Is the Census questionnaire mandatory by Law?

[Aida222]

I've heard conflicting information about whether or not we are required by law to fill out the census questionnaire? Is it true that you are only required to provide information about how many people live at your house? I would prefer not sharing any non pertinent information which will inevitably end up on some computer database. Anyone?

[NudeTea]

I'd recommend you check Census Bureau Home Page for the most reliable answers.
FAQs are a good hyperlink
And whether you need to fill out the questionnaire:
https://ask.census.gov/cgi-bin/askce...i=&p_topview=1

I've heard conflicting information about whether or not we are required by law to fill out the census questionnaire? Is it true that you are only required to provide information about how many people live at your house? I would prefer not sharing any non pertinent information which will inevitably end up on some computer database. Anyone?

[oliviathunderkitty]

Last time around I tried to avoid it, as I found the questions so invasive. I mean, really, how many times have you been pregnant? But, believe me, they tracked me down relentlessly and eventually I had to give the answers to a live person, an older guy with whom I was not comfortable. I'm sure he was fine but I found it all so invasive and unpleasant. It is best, I think, to simply fill out the form when it arrives and be done with it. You will not have your information in a computer database, not with anything that identifies you anyway.

I've heard conflicting information about whether or not we are required by law to fill out the census questionnaire? Is it true that you are only required to provide information about how many people live at your house? I would prefer not sharing any non pertinent information which will inevitably end up on some computer database. Anyone?

[neil]

All the information submitted in the census becomes part of a computer database. If we trust what they tell us, the provided information is not linked, in the database, to specific individuals. But even if it is not, there are other concerns. For example, I read that during WWII the government used census data to help locate, round up, imprison, and depossess Japanese-Americans. Now, with powerful computers, there is even more ability to use the census data to selectively repress certain populations, geographically, according to income, race, nationality, etc.

In the immediate aftermath of hurricane Katrina, some areas and not others were the target of a second storm, a storm of armed government suppression of the VICTIMS of the hurricane. These same areas were systematically not helped to recover, resulting in significant "spatial deconcentration" of New Orlean's poor, black residents.

In Chicago, twenty years ago, Operation "Clean Sweep" was carried out against residents of Chicago's public housing. Huge raids and lockdowns of the buildings, systematic abuse of the most basic human rights (including the breakup of families and government-coerced weddings), a police state selectively imposed in communities which were 100% Black, the poorest in the nation, and very densly populated.

As for compliance, I guess one could be forgiven for asking "WHY?". Many have not complied in past censuses, slipping through the cracks, or consciously choosing not to give the information. On the other hand, if you trust the government's intentions, then why not give it to them?

From Ollie North and the Iran/Contragate hearings, we learned that FEMA maintains (secret) contingency plans for suspension of the constitution and imposition of martial law in the event of various scenarios of national emergency. This planning includes the ability to quickly locate and lock up specific populations en mass, based on exactly the kinds of "impersonal" data we provide them in the census. Neil

I've heard conflicting information about whether or not we are required by law to fill out the census questionnaire? Is it true that you are only required to provide information about how many people live at your house? I would prefer not sharing any non pertinent information which will inevitably end up on some computer database. Anyone?

["Mad" Miles]

Good Points Neil and OliviaThunderKitty,

In short, "is it mandatory by Law?", the answer is, "Yes".

I worked for the U.S. 1980 Census (aka the Commerce Department) in SoCA/Orange County/Emerald Bay and Laguna Niguel. It's how I got my scratch together to flee this land in the early Reagan era. I escaped to Western Europe for five months of low budget travel and four months of squatting in an abandoned French Air Force complex in the southern outer suburbs of Paris. (Actually the last four months were financed by a loan from my grandfather when I stranded myself without funds in the squat. I really, really, really did not want to come back to a land ruled by neo-conservative Reaganism!)

Anywhoo, first I worked as an Enumerator. That's the guy/gal who shows up at your door if you didn't send the form in. Her/His job is to get you to answer the questions. If you're not around, or the place is unoccupied they can talk to the neighbors about how many bedrooms, bathrooms, people, what they do for a living, etc. live there. If you refuse to answer the questions, the enumerator, more likely their supervisor, is legally empowered to come back with the cops and demand answers.

I never had to go that far. My assigned area was Emerald Bay, one of those private closed gate seaside communities that blew up in the late sixties and early seventies. It happened to be where my Army retired grandfather's house was built in '52 and later it turned into a chi chi suburb. We lived there so he could afford to keep it. It was nice, if you like Southern California sun culture, which as a Super Juero, I don't.

My joke with my deadbeat UCI campus trailer park buddies, was that if we wanted to start a burglery ring, I already had the place cased. Most of the homes I had to fill the form out on, because no one was around who lived there, were five to ten bedroom/bathroom beach-side mansions owned by the extremely rich and were occupied maybe for a couple of weeks in the year when the "family" was there for vacation. Lot's of alarms though.

