ctpp-news

ctpp-news@mailman.chrispy.net

2560 discussions

by Srinivasan, Nanda <FHWA>

TAZ verification materials have been mailed to agencies in the states listed below. If you are a particpating agency in one of the states listed below and DO NOT receive your materials by May 10, 2000, please call Nanda Srinivasan at (202) 366-5021 (Email: ctpp(a)fhwa.dot.gov). 1. Alabama 2. Connecticut 3. District of Columbia 4. Georgia 5. Kentucky 6. Maine 7. Massachusetts 8. Michigan 9. Minnesota 10. New Hampshire 11. North Carolina 12. Ohio 13. Rhode Island 14. South Carolina 15. Tennessee 16. Vermont 17. Virginia 18. West Virginia The deadline for submittals to the Census Bureau for these states is June 12, 2000. Agencies in other states will receive the materials within 2 weeks. Thank You! Nanda Srinivasan

25 years, 10 months

Re: [CTPP] Long form blues

by ed christopher

[this was in the ctpp bounced email. probably since Robert sent it from a different email address from the one he is registered to the list from] In reference to the long form blues, I thought some of you might be interested in this USA Today article. http://www.usatoday.com/news/ndsmon06.htm Have a great day. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Ron Tweedie wrote: > Our local weekly newspaper - with big circulation - is > pushing the invasion of privacy button with respect to > filling out the long form. Particularly on the income > questions. I received the long form and have to admit > that they have a point. I'll bet that 2000 returns will hit > an all time low response rate. > > >>> "Granato, Sam" <SamG(a)cedar-rapids.org> > 03/23/00 04:25pm >>> > Did anyone ever figure out from the '90 Census the > difference in > non-response rates between short-form and > long-form households? I'm getting > an earful from friends and relatives right now who got > the long form. I'm > starting to understand better the rationale for getting > away from the long > form toward the ACS (if in fact this was part of the > rationale). ------------------------------------------------------------------- Robert Wood Transportation Director Sherman - Denison Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Texoma Council of Governments (TCOG) Suite 240 3201 Texoma Parkway Sherman, Texas 75090 Tel: (903) 813-3534 FAX: (903) 813-3539 e-mail: rwood(a)texoma.cog.tx.us http://sdmpo.org/

25 years, 10 months

Work-UP users

by ed christopher

As a followup to the Work-UP patch. The instructions and information that goes with it are now posted at http://www.mcs.com/~berwyned/census/workup/fixinfo.html The patch itself is downloadable at http://members.tripod.com/~TRBstate/ctpp/wupavx.zip If you forget all these links you can always get to them from the main web page through the Work-UP link http://www.mcs.com/~berwyned/census/ NOTE: The deadline for getting your Work-UP files in has been extended to May 31, 2000.

25 years, 10 months

Re: [CTPP] WORK-UP Users

by Ed Christopher

some folks may be having trouble downloading the patch. it can be reaced from http://www.mcs.com/~berwyned/census/workup/ if you are having difficulties with it drop me your phone number or call and we can figure something out. (202-366-0412) "Charles H. Kooshian" wrote: > url doesn't work >

25 years, 10 months

WORK-UP Users

by Ed Christopher

The attached message is intended for agencies participating in the Workplace Update Program. Others should ignore it. The attachment is in Rich Text Format. If you cannot read it, please call Gloria or Clara at the Journey to Work and Migration Branch (301-457-2454). Thank You. --Phil Salopek

