10 Sep
1999
10 Sep
'99
10:52 a.m.
Date: 10 Sep 1999 10:35:27
From: Census2000 <Census2000(a)ccmc.org>
Early Fall Update: Budget Round-up; Census
Advertising Campaign; Spotlight on Counting Kids
Lawmakers returned to Washington, D.C. this week with little time left
to enact spending bills for the fiscal year that begins October 1. The
Commerce appropriations bill, which includes funding for Census 2000,
cleared both the House of Representatives and Senate before the August
recess, but the two chambers must now iron out significant differences
between their respective versions. Here's a wrap-up of key provisions
affecting Census 2000 in the Fiscal Year 2000 (FY00) Commerce, Justice,
State, and The Judiciary Appropriations bills:
House of Representatives: H.R. 2670, approved by the House on August 5,
includes about $4.5 billion for Census 2000, the amount the Census
Bureau says it needs for census operations in FY00 (which ends September
30, 2000). All of those funds are designated as "emergency spending,"
meaning the amount doesn't count toward the strict budget caps imposed
on each of the 13 annual spending bills.
The appropriations committee report (H. Rept. 106-283), which explains
or expands on the bill's provisions, directs the Census Bureau to
prepare for a count of private American citizens living overseas "at the
earliest possible time." The Bureau must also evaluate a proposal to
include census information about residents of Puerto Rico in its regular
census reports for the 50 states.
Senate: The Senate approved its version of the Commerce spending bill on
July 22. S. 1217 allocates $2.8 billion for Census 2000, the amount the
Clinton Administration requested before a Supreme Court decision last
January forced it to revise the census plan to include a direct count of
the population without sampling methods, for the purpose of apportioning
seats in Congress among the states. The Administration subsequently
asked for an additional $1.7 billion to pay for the new plan. The
appropriations panel held a hearing on July 29 to consider the
supplemental funding request but took no further action. The committee,
in its report (S. Rept. 106-76), also instructed the Census Bureau to
include private American citizens living overseas in the 2000 census.
Reconciling the two bills: A conference committee must agree on a
funding level for Census 2000 activities and reconcile policy
differences in the committee reports. The House and Senate have yet to
appoint conferees but traditionally, members of the two Commerce
appropriations subcommittees, as well as senior members of the full
spending panel, serve on the conference committee. Once conferees agree
on a final package, the House and Senate must approve the "conference
bill" before sending it on to the President for his signature or veto.
Focus on counting children in the census: The Census 2000 Initiative
hosted a press briefing on August 26 to focus attention on the
undercount of children in the census and the consequences for
communities and the educational system. Dr. William P. O'Hare,
Coordinator of The Annie E. Casey Foundation's Kids Count project,
summarized his new report, "The Overlooked Undercount: Children Missed
in the Decennial Census." Dr. O'Hare examined the correlation between
socio-economic characteristics of the child population, such as poverty
and living arrangements, and the undercount of children in the 1990
census.
Ms. Jacqueline Byers, Director of Research at the National Association
of Counties (NACo), and Dr. Ron Henderson, Director of Research at the
National Education Association, discussed the importance of accurate
data on the child population for sound educational planning and resource
allocation at the state and local levels. Ms. Byers, who represents
NACo on the Commerce Department's 2000 Census Advisory Committee,
emphasized how local governments and businesses rely on census data to
plan public transit systems, day care, and school construction, as well
as where to locate services and retail centers. Dr. Henderson, a former
public school teacher, warned that failure to count children in the
census leads to unreliable estimates of the school age population,
resulting in overcrowded classrooms. He said teachers, administrators,
and parents must make a special effort to ensure that children are
counted accurately.
Dr. O'Hare's report is available electronically on The Annie E. Casey
Foundation's web site. Go to http://www.kidscount.org; click on "KIDS
COUNT" near the top of the home page; on the KIDS COUNT home page, click
on "New Publications;" then scroll down to the report on the undercount
of children in the census. The briefing, held at the National Press Club
in Washington, D.C., attracted nearly three dozen journalists and was
carried live on C-SPAN.
