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| Census 2010 survey forms: It’s in our mailbox |
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By Fe Seligman NATIONAL CITY, Calif. – Most Americans have already received their Census 2010 forms in their mailboxes. Depending on one’s perspective, the “lucky ones” got the short questionnaire, consisting of 10 questions which should take only a few minutes to complete. Those who love answering questions, however, consider themselves the “chosen few” – and were randomly selected to receive the longer questionnaire. Those forms contain 59 questions. Regardless of whether you received a short or long form, they should not be taken lightly. Your future may be affected by how you respond and especially, that you DO respond. To underscore the importance of completing the Census, especially for the Asian Pacific Islander (API) community, Assemblywoman Mary Salas of the 79th California State Assembly District held a press conference on Saturday, March 13th, to urge API citizens to fill out their Census forms. The meeting gathered key API leaders at Operation Samahan Clinic on Highland Avenue to get the word out. “Asian and Pacific Islanders are one of the fastest growing communities in the United Sates. It is imperative for Asian and Pacific Islanders to represent the community in the 2010 Census,” stated Assembly member Salas. “More than $400 billion per year in federal funding is distributed to state, local, and tribal governments based on the Census count. The Census helps leaders to identify where to build new roads, schools, hospitals and more.” Why is the census important? Foremost, it is a constitutional mandate. The Constitution requires a complete count of the state’s population every ten years for purposes of apportioning political representation and allocating federal funds. State representation in the House of Representatives is determined by a system called Method of Equal Proportions, a highly complex mathematical procedure that assigns a “priority value” to each state. In the state of California, for instance, $24 million was earmarked in 1999 by the Governor’s Office towards the creation of California Census 2000 that aimed to push for a complete count in the state. As a result of the rigorous campaign and using the “priority value method,” California was able to gain an additional seat in Congress in addition to the federal dollars that came in resulting from a complete count. It is estimated that the state receives at least $1,000 of federal money for every individual counted. Who should be counted? Everyone living in America should be counted—regardless of status, race, creed, color or gender. This includes non U.S. citizens, immigrants, non-immigrants, homeless, transients. “The Census will not ask for your social security number,” Nampet Panichpant-Michelsen, U.S. Census 2010 Partnership Team Leader said. “If you receive a form that asks for your social security number, that is not from the Census. It should be reported to our Census office right away.” Panichpant, a former international investigative journalist from Thailand, was instrumental in organizing several grassroots partnerships in San Diego and Imperial Counties. “Please be reassured that the Census will aggregate and safeguard all the information that you provide,” Panichpant continued. “The Census staffs have taken an oath to guard the confidentiality of your information.” The penalties are stiff for Census 2010 staff who divulge any information received to anyone in any manner. Why the API community? The API communities are among the country’s fastest-growing communities. Within the Asian Americans, high rates of limited-English proficiency in certain sub-ethnic communities do exist and “are more likely to be undercounted than those that are more English proficient”. And among Pacific Islanders, “with the exception of Native Americans living in reservations were undercounted more than more than any racial group nationwide during the census 2000,” according to the California API 2010 Census Network. The network consists of several API organizations across the state that aims to work closely with grassroots and community based organizations to conduct outreach and education on Census 2010 as well as direct assistance to individuals on how to complete their Census questionnaires. What are QACs and BCQs? Beginning March 19th through April 19th, additional Census 2010 resources will be made available to the community. These are the walk-in Questionnaire Assistance Centers (QACs) and special forms called Be Counted Questionnaires (BCQs). QACs are special sites that are located in areas or in census tracts that have been identified as undercounted by Census 2000. They may be located in clinics, churches, grocery stores, libraries, recreation centers that are accessible to the community. The overall purpose of this site is to provide direct assistance to anyone who may need help in answering the Census forms which includes translation services. Meanwhile Be Counted Questionnaires are forms for those who have not received the Census 2010 questionnaire, those who believe they might not have been included in their household count, or those who do not live or stay in any conventional housing at the time of the census. BCQs are also available in QACs in six different languages: English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and Russian. A list of existing QACs and BCQs with their hours of operation is posted online at www.census.gov. Where will the Census 2010 campaign lead us? “One look at my children and grandchildren convinces me that it’s more than just me,” Merly Ferrer, President of the Council of Philippine American Organizations (COPAO) said. “The Census is not just for us and about us. It is for our children and our children’s children.” “It is my hope that what we have begun with the Census 2010 will be leveraged into something bigger,” Panichpant said with a smile. “As we see the Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders work together for Census 2010 complete count, I hope that this energy and momentum will continue in the years to come as they forge ahead and let their needs be heard on a larger scale.” ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) |