25 years, 10 months

Census 2000 Initiative News Alert

by Ed Christopher

From: Census2000(a)ccmc.org Final Mail Response of 65% Equals 1990 Rate: Plus: Stakeholders Voice Support for Long Form Data; Census Advisory Committees Meet; and more. Sixty-five percent of households filled out their census forms during the first phase of Census 2000, the Census Bureau reported at a news conference on April 19. The mail response rate, which includes households that returned a form by mail, or provided their answers over the Internet or by telephone, equals the 1990 rate and exceeds the bureau's projected response of 61 percent. Beginning on April 27, about 500,000 census enumerators will visit the more than 43 million households that did not yet answer the census. The 'non-response follow-up' phase is scheduled to run through early July. Census Bureau Director Kenneth Prewitt called the response rate "a serious achievement; it is news to celebrate." Until 2000, mail response rates had declined every decade since the 1970 census, the first to rely primarily on mailed questionnaires. The rate was 78 percent in 1970, 75 percent in 1980, and 65 percent in 1990. "The country is saying that democracy is about obligation as well as benefits, about responsibility as well as rights," the director observed. He gave credit to more than 100,000 local government, community, civic, religious, and business "partners" who worked to promote Census 2000. The Census Bureau challenged local governments to exceed their 1990 mail response rates by five percent. About 15 percent met their 'Plus 5' targets, although no states did. Dr. Prewitt also said the difference in the mail response rate for households that received a short form and households that received a long form was 12 percent. He declined to speculate on whether public criticism of the long form questions contributed to the lower return rate for those forms. 66.6 percent of short form households have answered the census, compared to 54.1 percent of long form households. The differential is about twice the gap at the same point in the 1990 census. The mail response figure does not include 'Be Counted' forms that were available in public places for people who did not receive or misplaced a questionnaire at their home, or who believe they were left off the form completed by someone else in their household. Census takers must visit the address provided on a Be Counted form to verify its existence and confirm the number of residents. The final mail-back rate also does not reflect the count in remote areas, where the absence of accurate address lists requires enumerators to record the location of housing units and interview the residents in person. This 'list/enumerate' procedure is scheduled to conclude at the end of April. A spokesperson for Rep. Dan Miller, who heads the House Census Subcommittee, said the chairman was pleased with the Census Bureau's success in stemming the decline in the response rate. The congressman also is concerned, his spokesperson said, that plans for the door-to-door operation do not focus enough attention on historically 'hard-to-count' areas. Rep. Miller said the bureau should target any savings it realizes from exceeding its projected mail response rate at improving the count of population groups that have been missed at higher rates in the past. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), the Census Subcommittee's senior Democrat, praised the Census Bureau for its "outstanding achievement" and also noted that the mail-back rate for Manhattan was five percent above the borough's 1990 rate. She urged people who did not respond during the mail phase to cooperate with enumerators during the "most critical and labor intensive phase" of the census. The mail response rate, which reflects the portion of all housing units that return a questionnaire, differs from the mail return rate, which is the percent of occupied housing units mailing back forms. However, it is the response rate that affects both the cost estimates and the scope of the fieldwork, since the Census Bureau does not know whether an unresponsive housing unit is occupied or vacant until an enumerator visits. The mail return rate, calculated after the census is finished, is a truer measure of public cooperation. Like the overall response rate, the return rate from occupied housing units has dropped substantially since 1970, from 87 percent then to 74 percent in 1990. Final mail response rates for states, cities, American Indian reservations, and other governmental units are posted on the Census Bureau's web site as www.census.gov <http://www.census.gov> (click on "Initial Response Rates"). Stakeholders continue support for long form data: Civic and business stakeholders moved to counter public criticism of the census long form by some members of Congress and conservative activists. Last week, the Census Bureau's five race and ethnic advisory committees, and a majority of members of the Commerce Secretary's 2000 Census Advisory Committee, issued a joint statement reaffirming their support for the collection of demographic and socio-economic information on the long form. These data, they said, are needed "to [assist] the vulnerable in our population" and are "critical to the government's decision-making about our economy and our work-life." Advisory committee members urged residents who did not mail back a census form to cooperate fully when enumerators visit and to answer all questions on the short and long forms. In Congress, legislators appointed to iron out differences between the House and Senate versions of the fiscal year 2001 budget resolution, agreed to drop from the final bill non-binding language on census data collection approved earlier by the Senate. The Senate amendment, offered by Sen. Robert Smith (R-NH), suggested that no one should be prosecuted, fined, or "harassed" for failing to answer census questions on "race, national origin, living conditions, personal habits or mental and/or physical condition." Rep. Dan Miller had written to House Budget Committee Chairman