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.
