Making Sense of the Census

Remember to return your Census 2010 questionnaire! You may be wondering:  Does it really matter if I mail my answers back?    The answer is: Yes, it matters!

According to the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Census 2010 information will provide government representatives with helpful information to:

• Forecast the number of people entitled to receive Social Security and Medicare.

• Determine where hospitals, health services centers and retirement homes need to be established or maintained.

• Ensure that quality public-transportation services are available throughout the United States.

• Provide sufficient funding for the federal Very Low-Income Housing Repair Loans and Grants Program that assists older adults in removing health and safety hazards from their homes.

• Support the Prevention of Elderly Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation Program that focuses on elder-abuse prevention and intervention.

• Maintain the Long Term Care Ombudsman Services for Older Americans Program that investigates assisted living, residential care for the elderly, and skilled-nursing-facility complaints and provides community support to their senior residents.

• Fund the Supportive Housing for the Elderly Program that creates resident housing facilities for seniors throughout the United States.

In addition to Census 2010, many households have started receiving the American Community Survey or ACS that will be mailed for the next 10 years.  Instead of the long census form that some households once received, the ACS will be sent separately.  All households receiving the ACS will be legally mandated to return the completed forms.

Receiving Census 2010 and ACS information provides the government with useful tools to prepare for what’s in store. Because obtaining accurate information is so important, the government is hiring Census takers to visit each address that fails to return its completed form.

The Better Business Bureau offers the following information for older adults contacted by someone claiming to be a Census taker. Legitimate Census takers may not:

• Ask for Social Security numbers.

• Request any information about bank or credit card accounts.

• Ask for money.

• Harass or intimidate anyone.

Finally, watch out for email scams. The Census and ACS cannot be completed on the internet. If an email states it is from the U.S. Census, do not reply and do not open its attachments. Instead, forward the email or listed website address to the U.S. Census Bureau at ITSO.Fraud.Reporting@census.gov.

For more information on the importance of completing and returning the 2010 Census form, visit the Census 2010 Education Kit at civilrights.org/census/education-kit.