John Kasich, urging the conferees to strike the census provision because it was not related to budget issues. Rep. Carolyn Maloney and Sen. Daniel P. Moynihan (D-NY), joined by 52 Representatives and 13 Senators, sent a letter to Census Bureau Director Prewitt expressing support for the collection of data on the long form. The legislators, Rep. Maloney said in a written statement, would help "spread the message... that the census long form is used to collect vitally important information" about the needs of communities. Census advisory panels hold joint meeting: The Census Bureau's professional association and race/ethnic advisory committees, and the 2000 Census Advisory Committee to the Secretary of Commerce, met jointly on April 14 to review the status of census operations. Senior bureau officials discussed the progress of the mail phase, Telephone Questionnaire Assistance and Be Counted activities, recruitment efforts, and special enumeration operations, as well as plans for enumerator visits to unresponsive households and the 'cooperation' phase of the advertising campaign. Compared to the same point in the 1990 census, they said, the 2000 census was more successful: they had achieved their hiring goals on time, the public was more aware of the census, and mail response rates were on target. Bureau staff also reported that Questionnaire Assistance Centers would close after April 14; the count of people in 'group quarters' (such as college dormitories, nursing homes, and military barracks) would run through April 23; the bureau had started telephone follow-up for households whose completed forms did not provide demographic information about all of the listed residents (called 'coverage edit'); the final phase of the general advertising and promotion campaign would run until mid-to-late May, with all new ads showing the identification badge enumerators would wear; and after May, the bureau would develop radio ads targeting communities where follow-up visits were proceeding slowly. Census Bureau and federal agency staff also briefed advisory committee members on plans to tabulate and report data on race and Hispanic origin. (See the March 13 Census 2000 Initiative News Alert for a detailed summary of the tabulation policy. New guidance issued by the Office of Management and Budget can be found at www.whitehouse.gov/OMB/bulletins/index.html Several participants expressed concern about the inadequate supply of foreign language Be Counted forms in many areas. Robert Shapiro, Commerce Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, acknowledged that demand for forms in certain languages exceeded the bureau's expectations. The bureau would boost advertising in affected communities, he said, to encourage telephone response for those who had not yet found an opportunity to be counted. The telephone assistance lines (1-800-471-9424) will remain open through early June. Be Counted forms could not be photocopied because the data processing equipment could only scan original questionnaires. Dr. Prewitt, addressing committee members at the end of the day, called Census 2000 the best to date operationally. "All big systems worked," he said, adding that some components "at the edge" had not worked as well as the Bureau had hoped. He cautioned that the early operational successes would not necessarily translate to a "more accurate" count. Dr. Prewitt also shared his concerns about the lower mail-back rate for long forms and the criticism of long form questions generated initially by some radio talk show hosts. Many national leaders, the director said, failed to capitalize on the opportunity to discuss two important concepts: the role of information in today's society, and civic engagement and responsibility at the dawn of a new century. He gave local elected and civic leaders credit for reaffirming the need for long form data in light of the public controversy. Commerce Secretary William Daley has appointed four new organizations to his Census 2000 advisory panel: the AFL-CIO, the American Foundation for the Blind, the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium (NAPALC), and the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund (NALEO). The Census Bureau also has increased the number of race and ethnic advisory committees from four to five, replacing the original committee on the Asian and Pacific Islander populations with the Advisory Committee on the Asian Population and the Advisory Committee on the Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander Populations, to reflect changes in the standard federal race categories. Another joint meeting of the advisory committees is scheduled for July 28. State legislative activities update: On April 9, Virginia Governor James Gilmore III (R) signed into law a bill (House Bill 1486) that requires the use of 'unadjusted' census numbers for redrawing congressional, state legislative, and local political district boundaries. Because Virginia is one of 16 states covered in whole or part by section 5 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, the new law (now called Chapter 884) must be approved either by the U.S. Department of Justice or the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia before it can take effect. In mid-April, Virginia's Attorney General announced that the state would attempt to bypass the Department of Justice approval process through legal action filed with the U.S. District Court. Opponents of Virginia's law, including civil rights groups, indicated that they would move to block the move in court. Questions about the information contained in this News Alert may be directed to TerriAnn Lowenthal at 202/484-2270 or, by e-mail at terriann2k(a)aol.com. For copies of previous News Alerts and other information, use our web site www.census2000.org . Please direct all requests to receive News Alerts, and all changes in address/phone/fax/e-mail, to the Census 2000 Initiative at Census2000(a)ccmc.org or 202/326-8700. Please feel free to circulate this information to colleagues and other interested individuals.