House panel reviews census advertising plans: The House Subcommittee on
the Census held a hearing on July 27 to review the advertising campaign
for Census 2000. Next year's census will include a first-ever paid
advertising program. The firm of Young & Rubicam (Y & R) was selected
(through a competitive process) to develop the campaign; Y & R has
subcontracted with several smaller firms that specialize in outreach to
minority communities.
Subcommittee Chairman Dan Miller (R-FL), describing himself as a "strong
proponent" of the advertising and outreach efforts, said a successful
campaign must be "localized." He expressed concern about a "loss of
civic responsibility" that has contributed to the need for promotional
activities to encourage census participation. Rep. Carolyn Maloney
(D-NY), the subcommittee's senior Democrat, agreed with Rep. Miller that
Congress should oversee expenditures for advertising and other census
operations. She encouraged the chairman to schedule hearings on last
year's census dress rehearsal and the status of final preparations for
the count. Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL) emphasized the importance of
involving local firms in the advertising campaign that have experience
marketing to hard-to-count communities.
Census Bureau Director Kenneth Prewitt said advertising would begin in
November, requiring Y & R to buy slots starting October 1. If Congress
fails to enact a FY00 funding bill on time, Y & R might not be able to
purchase prime advertising slots, leading to "a 1990-type problem" of
ads running when few people are watching or listening, the director
warned. The Census Bureau relied on public service announcements
developed by the Advertising Council of America to promote the census
from 1950 - 1990.
The Census Bureau will spend $166.6 million on the Census 2000 paid
advertising campaign, most of which ($111 million) is needed in the
upcoming fiscal year. Dr. Prewitt said 64 percent ($106 million) of the
total advertising budget is earmarked for buying television, radio, and
print ads.
Dr. Prewitt also announced that the Bureau would launch a civic campaign
aimed at increasing mail response rates. The Bureau estimates that 61
percent of American households will mail back their census forms, a
number the director said could rise to 70 percent if the mail-back rate
for every local jurisdiction exceeded the 1990 rate by five percent.
The director noted, however, that Y & R designed its advertising
campaign to convey the benefits of census participation, rather than a
civic engagement message. Advertising can help encourage people to mail
back their census forms, Dr. Prewitt said, but "we can't advertise our
way out of the differential undercount."
The subcommittee also heard testimony from Terry Dukes, Y & R's manager
of the census campaign, and Samuel Chisolm, chairman of The
Chisolm-Mingo Group, an African American-owned firm that is developing
ads tailored to Black communities. Ms. Dukes described how Y & R
developed target audiences for the ad campaign, dividing the public into
those "most likely to participate," "undecided or passive
respondents,"
and "least likely to respond." She said advertising is most effective
in convincing the middle group to send in their census forms; a media
campaign alone won't convince the least likely respondents to
participate but can help pave the way for partnership and outreach
efforts at the local level. Y & R's research showed that perceived
"irrelevance" is the primary reason for non-participation in the
census. The tagline for the Census 2000 ad campaign is, "This is your
future. Don't leave it blank."
Mr. Chisolm discussed the challenge of convincing African Americans to
answer the census, since CMG's research revealed that 46 percent of
African Americans fall into the "least likely to respond" category. CMG
modified the central tagline to read, "This is our future. Don't leave
it blank," to convey a sense of "responsibility to community, family and
self" in reaching out to African Americans. Mr. Chisolm said his firm
also has developed messages aimed at "Black emerging markets," such as
Sub Saharan African and Caribbean communities.
The final witness at the hearing was Mr. Curtis Zunigha, a leader of the
Delaware Tribe of Indians and a member of the Census Bureau's Advisory
Committee on the American Indian and Alaska Native Populations. Mr.
Zunigha said that advertising was not likely to prompt significant
response among Indians living on reservations, making partnerships and
educational materials key components of a successful outreach campaign.
The American Indian advisory panel, he said, was initially
"underwhelmed" by the media campaign developed by G & G, the
subcontractor specializing in promotion to Indians and Alaska Natives.
In response to recommendations from his committee, Mr. Zunigha said, G &
G's advertising effort now "reflect[s] the diversity of native cultures
and geography," but he stressed the need for more resources to help
Tribal governments establish useful partnerships with the Census Bureau.
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
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individuals.