So I didn't have to feel guilty about surveilling the working class for Big Brother. And believe me, at the time (and now) that was a big concern of mine.

Being an enumerator only lasted a couple of months. Then I was done. But since I did a good job. (And was the only guy who could come and go in Emerald Bay without a hassle to the bureaucracy, which made me an asset.) I was hired as a Processing Clerk at one of the three Processing Centers in the country. The Ziggurat building, The White Elephant, Space City in Laguna Niguel.

Built for mainframe computers by some Airospace R&D company (Northrup?) in the mid-sixties prior to the invention of IC's that negated the need for football size air-conditioned rooms, it was sold back to the guv'ment and made into a Federal Building.

Seven stories, you got your Armed Forces Recruiters on the fifth floor, who knows what up on six and seven, and the Commerce Dept. Census processing on floors two through four.

It was a make-work program instituted under Carter to soak up the unemployed from the late seventies depr/rec/ession (remember stagflation? Coming again soon to the world you live in!)

An amazing experience. Repressive supervision by retired elementary teachers pulled out of mothballs to run "units" of twenty-five to thirty oddballs and fuck-ups of all kinds. Lowest common denominator skills testing. The basic job was to go through box after box of paper forms. Pencil bubble in the three digit code for the required information. Mine was Industry and Occupation coding. Then the forms were take down to be photographed onto microfilm so the computer scanners could read, digitize, compile and process the info. No names were bubbled as far as I can remember. But addresses? You betcha!

So, as a student of political and social theory and philosophy (i.e. Leftist Radical and Wanna' Be anti-capitalist revolutionary) did I worry about "working for the man" and helping in their totalitarian schemes to oppress, exploit and dominate the masses? Wadda ya think?

We were bored out of our gourds. Cardboard prefab desks, dividers. Sup's had metal desks. I became a member the "elite" I&O Problem Referral unit. Cause I test well. They did Taylorist time/motion studies of how long it took to go through a box of forms. No union.

I had a supervisor who demanded that we ask permission first, every time we needed to go to the restroom.

I was "detained" by Federal Marshalls for being on the roof / observation deck / helipad during the morning break. (The other choice for fresh air and a view was the large asphalt parking lot, full of cars baking in the sun.) When I asked them what rule I'd broken; there were no signs prohibiting it, no locks locked, no managerial memos forbidding it, I was cited a law that it was a "felony to climb on the walls or roofs of a Federal Building"!

When I asked if I was going to be charged with, "climbing the stairs up and onto the roof", I was told that if I spoke one more word I would be.

I clammed up and they only filled out an "information card" based on my Driver's License.

That was the only job I've ever had where I would punch holes in my desk (remember it was made out of cardboard) around 3:10 p.m. just before our 3:30 quitting time. (We worked a 5/8 from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30) It made a sound like a twenty-two rifle shot and was somehow satisfying.

I won't go into the details of paper clip projectiles fired off of rubber bands that we'd send zinging past our supervisors ear into the other side of a huge room while the work sections based there were on their cafeteria rotation for lunch. Much less sending the clips ricocheting between metal shelving in the hallway when a top manager happened to be walking behind some dividers in the same hallway and couldn't see who had fired the paper-clip!

Like I said were were bored, bored, bored, bored, BORED!!

(And I was twenty-five, in a dead-end job, five incompletes shy of a B.A. in History and Philosophy, and it was the Punk Era. So, What? You think I was feeling hostile?)

When you treat people like children, with no respect in the dumbest heavy-handed manner possible, guess how they act?

My final performance, on the day I left after resigning (it was spring of '81 and I could not forego the need to flee any longer, plus I'd saved almost $3K) was to jump up, land on my desk, causing it to collapse while shouting, "So long, Suckers!" The fact that it formed a scoop that slid me off on my ass to the floor in front of it, was just as significant. And hilarious.

I made $7 to $8 an hour in those seven months. I was an "elite" Industry & Occupation Processing Clerk. That was a pretty good, not great, but OK, clerical wage at the time.

So, if you like boring, repetitive, badly managed and humiliating work, and who doesn't? Go for it!

As for the threat to y/our civil liberties presented by the census form. Nobody says you have to fill it out accurately (actually they write that you do and it is probably a law somewhere that you must).

But do you think they have the time and personnel to check? Are you kidding? Do you really think the individual(s) responsible for opening your envelope and checking your form for "compliance" really cares if you told the truth? As long as you haven't scrawled, "Fuck you, you Fascist Scumbags!!!!" across it, they're going to put it in the pile with the rest of them, and move on.

Ask me about how statisticians can dismiss an entire lot of forms because the information therein does not match their projections, so that including them would mess up the stats. Saw that happen a couple of times while working in Problem Referral.