25 years, 10 months

Response Rate for Census 2000 Matches 1990 Rate

by Ed Christopher

from: Decennial Media Relations Team, e-mail: 2000usa(a)census.gov The Census Bureau announced today that "the initial response rate" for Census 2000 the percentage of questionnaires returned before enumerators begin knocking on the doors of nonrespondents later this month was 65 percent, matching the 1990 rate. Beginning on April 27, Bureau staff will begin contacting all of those who did not return their forms. About 120 million census questionnaires were mailed or hand-delivered to homes across the country in March. As questionnaires were returned, the Census Bureau posted daily, from March 27 to April 11, on its Internet site http://rates.census.gov/ the rates of return for the country, the states and about 38,000 local and tribal governments. (Tract rates are also available http://rates.census.gov/tracts/ ) Under a promotional campaign called '90 Plus Five, the Census Bureau challenged the nation, the states and local communities to do as well as they did in 1990, plus 5 percent. By April 18, about 15 percent of the entities had met their goals. By April 11, the Census Bureau reported that the response rate the number of those who either mailed back, transmitted via the Internet or had a telephone assistance operator take their answers over the phone stood at 62 percent, a percentage point better than what it had projected for planning and budgetary purposes. In the next phase of the census, called "non-response follow-up," as many as half a million temporary workers, with address lists and maps, will visit housing units the Census Bureau did not hear from. They will make up to six attempts to contact nonresponding households three personal visits and three phone calls. This operation will extend through July 7.

