Date: Mon, 2 Nov 1998 16:05:08 -0500 From: Census2000 &lt;Census2000(a)ccmc.org&gt; NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES CONVENES NEW CENSUS PANEL Ken Prewitt Sworn in As Census Director The National Academy of Sciences' National Research Council has convened a new panel of experts to evaluate methods and operations through completion of the 2000 census. Dr. Janet Norwood, a former Commissioner of Labor Statistics and current member of the Academy's Committee on National Statistics, will chair the Panel to Review the 2000 Census. The nine panel members will evaluate the nature and objectivity of operational and technical decisions leading up to and during the census, including sampling and statistical estimation procedures. They will issue a final report after the 2000 census and may also issue interim reports as needed. The new panel is the fourth convened by the Committee on National Statistics (CNSTAT) since the 1990 count to examine aspects of census design, preparation and implementation. The panel's first meeting will be held on November 9, starting at 10:30 a.m. If you would like further information or are interested in attending the meeting, please call Joshua Dick at CNSTAT, at (202)334-3096. Census director takes office: Dr. Kenneth Prewitt was sworn in as director of the Census Bureau on October 23. The U.S. Senate confirmed Dr. Prewitt's nomination only hours before the 105th Congress adjourned on October 21. A public swearing-in ceremony will take place later this month. In announcing the confirmation, Commerce Secretary William Daley called Dr. Prewitt "one of the country's most distinguished social scientists" and "a proven manager of complex non-profit and statistical organizations." Secretary Daley also praised James Holmes for "successfully guiding the Bureau at a very critical time." Mr. Holmes had served as Acting Director of the Census Bureau since February and will assist Dr. Prewitt during a transition period. Census Monitoring Board hearings: The Census Monitoring Board will hold several hearings before the end of the year. On Friday, November 6, the Board will review the progress of census preparations and a series of reports compiled by the Commerce Department's Office of the Inspector General. New Census Bureau Director Kenneth Prewitt, former Acting Director James Holmes and Associate Director for Decennial Census John Thompson will participate in the hearing. The meeting will be held in room 2203 Rayburn House Office Building (Washington, D.C.), from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. On November 23, the Board will hold a hearing at Census Bureau headquarters in Suitland, MD, to examine a variety of census methods including the use of administrative records to identify people who may have been missed by conventional counting methods such as the mailed questionnaire or door-to-door visits. The time of this hearing has not been announced. The Board will hold a third hearing on December 16 in Sacramento, CA, one of the dress rehearsal sites. The Board must submit a report to Congress on February 1, 1999; another report is due on April 1, 1999. The Board is housed at Census Bureau headquarters; the staff may be reached at (301)457-9900 (Presidentially-appointed members) or (301)457-5080 (Republican congressional appointees). Census preparations: The Census Bureau's advisory committees held a joint meeting on October 26 to discuss the paid advertising campaign for the 2000 census. Last year, the Bureau awarded a $100 million contract to Young & Rubicam (Y & R) for a national ad campaign to encourage census participation. In 1990, the Bureau relied solely on public service announcements to promote the census. Y & R recently announced that it is seeking a new subcontractor to develop advertising aimed at African American communities. Stakeholder activities: Census stakeholders continued to feature the importance of an accurate census as conferences and meetings in October. The National Federation of Filipino American Associations featured the census in a keynote speech at its annual conference. Juanita Tamayo Lott, of the Census Bureau's 2010 census planning office, emphasized the importance of census participation to the audience of Filipino American civic, business, professional and student leaders. The Association of Public Data Users (APDU) devoted several sessions at its annual conference to census issues. Presentations included a lively discussion about census reform by former Census Bureau directors Barbara Bryant and Marty Riche and an update on congressional activity affecting the census. Tom Hofeller, staff director of the House census subcommittee, discussed the concerns of lawmakers who oppose the use of sampling methods to conduct the count. The Urban Coalition, a St. Paul, MN-based research and advocacy group that works with low-income and minority communities, also featured census issues at its annual conference. Topics included the role of local governments in promoting an accurate census, tabulation of multiple responses to the race question, and the shift to electronic dissemination of census data. Organizations Concerned About Rural Education (OCRE) received a briefing on the difficulties of conducting the census in rural areas and discussed ways that local educators, businesses, and community-based organizations can help promote the importance of an accurate count in these communities. Questions about the information contained in this News Alert may be directed to TerriAnn Lowenthal at (202) 484-2270 or, by e-mail at &lt;terriann2k(a)aol.com&gt;om>. Please direct all requests to receive News Alerts, and all changes in address/phone/fax/e-mail, to Census 2000 at <Census 2000(a)ccmc.org&gt; or 202/326-8700. Please feel free to circulate this information to colleagues and other interested individuals.