in my neighborhood; I always thought being a pinsetter would have been cool.

NPR story on foundation & nonprofit support for 2010 census

NPR will air a story by Pam Fessler on philanthropic and nonprofit census activities today (3/9) on All Things Considered.

Right now, it’s set for sometime between 4:36 and 6:36 PM, although that could change. If you miss the piece, you can hear it later at their website, www.npr.org.

Boat Registration Statistics

A reader wrote: When doing research for a question on boats over 34ft in length on the DMV website, I found it did not provide useful information so I had to expand my search. While doing my expanded search I found a website www.boatinfoworld.com that provided a description of the boat owners by state and then a further division by county.
This is absolutely correct. There's also a breakdown by city or ZIP Code.

The site can provide the address of people who have a boat license as well as the length and docking port of the boat. I figured this would be useful information for people who need to know more info about boat owners.
You can search Boats by Boat Name, Boats by Registered Owner or Boats by Ship Builder, if you already know those components. A detailed power search, which would include people's addresses, or download capacity costs $20/month or $200/year.

Jobs still available

Took the enumerator test today. Got a 28.

Out of 28 -yes!

Some advice:
Take the practice test.
When you take the real test, do the ones you find easy first, then the ones you find tricky. Then double-check your answers; I changed THREE of my responses.

You may have gotten a letter from Census today; it is NOT the form, but the letter informing you that the form's coming next week. Fill out the form quickly and completely; save taxpayer dollars,

Census confidentiality laws trump Patriot Act

Provisions of the Patriot Act pertaining to information-gathering and -sharing do not override federal confidentiality laws when it comes to the U.S. Census, the Justice Department said this week.

The clarification by government lawyers came at the request of minority lawmakers, who were seeking to allay the fears of constituents about the first national headcount since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

In a letter sent Wednesday to the leaders of the congressional Asian Pacific, Black and Hispanic caucuses, Assistant Attorney General Ronald H. Weich said, "The long history of congressional enactments protecting [Census] information from such disclosure, as well as the established precedents of the courts and this department, supports the view that if Congress intended to override these protections, it would say so clearly and explicitly."

In this case, federal Census laws trump the Patriot Act, and the agency will keep information obtained during the headcount confidential and away from other departments, Weich said.

More HERE.

Help Promote Census Jobs in Your Community!

Census time is here! Questionnaires are being delivered this month and the Census Bureau continuing to recruit for full-time and part-time census workers. It offers great pay at $12.25 per hour minimum, flexible hours, paid training and reimbursement for work-related expenses, like mileage. Census needs your help in ensuring that there are census workers from all neighborhoods. It hires locally, because local workers know their communities best! Please encourage your clients, constituents, customers, friends and family members to consider working on Census 2010.

All Census applicants are required to take a 1/2 hour basic skills test. Links to the application materials you will need (including a practice test that you can share) can be found here. Census applicants are also required to bring 2 forms of identification to the test session. For a list of proper identifications and for more information on Census jobs, vist the website at www.2010censusjobs.gov.
To sign up for a test, call our toll-free Jobs Line number at (866)
861-2010.

If you have questions or would like more information, please call the Partnership department at (617) 223-3610.

Thank you for your help in supporting the largest civilian mobilization in history. "Together we can make a difference. It's in our hands."

Get your NYS income tax return prepared for free

The IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA) and the Tax Counseling for the Elderly Program (TCE) offer free tax help for taxpayers who qualify. You can now find a VITA location in New York convenient to you with our easy-to-use online service. Simply type in your address and ZIP code to find nearby VITA locations to serve you.

VITA offers trained community volunteers who can help with special credits, like the earned income tax credit. In addition to free tax return preparation assistance, most sites also offer free electronic filing (e-filing). Individuals taking advantage of the e-file program can receive their refunds more quickly compared to returns filed on paper - and even faster when tax refunds are deposited directly into one's bank account.

Why Children Count Too

Children have been undercounted in every census since the first one in 1790. Local communities rely on census information in planning for schools, child care, health and other critical services. Babies need to be counted today, so they can benefit tomorrow from community services.

Featuring Dora the Explorer, the popular children's cartoon character, the Census Bureau has teamed up with Nickelodeon to create a toolkit with resources to help you spread the word in your community. Please visit HERE to download
the children's fact sheets and web buttons in English and Spanish.

Updated guidance on 'snowbird' enumeration

People who contact the Census Bureau on this topic with receive the following information:

Counting "Snowbirds" in the 2010 Census


Where Should Snowbirds Be Counted?
Some people live in one state but spend the winter in another state with a warmer climate. These people are often referred to as snowbirds, and the Census Bureau considers them to be on a yearly cycle of travel between the two residences.