25 years, 10 months

Census Response to Chuck Purvis's message

by Clara.A.Reschovsky＠ccmail.census.gov

Last week, Chuck Purvis wrote a long, useful message to all who are working on the Work-UP program to help improve the workplace coding of the Decennial Census. We at the Census Bureau have some additional thoughts to share with you. Chuck wrote: 1. The TIGER files *can't* be corrected as part of this WORK-UP project. So, if the TIGER/ArcView files are missing key streets, or address ranges on streets, then I think the best solution is to code to the closest available block-face. The idea is to get the employer location accurately coded to the nearest census block. Once the Census Bureau is able to geocode to the nearest block, then they will be able to aggregate to the CTPP Travel Analysis Zones created as part of TAZ-UP. If, on the other hand, the employer is within a large new subdivision that *isn't* included in the current set of TIGER/ArcView files, then I don't know what happens. I haven't come across this problem, though I have had problems with streets-without-address ranges. Census Bureau Response: Item #1: You are correct in saying that these TIGER files cannot be corrected. The files that are being used as a part of Work-UP are Tiger Line 98. In the past year, a lot of work has been done to improve TIGER. Most of these changes are now in 'live' TIGER and will be reflected in Tiger Line 99 and 00. The Census Bureau is not prepared to process any changes that result from the Work-UP program. The Work-UP software is designed to allow you to map spot employers, taking into account insufficient address coverage and missing streets. As long as you keep the correct address we can match respondents to that employer and then they will be coded to whatever Tiger Line segment that you put them on. In cases where the street is missing just place the employer on a nearby street. BUT YOU NEED TO MAKE SURE THEY ARE STILL WITHIN THE SAME TAZ!!!!! As long as the line segment you associate the employer with is in the same TAZ your work place data and flows will be correct. Chuck wrote: 2. The alias street name problem is one I've been battling with as early as this morning. The TIGER file will probably have the older name (e.g., North Main Street), but the "newcomers" to the area may be used to the new street name (e.g., Last Chance Gulch). [This is very common in the City of San Francisco where they rename streets after famous labor leaders or writers, e.g., Army Street is now Cesar Chavez Street, Ivy Street is now Lech Walesa St., Stark St. is now Jack Kerouac Alley, etc.] In answering Census 2000, respondents will use what they want (North Main or Last Chance Gulch). Maybe the Census Bureau Geography Division has a "street name alias file" that can be used for improved workplace coding???? (If not, they should!) My recommendation may be to add duplicate employer records that have the alias street name, e.g., if the employer record provided by the Census Bureau is Joe's Bar & Grill, 100 North Main Street, then I would add a new record (at the same precise geocoded location) as: Joe's Bar & Grill, 100 Last Chance Gulch. (Now, if there were 500 establishments along this Last Chance Gulch, then I'd have second thoughts about adding alias employer records.) Census Bureau Response: Item #2: Alias street names are a problem. To the best of our knowledge there is not a street name alias feature in TIGER. We are talking here at Census about a possible list of street name aliases that can be used to figure out that respondents may report "Last Chance Gulch" but it may be shown in TIGER as "Main St. " We will put together a suggested format of such a list and send it out to the list serve soon. If you have any questions or comments, please call or email me. (email: clara.a.reschovsky(a)ccmail.census.gov or phone: 301-457-2454) In the meantime, I would encourage you to add a second record for large employers on streets that have alternative names. I understand that you probably cannot do this for a lot of smaller employers. Chuck Wrote: Strategy: I've been working on WORK-UP for the past week, and I've completed initial work on five of my nine counties. In the Bay Area we have 300 thousand geocoded employer locations, and 32,800 un-geocoded employer locations. Of the 32,800 ungeocoded, 1,102 are for employers of 50+ employees. In my large counties, I'm only reviewing the ungeocoded for the 50+ employees (10+ employees in Napa County). The goal in my initial work is to "eliminate the big red dots" (ungeocoded workplaces of 50+). I'm also reviewing *all* of the geocoded records for large (250+ or 500+) employers to make sure they're in the right locations. They mostly are, though there were some problems (UCBerkeley was located in downtown Berkeley instead of on the campus; Marine World USA amusement park was on the wrong side of the road....) And some of the research is actually kind of fun (finding the correct location for Domaine Chandon & Niebaum-Coppola wineries; "Skywalker Sound" in Marin County....) Unfortunately, a lot of the ungeocoded records are shopping centers (they're a real mess.) So, my first phase strategy is to correct the ungeocoded large employers (10+ or 50+ employees); and to review the existing geocoding for very large employers (250+ or 500+). I haven't yet devised a second phase strategy. Census Bureau Response: Strategy: Chuck, your strategy sounds good. It is what we had figured many MPOs would be doing. The shopping centers are important. We often have responses with the store name as the employer and the shopping center name as the only address information. If the shopping center is geocoded to the correct location, then we can successfully geocode these responses. Another special type of record is public schools. Usually people who work for school districts will put down the name of the school district as their employer. Sometimes they put the school name where they actually work in the address field and sometimes they give us partial address information. If you can add records for each school in your area and a geocoded address it will help in coding these respondents to the correct TAZ. Chuck wrote: 3. My question: would it be useful to include the acronym of the employer in the employer name alias field? For example, I doubt that our friends at AASHTO will fill in American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials, but rather just use AASHTO.... Census Bureau Response: Item 3: On the issue of acronyms, YES PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE!!!! Adding in acronyms and abbreviations as aliases or separate records is very useful, because some of these acronyms are nationwide in scope while some are highly localized. In what we have seen in testing our coding systems with Dress Rehearsal Data and ACS data, we get a lot responses that are acronyms or local abbreviations. We have a clerical staff that attempts to match these responses with employers in the employer file. There is a learning curve on figuring out what some of these abbreviations really are that often make it very difficult to resolve these cases. If you have any questions about any of the information above, please call or email me. Clara Reschovsky 301 457 2454