The decennial Census is mandated by the U.S. Constitution to apportion legislative districts. The rest is statistics for government economists and social scientists to try and manage the economy for maximum profit and control. But if you think they can't figure out that stuff without your personal particulars on a paper form, well, you haven't been paying attention to the news for the last forty or more years.

Here's what their website says:

What is the Census?

Countdown to Census Day: April 1, 2010

Watch a new video on the 2010 Census

• The census is a count of everyone living in the United States every 10 years.
• The census is mandated by the U.S. Constitution.
• The next census is in 2010.
• Your participation in the census is required by law.
• It takes less than 10 minutes to complete.
• Federal law protects the personal information you share during the census.
• Census data are used to distribute Congressional seats to states, to make decisions about what community services to provide, and to distribute $300 billion in federal funds to local, state and tribal governments each year.

In fact, the whole debate within the Commerce Department and Congress is whether the Census can be done with representational sampling instead of a form from every domicile.

The "get one from everyone approach" has won so far, and with the need for a massive work program during this "downturn" (can you think of twenty euphemisms for Economic Depression?) will probably mean they're going for a form from every rabbit hole in the land.

Did I help the oppressors get the information they needed to control us all? Probably. Do they have the means to do that in an efficient and comprehensive manner? Well, how many large bureaucracies have you worked for? What do you think?

"Mad" Miles

[Braggi]

... ]Did I help the oppressors get the information they needed to control us all? Probably. Do they have the means to do that in an efficient and comprehensive manner? Well, how many large bureaucracies have you worked for? What do you think? ...

That's one Hel of a post Miles. Thanks for taking the time. Another worthwhile and entertaining post from Miles.

Dear friends and conspiracy theorists, they don't need this information to manipulate you. They do that with your phone bills, credit card bills, and the data they're collecting from AOL, Google Mail, and facebook. Who knows? They could be saving every word ever posted on Wacco for all I know.

Just make note of Miles' last sentences. There is so much information our befuddled government is collecting it isn't going to use it effectively for much of anything. The DMV couldn't buy a working computer for $22 million! After investing that much money (Who did it go to?) they dismissed the contractor and determined it was a failure.) I can buy one for about a grand that could do anything they were hoping to accomplish. I really don't get it. I don't think computers are their strong suit. I don't even know if the FBI ever got a working email system. As of about four years ago it didn't work. They were all using AOL. I rest my case.

-Jeff

[MsTerry]

That's the guy/gal who shows up at your door if you didn't send the form in. Her/His job is to get you to answer the questions. If you're not around, or the place is unoccupied they can talk to the neighbors about how many bedrooms, bathrooms, people, what they do for a living, etc. live there. If you refuse to answer the questions, the enumerator, more likely their supervisor, is legally empowered to come back with the cops and demand answers.
"Mad" Miles

If they don't use computers to track your info, how do they figure whether you send your form in?

[Dixon]

I should chime in here, since I've been working as a clerk in the Santa Rosa office of the Census Bureau for almost 2 months now.

Since I started work on February 2nd, we've been gearing up for the Address Canvassing phase of the census. We need to know about every house or other structure in the USA that may be inhabited, with addresses so we know where to send the questionnaires. This is why addresses are kept in a database, so the Census Bureau doesn't have to start from scratch every 10 years, not for any nefarious purpose. Soon address canvassers (we call them "listers" or "enumerators") will be visiting every area of the USA, including your neighborhood (yes, even your remote corner of the boondocks, Jeff!) to determine what places from 10 years ago are still there and habitable, what new places need to be added to the database, etc.

The Santa Rosa office is responsible for most of Northern California. My job thus far has ranged from filling out forms needed to hire people and checking maps to determine that we're getting just the right number of employees for each area, to counting and sorting the equipment needed out in the field, to phoning churches, municipalities, National Guard armories, nonprofits and others all over northern California to ask them to loan us a room to train new hires in their area.

That's right--we have no budget to rent rooms for training new hires; we have to beg for them! Similarly, the office I work in is pretty spartan. A couple of the local honchos have small offices with desks--nothing fancy--while the rest of us sit at tables upon which are telephones, a few computers (not one apiece), and stacks of papers which lie all around because we have insufficient file cabinets. We don't have dividers giving us the relative privacy of a cubicle, nor desks--not even cardboard ones like Mad Miles had 29 years ago. I don't feel disrespected or devalued by this state of affairs; I recognize the budgetary limitations.

Of course, decennial census work is temporary by its nature. My job is considered temporary which, conveniently for the government, means they don't have to give benefits. We're all (at least on my level) hired for eight-week stints with the understanding that if we do well we'll be more or less automatically extended in the job for as long as our position is needed. For a clerk like me, that could be the duration of the census, well into late 2010. For others, such as recruiting assistants, most jobs have already run their course, but our bosses have been very good about trying to find census work in some other position for those who want to stick around.