They should be counted in the census at their usual residence. This is where they spend most of their time during the year.
• This is not necessarily the state they vote in;
• This is not necessarily the state they have lived most of their life in;
or
• This is not necessarily the state they consider their home, their
permanent residence, or their legal residence.

Here are two examples of how to determine usual residence for a snowbird.
• If you spend 4 months of the year in State A and 8 months in State B, your usual residence is State B. You should be counted in the 2010
Census in State B.
• If you spend equal parts of the year in State C and in State D, you have no usual residence. If you happen to be living in State C on April 1, 2010, you should be counted in State C in the 2010 Census.

Filling Out Your Census Forms

In most of the country, people in snowbird situations will receive a census form at each residence. If you are a snowbird, you should return BOTH census forms if you are able to do so. If you are unable to return both forms, we may contact you for additional information.

If you receive a form at your usual residence where you spend most of your time during the year:
• Complete the entire census form you receive at that address and mail it back.
• This is where you will be counted in the 2010 Census.
• If you are NOT at your usual residence at the time of the census, as soon as you return to your usual residence you should complete the entire census form and mail it back.

If you receive a form at the other place, where you do NOT spend most of your time during the year:
• Enter '0' in Question 1 (household count question) on that census form.
• Do not answer any other questions, and then mail it back.

In some cases, we may contact you for additional information.


Dave Sheppard
Chief, Population and Housing Programs Branch
Population Division, US Census Bureau

Real Estate Price Forecast

When will the value of your house finally start climbing again? Below are exclusive forecasts compiled by financial services company Fiserv for 384 real estate markets across the United States. For the most part, the numbers are looking better

Census Takers Begin Hand Delivering 2010 Census Questionnaires

[CENSUS PRESS RELEASE, March 1, 2010]

Most of the Nation will Receive Forms by Mail in 2 Weeks


About 56,000 census workers today began hand delivering 2010 Census questionnaires to roughly 12 million addresses across the nation, mostly in rural areas where people do not receive mail at the same location as their residence. Most of nation’s 120 million households, about 90 percent of the U.S. population, should look for their 10-question forms to arrive by mail mid-March.
While the majority of areas covered by this operation are rural, the Census Bureau also is delivering forms to Gulf Coast areas affected by Hurricane Katrina to ensure everyone is included in the once-a-decade count. Census takers will deliver 2010 Census questionnaires directly to each residence in these areas, leaving a form packaged in a plastic bag at the home's main door. Residents are encouraged to fill out and mail back their census forms ― using the enclosed pre-paid envelope ― as soon as possible.
“Regardless of whether your census form gets dropped off at your front door or you receive it within a few weeks in your mailbox, it’s important that you fill it out and mail it back as soon as possible,” said Census Bureau Director Robert M. Groves. “With only 10 questions, the 2010 Census should only take about 10 minutes to complete.”
In 2000, about 72 percent of the population mailed back their census forms ― halting a three-decade decline in the national mail participation rate. Mailing back the forms save taxpayers money, as it reduces the number of census takers that must go door-to-door to follow up with households that failed to do so. The Census Bureau saves about $85 million in operational costs for every percentage point increase in the national mail response rate.
(more)
_____________________________________________________________________________
Editor’s note: News releases, reports and data tables are available on the Census Bureau’s home page. Go to
and click on “Releases.”


-2-
“It costs us just 42 cents in a postage paid envelope when households mail back their 2010 Census forms,” Groves said. “The Census Bureau will spend about $25 per person if we have to go out and knock on the doors of households that don’t mail them back.”
The Census Bureau is urging everyone to take 10 minutes to fill out their census forms and mail them back. Starting March 22, visitors to the 2010 Census Web site will be able to track how well their communities are participating in the census on a daily basis. Communities will even be able to embed a Web-based tool on their own Web sites that automatically updates the daily rates. An interactive Google-based map is now online that allows visitors to find out how well their communities did in the 2000 Census. The Census Bureau is challenging all communities to improve their 2000 mail participation rates in 2010.
All census responses are confidential. Answers are protected by law and cannot be shared with anyone. The Census Bureau takes extreme measures to protect the identity of individuals and businesses. By law, the Census Bureau cannot share respondents’ individually identifiable answers with anyone, including tribal housing authorities, other federal agencies and law enforcement entities.
ABOUT THE 2010 CENSUS
The 2010 Census is a count of everyone living in the United States and is mandated by the U.S. Constitution. Census data are used to apportion congressional seats to states, to distribute more than $400 billion in federal funds to tribal, state and local governments each year and to make decisions about what community services to provide. The 2010 Census form will be one of the shortest in U.S. history, consisting of 10 questions, taking about 10 minutes to complete. Strict confidentiality laws protect the respondents and the information they provide.


