Census 2010: 'Take 10' and make a difference!

Have you received your Census survey in the mail? If you haven't, you'll receive it soon. When you do, take 10 minutes to fill it out. After that, put it in the mail, and you're done - and what you've done will really make a difference.

Your census survey, along with those of your fellow Americans, is used by elected officials to make vital decisions affecting your life. Census data also help to determine how more than $400 billion in federal funds are distributed to local, state, and tribal governments each year.

What can you expect when you receive the survey? The following are 10 easy questions:

1. How many people were living or staying in this house, apartment, or mobile home on April 1, 2010? (Indicate number of people.)

2. Were there any additional people staying here April 1, 2010 that you did not include in Question 1? (You are asked to check all boxes that apply, such as "People staying here temporarily.")

3. Is this house, apartment, or mobile home - Check one box: "Rented?" "Owned by you or someone in this household free and clear (without a mortgage or loan)? (etc.)

4. What is your telephone number? (You may be called if the Census doesn't understand an answer.)

5. Please provide information for each person living here. Start with a person living here who owns or rents this house, apartment, or mobile home. If the owner or renter lives somewhere else, start with any adult living here. This will be Person 1. (The last name, first name, and middle initial are requested.)

6. What is Person 1's sex? (Mark ONE box - male or female.)

7. What is Person 1's age and what is Person 1's date of birth? (You are asked for person 1's age on April 1, 2010, and the month, day, and year of his/her birth.)

8. Is Person 1 of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin? (You may answer "no" by checking one of the boxes, or pick, for example, "Yes, Puerto Rican," or "Yes, Cuban," etc.)

9. What is Person 1's race? (You are asked to mark one or more boxes.)

10. Does Person 1 sometimes live or stay somewhere else? (If yes, for example, in college or military housing.)

These are the 10 questions. You are asked to answer them for each person living "in this house, apartment, or mobile home," using Census guidelines.

Are Census data confidential? Absolutely. Your answers are completely protected. No court of law, no one - not even the president of the United States - can access your individual data. Your information, combined with the data from surveys from all over the country, is needed to obtain an accurate and complete count.

Census data are used to reapportion seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and for the subsequent redistricting of state and local governments. Furthermore, the federal government uses population data to allocate funds in a variety of areas such as Title 1 grants to school districts, Head Start initiatives, public transportation, programs for the elderly, and for emergency food and shelter (among many others).

Census data also help potential homeowners to research property values, median income, and other demographic details for communities of interest.

In addition, population data are used by corporations for market research to determine locations for new commercial activity. For more information about the 2010 Census, please contact Victoria Bruno at 769-2204. And remember - take 10 and make a difference!