The Road to the 2010 CENSUS: What Mayors Need to Know Census Task Force Meeting U.S. Conference of Mayors Providence, RI June 15, 2009 Presented by Terri Ann Lowenthal, Consultant Funders Census Initiative; The Census Project

2 Why is an accurate census important? Who is missed in the census? 2010 census milestones Challenges to achieving an accurate count in 2010 What Mayors can do to help OVERVIEW OF REMARKS

3 Why is an accurate census important? Fair political representation –Congressional apportionment & redistricting –Electoral college –State and municipal legislative bodies Allocation of $400 billion annually in federal program funds, based in whole or in part on Census Bureau data (Fiscal Year 2007) –Brookings Institution analysis of federal funds distributed based on Census Bureau statistics, as well as state-level distributions, are posted on Census Project web site –County-level distributions, FY2008 update, and state distributions by program area, available Summer 2009 Informed planning and policy development

4 Who is missed in the census? People of color Low income populations/renters Highly mobile people Immigrants and people with limited English proficiency People living in complex households Adults without a high school diploma Young children Unemployed people

Census Operational Milestones Spring 2009: Address canvassing Summer 2009: Validate ‘group quarters’ list Fall 2009: Open remaining Local Census Offices (LCOs) Fall 2009: Start recruiting census takers Late Fall 2009: Begin educational phase of Communications Campaign January 2010: Launch paid media campaign (awareness phase)

6 Operational Milestones (con’t.) Late January 2010: Start census in remote and rural locations (continues through March) March 2010: Pre-census letter, followed by mailed census forms and “thank-you/reminder postcard” Late March 2010: Transitory location count Paid media campaign: Motivational phase April 1, 2010: CENSUS DAY April - June 2010: Door-to-door visits to unresponsive housing units

7 Operational Milestones (con’t.) Late summer - Fall 2010: Follow-up and coverage improvement operations December 31, 2010: Deadline for reporting state population totals to President April 1, 2011: Deadline for reporting detailed population counts to state governments for redistricting : Census ‘accuracy check’ follow-up survey 2012: Census Bureau publishes “coverage” estimates (undercounts, overcounts, components of error)

8 Challenges to Achieving an Accurate Count in 2010 Increasing diversity of population; growth in immigrant population; calls for boycott Post-9/11 and “Internet age” concerns about data confidentiality Displacement related to economic downturn Changes to 2010 census plan late in the process Lack of complete testing of key systems and operations Leadership vacuum at critical time

9 Get Involved! Become a 2010 Census Partner Establish a Complete Count Committee Locate Questionnaire Assistance Centers and “Be Counted” sites in high-traffic city service centers Host community meetings & events to promote census participation Help recruit census workers Distribute census promotional materials at municipal sites; include census message on municipal mailings; launch your own promotional campaign Carry the message to your constituents

10 Stay informed! Free Census News Briefs ( Join the Census Project ( Nonprofit Voter Engagement Network 2010 census project ( Leadership Conference on Civil Rights 2010 Census Public Education Campaign ( U.S. Census Bureau ( Regional Census Offices ( Census Jobs ( Brookings Institution (

11 For further information: Terri Ann Lowenthal Legislative & Policy Consultant Phone: