Census Day is April 1, 2010. Although it seems as though it is a long way off, it is not. The Census Bureau is gearing up to count every person residing in America and they need our help to achieve their goal.
Every ten years, the Decennial Census is conducted. The Decennial Census is a count of everyone residing in the United States: in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Pacific Island Areas. All residents of the United States must be counted. This includes people of all races, ethnic groups, citizens and non-citizens.
The Census questionnaires will be mailed or delivered to every household in the United States in March 2010. The questions ask you to provide information that is accurate for your household as of April 1, 2010.
The U.S. Constitution (Article 1, Section 2) mandates a headcount of everyone residing in the United States. The population totals determine each state’s Congressional representation. The numbers also affect funding for your community and help inform decision makers about how your community is changing. To ensure an accurate and fair count of all populations at all geographic levels in the nation, the Census Bureau needs our help to get the households in your community to respond to the census questionnaire.
They tell me that filling out the 2010 Census questionnaire has never been easier because all households will receive the short form. The long form has been replaced by the American Community Survey (ACS) which is conducted every month. The ACS provides current data about your community every year rather than once every 10 years. It is sent to a small percentage of the population on a rotating basis throughout the decade.
The 2010 Census questionnaire is easy: it’s safe and it’s important. The questionnaire will only take a few minutes to answer and is returned by mail. Census data directly affects how more than $300 billion per year in federal and state funding are allocated to communities for neighborhood improvements, public health, education, transportation and much more. That’s more than $3 trillion over a ten-year period. Getting your residents to spend just a few minutes to fill out their census forms will help ensure that your community gets its fair share of federal and state funding.
During the 2010 Decennial Census, local census offices will be opened in every state to perform this operation. They will need to be staffed with qualified personnel. They are looking for energetic, dynamic, innovative and community-minded candidates throughout the country to become a part of this great effort.
Residents can apply for these positions online at the Census Bureau website, www.census.gov/2010census – to view the employment opportunities. Residents living in northern New Jersey will apply for positions in the New York Region and those living in southern New Jersey will apply for employment in the Philadelphia Region.
If you have any questions, please contact the New York Regional Office at 646-233-2000 or the Philadelphia Regional Office at 215-717-7600 for more information.
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