Getting It Right in 2010: Ensuring a Proper Count in the U.S. Census

Abstract

Mandated by the Constitution, the decennial Census is a time-honored measurement as old as our country, and its accuracy is essential. Population data inform key decisions on congressional representation and state and federal funding, and an accurate head count can effectively guide the government’s vision and economic planning. In Philadelphia and other cities, many leaders and advocates in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors recognize the significance of the impending Census count and feel the urgency of getting it right.

To carry out its decennial count, the U.S. Census Bureau employs a comprehensive strategy with 12 regional agencies, nearly 500 local offices, and, for the 2010 Census, a $300 million communications budget. The agency also works through partnerships with government, nonprofit, corporate, and community actors. Cities serve as partners by forming Complete Count Committees, which coordinate local outreach campaigns and inform residents of the importance of the Census, regularly pointing out that population data help allocate hundreds of billions of dollars over the course of a decade. (Our city’s own Philly Counts! Campaign launched this past November.)

Despite the magnitude of the Bureau’s operations and its partnerships, undercounting remains a pressing issue, as post-Census evaluations and surveys have revealed. Undercounting may influence the redrawing of a legislative district that doesn’t truly reflect its population, or it can miscalculate the total distribution of federal funds for a community. This article details the causes of undercounting among “hard-to-count” groups, and African-American males under 40 in particular, and explains how one multi-city campaign is working to increase Census participation by employing black males to deliver the message themselves.