Monticello — ³10 questions and 10 minutes²‹that¹s all Census 2010 workers are asking

for, as they officially begin the task of counting everyone in the United

States next week. It¹s a big job to do, but it is an important task, noted

Dale Turner, who is working through the regional office with the Census

2010.

³The forms are short,² said Turner, as he talked about the Census effort

recently. ³There are 10 questions and it will take about 10 minutes to

answer them...This is just a head count.²

Many people worry about providing personal information, but Turner noted

that that is not the purpose of the Census. Basically, the questionnaire

seeks information about who you are, how many people live at your residence

and how they are related to you, as well as some basic ethnicity and gender

questions.

³No information about your income, or any personal information will be

asked for,² said Turner.

Turner noted that all the leg work has been completed to this point and

Census forms are ready to go out. Most will be mailed to residences, but

since Wayne County is one of the counties in this area that has been

readdressed because of enhanced 911, there will be some forms hand

delivered.

Why is answering the Census important?

Turner said there are two answers.

The first is that Census numbers are used for funding formulas to

determine where about $400 billion in federal dollars will be allocated. If

you drive on roads or use a county health department, then money generated

by that funding formula helped you do that.

The second reason is political representation. Census numbers are used

to determine the number of congressional seats in a state. Turner noted that

in the 1990 Census, Kentucky lost a seat in the House because numbers went

down. That¹s something that they don¹t want to see happen again.

The Census uses a reference date of April 1, noted Turner. That is the

date used to determine who is living in the household. For example, if a

baby is due, then if the baby is born before April 1, he or she would become

part of the Census count.

If Census forms are not returned, then a Census worker will come out to

a residence to try to get the information for the county.

³We will come back more than once,² said Turner. ³We want to count

everyone.²

Turner also noted that Census workers are still being recruited for this

important effort. It¹s a good part-time job with flexible hours. Anyone who

is interested must take a basic skills test, according to Turner.

For more information, call 1-866-861-2010.