Public Information Office CB10-CN.21
301-763-3691

2010 Census Residence Rule & Residence Situations

The internet version of the 2010 Census Residence Rule & Residence Situations document went "live" today.

Modern Mechanix blog

With the promise of "Yesterday's Tomorrows Today", the blog reprints futuristic technology stories that perhaps didn't quite come to pass.

London to Build Mid-City Air Port (Sep, 1931)
Outboard Motor Powers Bicycle (Jun, 1931)
Condon’s New Early Coreless Carrot (Feb, 1937)

Most of these stories were from Modern Mechanix itself, but some were from other publications. The latter piece is actually an advertisement from the pictured magazine.

School Payrolls Grew in 2008-09

Professional payrolls continued expanding in New York State school districts outside New York City last year, according to data posted today on www.SeeThroughNY.net, the government transparency website sponsored by the Empire Center for New York State Policy.

Total spending on teaching and administrative salaries by districts outside New York City increased 5 percent statewide to $14 billion--a $670 million annual increase--in the 2008-09 school year...

The full text of this press release is available here.

Contact: Lise Bang-Jensen -518.434.3100

Is your Cellphone Trying To Kill You?

Some studies link cell phone use to health risks
* By Greg Crowe, Government Computer News, Feb 19, 2010

Over the last decade, pretty much everyone got a cell phone. And in that time, every couple of years or so, the debate is raised over whether the little buggers are trying to kill us.

Sure, anyone who dodges swerving SUVs during the morning commute knows how dangerous cell-yakking drivers can be. But what we are talking about here is the electromagnetic radiation that our cell phones emit, and whether it has potential to increase certain health risks. A widely-cited 2008 study links cancers of the parotid gland (one of the salivary glands, located right behind the ear somewhere) to cell-phone use.

Education statistic sources

NYS Education Department's information & reporting system is a source of education data , but I've also learned of these older resources:

Data, back to the late-1970s, in ascii and SAS transport formats. The State Archives distributes 1967-1982.

CISER also has Statistical Profiles of Public School Districts for 1990-2006 (Lotus, Excel, comma-delimited formats). Recent years can be downloaded from here as "volume 2" of the 655 report.

Needless to say, there are many, many caveats to consider when dealing with these files.

New York State Constitution

Most of us are familiar with the provisions of the United States Constitution. But who knows what's in the New York State document? Well, HERE IT IS.

Underground Railroad History Conference

The 9th Annual UGR History Conference: Gender, Class, Race and Ethnicity in Abolitionism, on the Underground Railroad, and in the Struggle Since will take place February 26, 27, 28, 2010
Organized by Underground Railroad History Project of the Capital Region, Inc.
Hosted by Russell Sage College, Troy, New York
In Collaboration with Rensselaer County Historical Society

February 26
“The Not So Underground Underground Railroad” Teacher Workshop
Rhonda Y. Williams, Ph.D. – evening guest speaker
“Railroads, Streets and Bridges – Black Women and Freedom Journeys”
February 27
Rosemary Sadlier–Mary Ann Shadd: Publisher, Editor, Teacher, Lawyer,
Suffragette
Workshops, cultural performance, vendors, poster displays

Join with scholars, artists, historians, preservationists, educators,
students, community members and others to explore how the forces of gender,
class, race and ethnicity have influenced the UGR and movements for freedom
that have arisen in its wake.

February 28
2-hour tour of Troy’s UGR and African American heritage sites

A complete listing of pre-conference activities, workshops, speakers,
accommodations, sponsors and directions is available

REGISTER at www.ugrworkshop.com or 518-432-4432

Previous conferences:
2009 The Underground Railroad, Its Legacies, and Our Communities
2008 The Underground Railroad - How It Worked: Two Centuries of Escape,
Resistance, and the UGR Across the Continent".
2007 Underground Railroad: Uncovering the Voices of Women
2006 The Underground Railroad: Connecting Pathways to Liberty
2005 The Underground Railroad: Discoveries and Emerging stories
2004 The Underground Railroad: Quests for Freedom
2003 The Underground Railroad: Movement And Context
2002 Telling the Untold Story: The Underground Railroad In Albany and the
Surrounding Region

I mention this every year for only three reasons:

1. I've gone to these events in the past and they are always very worthwhile attending.
2. The subject matter, I believe, is important.
3. Mary Liz and Paul Stewart, the organizers of the event, and indeed the co-founders of the Underground Railroad History Project of the Capital Region, are good friends of mine.