25 years, 11 months

Census 2000 Initiative News Alert

by Ed Christopher

From: Census2000(a)ccmc.org Census Long Form Comes Under Attack, As Mail-back Phase Winds Down Plus: Congress and GAO Keep Watch Over Count; State Legislative Update; and more. Census Bureau Director Kenneth Prewitt told a congressional oversight panel last week that he is "cautiously optimistic that we will achieve the 61% [mail response rate] on which we based budget and staffing [assumptions]." But he also told members of the House Subcommittee on the Census at the April 5th hearing that the "public atmosphere that has trivialized and discredited the long form" has contributed to a lower-than-expected long form mail-back rate and could affect the morale of census takers who must visit unresponsive households to collect the information. The Director called upon Congress to explain the important uses of data collected on the long form to the public. Dr. Prewitt reported that the difference so far between short form and long form mail response was about 12 percent, twice the differential rate at the same stage of the 1990 census. The final response difference between the two forms in 1990 was 4.5 percent, according to a 1995 National Academy of Sciences report. Each five percentage point difference in the response rate translates to a one percent drop in overall response rates, since the long form is sent only to a sample (one in six) of households. Saying the "widespread attack on the long form could have serious consequences," the Director said he also was concerned about the reliability of some long form data if too many people refused to provide certain information, such as their income. "High non-response to the long form and high non-compliance with particular items on forms returned," Dr. Prewitt warned, could "combine to push data below our quality threshold," a situation that might prevent the bureau from releasing some of the information. Census enumerators will not follow-up with households that fail to answer some of the questions if the returned questionnaire includes basic information about the number of people living there. Subcommittee Chairman Dan Miller (R-FL) said he was "very impressed by the complexity of current ongoing operations" and praised the bureau for reporting mail response rates publicly on its Web site. He described the public's reaction to the Census 2000 long form as a symptom of broader concerns about personal privacy in an age of advanced technology and the Internet. People should not "lay the blame for [the long form] controversy at the feet of Republicans," Rep. Miller said. The chairman blamed "some of the recent scandals involving this administration, particularly the misuse of the FBI files" for increasing distrust of government, which he said also affected response to the census. The subcommittee will hold hearings later in the year on the long form and privacy issues, with an eye toward "eliminat[ing] the long form for the 2010 Census." Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), the subcommittee's ranking Democratic member, noted that "the hard work on the advertising campaign, partnerships, and other promotional activities appears to be paying off." She called statements about the perceived intrusiveness of the long form by some Republican members of Congress and presidential candidate George W. Bush (see below) "outrageous, irresponsible, demagoguery - pandering to fringe groups and the radio talk show circuit. They threaten the success of the Census by driving response down." 'Long form' criticism dominates public debate: Public criticism of the long form first surfaced after questionnaires were mailed to most households in mid-March (or hand delivered to non-city style addresses). Dr. Prewitt noted in his congressional testimony that leaders of the Libertarian Party had encouraged people not to answer any questions beyond the number of household residents, and that some radio talk show hosts had fueled public concern about "intrusive" and "unconstitutional" questions. In addition, news reports widely quoted a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS) as saying that people should provide "the basic census information" but that if they "feel their privacy is being invaded by [some] questions, they can choose not to answer." Texas Governor George W. Bush (R) also was quoted as saying, "We want as accurate a count as possible, but I can understand why people don't want to give over that information to the government. If I have the long form, I'm not so sure I would do it either." Rep. Tom Coburn (R-OK) issued a press release saying he was "appalled and outraged by the intrusiveness of this questionnaire. ...It is ridiculous for the Census Bureau to ask personal questions that have nothing to do with their Constitutional mandate to count" the population. In his weekly radio address on April 1, President Clinton urged Americans to fill out the short and long forms completely and noted that "every question on both forms was reviewed by Congress two years ago." He cited the allocation of federal funds, apportionment and redistricting, local decisions about where to build schools, roads, and hospitals, and business investment decisions as reasons to answer the census. "[I]f we want to make good decisions about where we need to go as a nation, we first have to know where we are," the President said. The U.S. Census Monitoring Board sent a letter to Director Prewitt, expressing their "continued bipartisan support for the Census 2000 long form." In the letter, a copy of which was sent to all members of Congress, Republican Co-Chair J. Kenneth Blackwell and Democratic member Everett M. Ehrlich said, "[A]t this late date, we do not believe it is productive to renew the debate over census content." The Census Act (title 13, United States Code) authorizes a fine up to $100 for failure to answer all census questions; intentionally giving false answers can draw a fine up to $500. Prosecution of individuals who refuse to answer the census is very rare; Director Prewitt cited only two cases since enactment of the law. 