Census Bureau concerned about head count problems

[alienlovechild 75]

WASHINGTON (AP) - As the U.S. census nears its final stages, the government is preparing for possible debacles that could derail its $15 billion head count, from mass identity theft and lawsuits to homeowners who refuse to answer their doors.

Census Bureau documents, obtained by The Associated Press, underscore the highly fragile nature of the high-stakes population count before the government dispatches some 700,000 temporary workers to visit homes, beginning in May.

The preparedness efforts are not entirely new. Previous censuses had contingency plans in place, at least conceptually, and the Census Bureau has never failed to meet its constitutional mandate of delivering population counts by Dec. 31 each decennial year.

But this is the first time the Census has detailed - in 300 pages of internal documents released under the Freedom of Information Act - specific risks to the once-a-decade government count. It's part of the bureau's approach to handling threats that could undermine accuracy, omit large segments of the public or add to already ballooning costs.

Many of the documents proved telling, even with portions redacted or withheld for security reasons.

"Considering the volume of data that the Bureau of Census gathers during the census, some loss of confidential data is bound to occur," one document bluntly states. Citing past missteps, such as the loss of work laptops by census employees in 2006, it details a rapid-response effort that includes notification of authorities, if appropriate, as well as free credit monitoring for potential identity theft victims.

One document says the "No. 1 concern" could be a refusal by immigrants to participate.

Placing a cap on costs if immigrants try to evade the count, the response plan notes that a census worker will attempt to visit a home six times at most - or fewer, if a resident makes clear he won't cooperate - before the worker questions neighbors to get the information. If that fails, the Census Bureau will statistically impute data based on characteristics of neighboring households.

In 2000, imputation, a statistical method that was not part of previous court battles over statistical sampling, increased the U.S. population by 1.1 million, particularly among urban racial minorities who would have been missed by a head count. Census Bureau director Robert Groves has ruled out sampling but not other statistical methods.

Another risk being monitored by the Census Bureau is the possibility of a conservative boycott following recent rhetoric, including one blogger's threat to pull out a shotgun to scare away census workers. The White House condemned the remarks Tuesday, and the bureau said it remains on the lookout for signs of a boycott or other trouble. Conservatives who refuse to participate may also be counted by way of neighbor questioning or statistical imputation.

"With these things, anything can turn on a dime, implode and impact our ability to recruit staff and gain cooperation," Arnold Jackson, the bureau's associate director for the decennial census, said in an interview. "We also remain terribly concerned about safety."

He said the bureau has tightened security procedures and boosted targeted advertising to specific groups, including a public service announcement released this week featuring President George W. Bush's former political adviser, Karl Rove. Still, while there have been anecdotal reports that conservatives may fill out only the number of people in their households, Jackson says there has been little sign of incomplete census forms received so far.

Jackson said the Census Bureau will tap into its reserve fund of roughly $7 million for ad buys in low-response regions, which he identified as having predominantly "non-English speaking households, areas of heavy concentration of minority groups, such as African-American and Latino, and urbanized areas."

Currently, the mail participation rate for the 2010 census is 63 percent, and officials remain cautiously optimistic they will be able to match, if not top, the 2000 mail-back rate of 72 percent by the time the Census Bureau winds down its mail-in operation in late April. From May to July, census takers are sent to homes that do not mail back forms.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20100408/D9EUOHB00.html

Edited April 8, 2010 by alienlovechild

[Nagishkaw 510]

Placing a cap on costs if immigrants try to evade the count, the response plan notes that a census worker will attempt to visit a home six times at most - or fewer, if a resident makes clear he won't cooperate - before the worker questions neighbors to get the information. If that fails, the Census Bureau will statistically impute data based on characteristics of neighboring households.

So they will seek out neighbours to rat out non-cooperating residents. Reminds me of, well, you get the picture. .

[Kevin and 10]

So they will seek out neighbours to rat out non-cooperating residents. Reminds me of, well, you get the picture. .

The East German Stasi or Soviet Russia.

http://www.netctr.com/blog.html

http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/december2004/061204wolfhired.htm

[justashooter 430]

it's all about increasign the numbers in democrat controlled areas to allow for gerrymandering in a redistricting process that will result in more democratic seats in the house of representatives, where the money is spent.

[The_Dude 1,142]

I really don't get the conservative paranoia about the census. They are trying to draw an accurate picture of the demographics of our country, not build a database of republican locations so that they can subsequently round them up and send them to concentration camps. Some people really need to take their tinfoil hats off for a few minutes, if nothing else to just fill out the form and mail it back.

[Jenn! 918]

oh for crying out loud...

I really don't get the conservative paranoia about the census. They are trying to draw an accurate picture of the demographics of our country, not build a database of republican locations so that they can subsequently round them up and send them to concentration camps. Some people really need to take their tinfoil hats off for a few minutes, if nothing else to just fill out the form and mail it back.

srsly

[spookyturtle 9,465]

it's all about increasign the numbers in democrat controlled areas to allow for gerrymandering in a redistricting process that will result in more democratic seats in the house of representatives, where the money is spent.

Forget your meds again?

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Forget your meds again?

They keep sending me census forms. I keep filling them out and sending them back. I am getting pretty creative. Did I mention that I live in a "safe" Democratic district?

[spookyturtle 9,465]

Must be a conspiracy.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Must be a conspiracy.

Or, they are just being "thorough".

[alienlovechild 75]

They keep sending me census forms. I keep filling them out and sending them back. I am getting pretty creative. Did I mention that I live in a "safe" Democratic district?

I hope you're kidding as I haven't heard about people getting multiple census forms if they have already one turned in.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

I hope you're kidding as I haven't heard about people getting multiple census forms if they have already one turned in.

They were giving out blank forms at the local supermarket a couple weeks ago, as I noted in one of my posts. And yes, I have received multiple census forms in the mail, with the reminder, of course, not to send in multiple forms, because that would undermine the reliability of the census results.

[SuperDuper! 230]

Don't cave in and answer all the questions. All you constitutionally have to answer is how many are in the household, and their gender and ages. That's it. Challenge the Census Clown that comes to your door, and ask him by what constitutional authority he has to ask these questions, then tell him its a 4th Amendment Violation, and he needs a search warrant to demanding this information on your private property. THen tell him he is violating your 5th Amendment rights, by demanding that you speak to him, and not remain silent.

Make all the jokes you want, but these are the facts, and your constitutional rights are being TRASHED by the Census CLowns.

Maybe no one just really cares anymore. Great, now go back to your LOST or AMERICAN IDOL and FACEBOOK.

[sjr09 155]

They keep sending me census forms. I keep filling them out and sending them back. I am getting pretty creative. Did I mention that I live in a "safe" Democratic district?

What I did when filling out the form under nationality , I check the box OTHER then put in American for all 3 of us.

[alienlovechild 75]

Don't cave in and answer all the questions. All you constitutionally have to answer is how many are in the household, and their gender and ages. That's it. Challenge the Census Clown that comes to your door, and ask him by what constitutional authority he has to ask these questions, then tell him its a 4th Amendment Violation, and he needs a search warrant to demanding this information on your private property. THen tell him he is violating your 5th Amendment rights, by demanding that you speak to him, and not remain silent.

You probably gave away more info about yourself on the Internet than you would on a census form. Did you file your taxes? Register your car? Register to vote? How many times did you write your Social Security number on a form?