I have a fourth reason this year: I'm doing one of the workshops on Saturday afternoon. So sign up already!

ClickZ

Over three years ago, I blogged about the efficacy of ClickZ for website user seesion information. But there's so much more to the site: statistics, white papers, news articles, expert columnists. It is, as it claims, "news and expert advice for the digital marketer."

Penalty and Interest Discount tax program

As a reminder, the Penalty and Interest Discount (PAID) program gives taxpayers with older unpaid bills the chance to save up to 80% of the penalty and interest they owe.

One can save:
- 80% of accrued penalty and interest on unpaid bills issued on or before December 31, 2003
- 50% of accrued penalty and interest on unpaid bills issued after December 31, 2003 and on or before December 31, 2006.

To take advantage of the program's savings, you must make all payments by March 15, 2010. If you don't pay in full by that date:
- your opportunity for these savings will be lost forever
- any unpaid tax debts will continue to accrue interest at the full statutory rate.

Invitations to taxpayers eligible for PAID were sent in January. Eligible taxpayers who didn't receive a notice because they couldn't be reached through the mail can still participate. See the Web site to learn how to get PAID up.

Western New York Legacy Web Site Gets a Facelift!

The Western New York Library Resources Council (WNYLRC) is pleased to announce a makeover of the Western New York Legacy (WNYLegacy) web site, www.wnylegacy.org. WNYLegacy is freely available online, and contains thousands of digital images, documents, letters, maps, books, slides, and other items reflecting the rich cultural heritage of Western New York. The new site has been redesigned to include a new color scheme, a slideshow on the home page, improved searching capability, and an option to create a search box on your own web site.

Two collections are currently featured on the WNYLegacy home page: the Love Canal Collection from the University at Buffalo Libraries and the Bentley Snow Crystal Collection from the Buffalo Museum of Science. Visit www.wnylegacy.org today for access to these collections and much more from libraries and historical agencies in Western New York.

WNYLegacy is a project managed by WNYLRC in partnership with member libraries and institutions throughout the region. WNYLegacy also partners with and contributes to New York Heritage, www.nyheritage.org, an online site with access to digital collections from all over New York State.

CRS — Constitutionality of Excluding Aliens from the Census

In the 2010 decennial census, the Census Bureau will attempt to count the total population of the United States. This includes, as in previous censuses, all U.S. citizens, lawfully present aliens, and unauthorized aliens. Some have suggested excluding aliens, particularly those who are in the country unlawfully, from the census count, in part so that they would not be included in the data used to apportion House seats among the states and determine voting districts within them.

One question raised by this idea is whether the exclusion of aliens could be done by amending the federal census statutes, or whether such action would require an amendment to the Constitution. The Constitution requires a decennial census to determine the “actual enumeration” of the “whole number of persons” in the United States. The data must be used to apportion the House seats among the states, although there is no constitutional requirement it be used to determine intrastate districts. It appears the term “whole number of persons” is broad enough to include all individuals, regardless of citizenship status, and thus would appear to require the entire population be included in the apportionment calculation. As such, it appears a constitutional amendment would be necessary to exclude any individuals from the census count for the purpose of apportioning House seats.

From time to time, Congress has considered legislation that would exclude all aliens or only unauthorized aliens from being included in the census to apportion House seats among the states. Such legislation would have either amended the Census Clause of the Constitution or enacted or amended federal census statutes. In the 111th Congress, legislation has been introduced that uses both approaches. The Fairness in Representation Act would statutorily exclude aliens from the population count for apportionment purposes (H.R. 3797 and S. 1688). Under the above analysis, it would not appear to be constitutionally sufficient for Congress to amend the federal census statutes in such manner. Meanwhile, H.J.Res. 111 would take the other approach and amend the Constitution so that only U.S. citizens would be counted in the apportionment calculation.

Other legislation in the 111th Congress would not raise the same constitutional issues since they would not appear to require the exclusion of any individuals for apportionment purposes. An amendment introduced by Senator Vitter to the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010 (S.Amdt. 2635 to H.R. 2847), would have cut off funding for the census unless the census form included questions regarding citizenship and immigration status. The amendment was subsequently ruled to be non-germane. On the other side of the issue, the Every Person Counts Act (H.R. 3855) would prohibit the Census Bureau from asking about U.S. citizenship or immigration status.