'Long form' debate continues in Congress: House Republicans, led by Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL), held a press conference on April 6 to address the controversy over the long form questions. Republican Conference Chairman J.C. Watts (R-OK) issued an "appeal to the American people to take part in the census," but also said, "[I]f you just fill out the first six questions and send it in, that helps, because it allows people to be counted." The short form asks six questions of all household members; the person completing the form also tells if the home is rented or owned and how many people live there. Speaker Hastert also urged people to send in their forms. But when asked by a reporter if people should complete the entire long form, he said "every American ought to fill it out to the best of their ability. If they have reservations about ... some things that they think are private," they should "make their own decision." Rep. Carolyn Maloney criticized the Speaker's statements, saying he "continued to put at risk the ability of this nation to collect quality data." The next day, the Senate, with no public debate, adopted an amendment to its version of the fiscal year 2001 budget resolution (S. Con. Res. 101), expressing its belief that no one should be prosecuted, fined, or "harassed" for failing to answer census questions on "race, national origin, living conditions, personal habits or mental and/or physical condition." The "sense of the Senate" amendment, offered by Sen. Robert Smith (R-NH), also "encouraged [Americans] to send in their census forms." The annual budget resolution, which sets broad fiscal policy and spending limits, is a congressional blueprint that does not require the president's signature. Census Bureau Director Prewitt issued a statement in response to the Senate action. "Census 2000 is not designed by law as a pick and choose exercise," the director said. He questioned whether the bureau's policy of making six attempts to collect information from households that did not mail back a form "would constitute harassment" in the eyes of the Senate. Also last week, Rep. Michael "Mac" Collins (R-GA) introduced the "Common Sense Census Enforcement Act" (H.R. 4188), to eliminate the penalty for refusing to answer census questions that are not on the short form. Mail phase of Census 2000 nears end: The mail-out/mail-back phase of Census 2000 ends on April 11. After that date, the Census Bureau will start to prepare the list of addresses to be visited by census takers in the Nonresponse Follow-up (NRFU) operation, eliminating those households in its Master Address File that mailed back a census form. However, the bureau will continue to accept and process mailed questionnaires received by April 17. It will then prepare a second list for Local Census Offices of additional addresses that will not require a personal visit. The NRFU operation - the most time-consuming, difficult, and costly phase of the census - will run from April 27 through approximately July 7. Enumerators must make six attempts to collect data from an unresponsive household - three personal visits and three telephone contacts - before turning to neighbors, landlords, or other knowledgeable sources to obtain basic data about the residents. GAO evaluates census progress: The U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO), the nonpartisan congressional audit and investigative agency, also testified at several recent House census subcommittee hearings. At the April 5th hearing, GAO officials reported on mail response rates, completed census operations (such as delivery of questionnaires to rural areas and enumeration of people without a fixed address), and the Questionnaire Assistance Centers. They noted that response rates varied widely at the local census office level, ranging from 30 percent to 72 percent as of Census Day (April 1). GAO staff concluded that the "update/leave" questionnaire drop-off operation in rural areas "appears to have improved the quality of the address list," but they also observed difficulties such as "finding 'hidden' housing units and accessing gated properties," as well as late delivery of training and other materials at most of the local offices they visited. The GAO testimony, "2000 Census: Progress Report on the Mail Response Rate and Key Operations (GAO/T-GGD/AIMD-00-136), also discusses the status of questionnaire processing. The GAO issued a new report in February, entitled "2000 Census: Actions Taken to Improve the Be Counted and Questionnaire Assistance Center Programs" (GAO/GGD-00-47, February 2000). To obtain GAO reports or testimony, call 202/512-6000 (TDD: 202/512-2537) or visit GAO's Web site, www.gao.gov <http://www.gao.gov>. State legislative update: The U.S. Department of Justice (USDOJ) has accepted a request from Arizona Governor Jane Hull (R) to withdraw a state law barring the use of statistically corrected census numbers from the Voting Rights Act pre-clearance process. The status of the governor's request was uncertain because the state's Attorney General originally submitted the law for pre-clearance. Arizona is one of 16 states required under section 5 of the Act to obtain USDOJ approval for any change to state election