Census forms arriving

Census forms arrived in mailboxes across the area this week with a bold square advising that “YOUR RESPONSE IS REQUIRED BY LAW.”

The census is a total head count of all of the people living in the United States that has been done every 10 years since 1790, and is required by the U.S. Constitution.

It could never have been easier. The envelope from the U.S. Census Bureau includes a fill-in-the-blank form and a postage-paid envelope making it easy to return.

Census officials estimate that filling out the form for the average household will take about 10 minutes. They advise that no one has to respond to any information collection unless it displays a valid number from the Office of Management and Budget. Anyone with concern about a form’s validity or who needs help to complete it may call 1-800-872-6868.

And state and local officials say it’s a 10-minute job that everyone has a real interest in making sure they do.

As much as $347 a year in federal allocations just to Craven County are pegged to each person counted in the census. Officials say that for each citizen who goes uncounted, the state misses an opportunity to receive about $1,000 in federal money and services.

The census must count every person living in the United States on April 1, 2010, in its once-a-decade count and the 10-question form advises people to “count all people, including babies, who live and sleep here most of the time.”

The first question asks, “How many people were living or staying in this house, apartment, or mobile home on April 1, 2010?”

The second question tries to make sure the first one is clearly understood. It asks, “Were there any additional people staying here April 1, 2010 that you did not include in Question 1?”

It then asks where you live, either in a house, an apartment or a mobile home, and whether you own it, rent it, or live there without payment.

Then the form gets to how census enumerators can verify anything that doesn’t jive with the additional information you are asked to provide on each person in the house. It gives a list of seven questions about each of them, up to six people, and a place to list some basic information on as many as six more.

It does not ask for a Social Security number or other more specific identifying information, and individual specific data collected is confidential. The census data becomes public after 72 years so it can be used for family history and other historical research.

The questions help census officials determine basic demographics for the people living in the United States, including name, relation to the person filling out the form, sex, age, race and national origin. To make sure people are not counted twice, the seventh question asks if the person sometimes lives or stays somewhere else.

Any responses that raise questions are expected to be clarified by census takers hired and still being hired by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Workshops were held in late February and early March in New Bern and Havelock for those interested in doing the work, and brochures on how to apply for a census job are being circulated.

Workers are also needed to deliver questionnaires to people without a direct mailing address. The jobs pay $11 an hour. The toll-free Jobs Line is 1-866-861-2010.

Until Census Bureau officials see returns from forms due by the end of April, they won’t know exactly how many people will be needed to finish the job.