Constitutionality of Excluding Aliens from the Census for Apportionment and Redistricting Purposes (PDF)

Census Bureau Obscured Personal Data

Too Well, Some Say - Wall Street Journal

A study has found the agency went too far hiding individual identities, introducing errors that might lead economists and demographers astray. By relying on the microdata, researchers would have found, for example, evidence of a steep drop-off in marriage rates for women at age 65, or of a big rise in the proportion of women in their early 70s who are working—both false conclusions.

The anomalies highlight how vulnerable research is to potential problems with underlying numbers supplied by other sources, even when the source is the government. And they illustrate how tricky it can be to balance privacy with accuracy.

Redistricting process

Speakers at a Feb. 9 forum at the Rockefeller Institute addressed how a shift in New York toward more Democrats and more Downstate residents is likely to play out in the redistricting process that will follow this year's census. Critics charge the process has been unfairly driven by incumbent politicians' interests in holding on to power. The forum — Redistricting Reform: Visions for the Future in New York State — was co-sponsored by the Institute and the League of Women Voters of New York State in honor of the League's 90th anniversary.
A summary, audio and videos of the event are now available on the Institute's Web site.

Census Bureau’s Balancing Act

By Carl Bialik
Wall Street Journal (February 5, 2010)

My print column this week examines a quirk in U.S. Census Bureau data that may have led to research errors. A National Bureau of Economic Research working paper this week demonstrated that so-called microdata - a subset of all Census responses, released to researchers who want to dig deeper into demographic trends - for several surveys contained flaws.

"This whole issue arose from our attempts to preserve privacy," said Robert M. Groves, director of the Census Bureau. The agency takes several steps to scrub microdata of any information that might reveal the identity of a census respondent. These steps include changing responses slightly. "People who have a really rare combination of attributes have a higher likelihood of being disclosed," Groves said. "Part of disclosure-risk analysis looks at those rare combinations. Our pledge to that person is that no matter what we do, ever, there is no way that person can be reidentified."

The trick is making these changes without creating faulty or misleading data, and statisticians are still working out how to accomplish this.

More HERE.

The Decline and Fall of the Nation's Peak Earners

In the American Consumers Newsletter for February 11, 2010, Elizabeth Warren notes that the decline of the American middle class predated the recent recession:

Household income is down. Household income follows a trajectory, starting low among young adults, rising as people gain experience in their career, peaking in the 45-to-54 age group, then falling as people begin to retire. Householders aged 45 to 54 are still the nation's peak earners, but they stand atop a much smaller hill than they once did. Here is the thirty-year trend in the median income of householders aged 45 to 54 (in 2008 dollars):

Median Income, Householders Aged 45 to 54
2008 $64,349
1998 $71,429
1988 $66,830
1978 $64,152

That's right. The median household income of today's peak earners is only $197 more than the median income of the same age group in 1978. Their median income is $2,481 less than the income of the same age group in 1988. It is $7,080 less than the median income of the same age group in 1998. The stagnation and decline of the household incomes of peak earners has occurred despite growing numbers of working women. In 1978, only 57 percent of women aged 45 to 54 were in the labor force. Today, 76 percent are working.

Conducting the 2010 Census

On Jan. 21, 2010, the Pew Research Center hosted a conversation about the 2010 Decennial Census with Director of the U.S. Bureau of the Census Robert Groves and a panel of experts. Groves discussed the operational flow of the 2010 Census, design features intended to increase participation, the department's communications campaign, real-time monitoring/management, and evaluation of the quality of the census. The session was jointly sponsored by the center, the Washington chapter of the American Association of Public Opinion Research and the Washington Statistical Society.

Moderator: Scott Keeter, Director of Survey Research, Pew Research Center


ROBERT GRAVES: On our staff throughout the country now, we have people who speak 124 different languages. In the L.A. school system the kids speak 127 languages. And what is New York City, Joe?

JOSEPH SALVO: We've maxed out the list. We use 175 now.

Census 2010 Super Bowl Ad

In case anyone missed it. It is the second in a series of Census ads directed by Christopher Guest, who has directed several movies I have enjoyed, including Best in Show, Waiting for Guffman and A Mighty Wind.

Yet, I'm inclined to agree with one of my colleagues who said that the SB ad was "confusing, and when they ask in the end something to the effect of 'When are we counting everyone?' and they answer is left sort of out there unanswered. I know it is a spoof, but it sort of confuses the average person about what IS going on with the Census..." Maybe it beccomes clearer in the next bits.

I went to the Wall Street Journal's online poll re Super Bowl ads . It's unofficial, but telling. There were 53 ads on the program. As of yesterday at noon, the Census ad ranked 40th in the Best Ad category, and 3rd in the Worst Ad category. (Oddly, the Audi 'Green' ad was #1 in both lists.)

Other thoughts?