laws. The law, enacted last spring, cannot take effect without the department's approval. In its March 24th letter to Governor Hull, the Justice Department also said it would use statistically corrected census numbers in analyzing post-census redistricting plans under federal civil rights laws. "[T]he Attorney General's review and assessment of any redistricting plan will not be restricted by the data that a particular jurisdiction elects to use in its redistricting process or its submission to us," department officials advised. The Census Bureau plans to correct undercounts and overcounts in the initial census numbers on the basis of a quality-check survey called the Accuracy and Coverage Evaluation, or ACE, survey, and transmit the second set of numbers to state legislatures by April 1, 2001. Arizona is one of five states (the others are Alaska, Colorado, Kansas, and Virginia) that have enacted laws prohibiting the use of census figures derived with sampling methods for redistricting purposes. Late last month, the Louisiana State Senate passed a bill requiring the use of unadjusted census data for redistricting. However, the state's House of Representatives previously rejected a similar measure (HB 184). Senate Bill 85 was sent back to the House, where it awaits further action. Census Monitoring Board activities: The U.S. Census Monitoring Board issued a report to Congress on April 1, entitled "Field Observations of the New York and Dallas Regional and Local Census Offices, Alaska Enumeration, and Household Matching Training." The report was prepared jointly by the four congressional appointees (Republicans) and four presidential appointees (Democrats); both sides of the oversight panel occasionally have issued separate findings in the past. To obtain copies of the report, visit the Presidential members' Web site at www.cmbp.gov <http://www.cmbp.gov> or the Congressional members' Web site at www.cmbc.gov <http://www.cmbc.gov>, or call 202/457-9900 or 202/457-5080, respectively. A Spanish-language version also is available. Update on collection of race data: The guidance recently issued by the Office of Management and Budget on tabulating multiple race data for the purpose of monitoring and enforcement of civil rights law is available on the Internet at www.whitehouse.gov/OMB/bulletins/index.html <http://www.whitehouse.gov/OMB/bulletins/index.html>. The relevant document, dated March 9, is OMB Bulletin 00-02. Stakeholder activities: Several of the Census Bureau's advisory committees will hold a joint meeting on April 14 to review the status of Census 2000 operations, as well as plans for reporting data on race and Hispanic origin for various purposes. The bureau's five advisory panels on race and ethnicity, committee of professional associations, and the Commerce Secretary's 2000 Census Advisory Committee will participate in the discussions. The meeting, which is open to the public, will be held at the Sheraton Crystal City Hotel, 1800 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA (tel. 703/486-1111), from 8:40 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. New resource reminder: The Census Information Exchange is an electronic resource designed to keep community-based stakeholders and members of the press informed about fast-moving census operations. The Web site also encourages sharing of effective outreach and promotion strategies, as well as concerns, among communities at greatest risk of an undercount. Go to www.censusnetwork.org <http://www.censusnetwork.org>. The Web site is a joint project of the Census 2000 Initiative, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, and the Leadership Conference Education Fund. Questions about the information contained in this News Alert may be directed to TerriAnn Lowenthal at 202/484-2270 or, by e-mail at terriann2k(a)aol.com. For copies of previous News Alerts and other information, use our Web site www.census2000.org <http://www.census2000.org>. Please direct all requests to receive News Alerts, and all changes in address/phone/fax/e-mail, to the Census 2000 Initiative at Census2000(a)ccmc.org or 202/326-8700. Please feel free to circulate this information to colleagues and other interested individuals.

25 years, 11 months

SSNs of Census Forms

by Ed Christopher

Ed -- The following is in response to the CTPP listserve question about the request for Social Security Numbers on some decennial census questionnaires. Randall Neugebauer of the Planning, Research, and Evaluation Division, U.S. Census Bureau, provided me with the following information on the SSN, Privacy Attitudes, and Notification (SPAN) experiment. The SPAN is one of three panel experiments taking place concurrently with Census 2000. Each experiment looks at innovative methodologies and/or technologies that might be considered for 2010. Use of administrative records is one such notion being considered and tied to it is the collection and use of the SSN as a "match" key. The SPAN gathers data as to respondent behavior in providing the SSN. A total of 21,000 households of the mailout/mailback universe received a short form requesting the SSN. The cover letter, however, explains that providing it is voluntary. Attached is a current list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for the SPAN experiment, which I believe will address your immediate concerns. These FAQs are being used by our telephone questionnaire assistance operators to field questions on the SSN and other topics related to the SPAN experiment. (Ed's note: I converted the file to an RTF format. if your have problems with it let me know.)

25 years, 11 months

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