Re: my supervisors--my experience has been different from what Miles reports. I like and respect my supervisors, and they apparently like and respect me. They certainly don't require me to ask permission to go to the bathroom. We get along well, despite the fact that our workplace is often "under the gun", frenetically trying to meet some deadline in the face of chaos, confusion, changing plans and unexpected obstacles.

Re: issues of privacy and the possible misuse of census data--I see two basic issues. The first is "PII", Personally Identifiable Information, which refers to any personal data that could be connected to an individual. From what I've seen, the Census Bureau takes our privacy VERY VERY seriously. When you tell the Census Bureau something private about yourself, such as (to use oliviathunderkitty's example) how many times you've been pregnant, no one will ever know what your answer was. It just gets added to a statistical database which gives information about the behavior of large groups of people, with no individuals' names attached to the data. We Census employees get security drummed into us from day one on the job. Anyone ever found to be misusing someone's personal data would be fired, banned from federal employment, and probably criminally prosecuted. Any paperwork we use in the office that connects anyone's name to any of their personal data, even relatively public stuff like their phone number and address, gets shredded. Actually, "shredded" isn't really the right word, because the heavy-duty shredder we use actually reduces the paper not just to shreds, but to a kind of powder, similar to sawdust. Nothing put through that shredder could ever yield any info to anyone!

Similarly, the HHCs (Hand Held Computers) used by enumerators nowadays are watched like a hawk, and keyed to each enumerator's fingerprint so that no one else can glean any info from them. And, no one gets into our office (even if they're just returning from the bathroom in the other part of the building) without showing their Census Bureau badge. We are almost ridiculously solicitous of your privacy!

The other issue regarding misuse of census data is whether the government may use the statistical data to target various groups of people such as ethnic groups in certain geographical areas. I thank neil for bringing up this appropriate concern, as we all know that there is little if anything that our corrupt government wouldn't do if it would benefit the ruling class. Upon consideration, I don't think census data is necessary or even particularly useful for the types of atrocity neil mentions. Anyone who wants to know where the Latinos or the Chinese or the gays and lesbians or the radicals live can easily find that out in any community--and get more up-to-date info than the last census. Just asking around or driving around will yield that info.

I hope I have assuaged everyone's concerns about the census. I urge everyone to cooperate with the census, as the resulting statistics are used to determine number of representatives in Congress and disbursement of federal funding to communities, as well as being a useful database for social research.

Peace!

Dixon

[MsTerry]

Thanks for the thumbsup, but what is there to prevent one from giving inaccurate information? How would they know?

I hope I have assuaged everyone's concerns about the census. I urge everyone to cooperate with the census, as the resulting statistics are used to determine number of representatives in Congress and disbursement of federal funding to communities, as well as being a useful database for social research.

Peace!

Dixon

[Bryan]

Interesting thread- I also worked the 1980 census in the East Bay. I did the whole time as an enumerator - I was the only one willing to go anywhere from San Leandro to Richmond on out. I was the last person let go in the field in the East Bay. I never wanted to work in the office as I was having fun in the field.

We filled out all forms in pencil. I would take any name given and enter it into the database. Once someone was named 'Rainbow Fairy' or something like that. I put that down. The office (In Berkeley) told me the next day that they ALL wondered about it - like the entire office. I said that's the name they gave me and they should just go with it - and they did. ALso, I don't think anyone signed the form if I was the person taking the information - I signed it as the enumerator. I could be wrong about that point.

My supervisors came to work the first day in tie dyed tee shirts and birkenstocks. We got along just great.

I rode a motorcycle and wore a dark mailman's coat with the gold buttons, and carried the red/white/and blue census shoulder bag. This was my only protection in the rougher neighborhoods. People knew that the feds would not tolerate a mailman getting mugged. 20 years in federal pen was a good deterrent. People also knew then that the census helped get more federal money for poor areas and were being encouraged to cooperate. (And no, there was no official mailman's insignia on the coat, so I wasn't impersonating one.)

To my mind, the main reason to work hard to count everyone was to be sure the area gets the money it deserves from the system.

I got so good at figuring out what people were paying for rent that I could write the number down before the person told me. I would tell them if they were paying too much or getting a great deal or paying the same as everyone else. I place had a whole flat for some really low price and I went overboard telling the person that they may have the best deal in Berkeley.

I went once to the Hare Krishna temple in Berkeley, but it was too hard to communicate the census so my supervisor took that one. Definitely interesting to ask them who lived there.

I talked with one immigrant from Iran (lots of people from there after the revolution) - I remember looking up the word in his dictionary and showing him. Once he understood, we had a great time going through the questions in his kitchen. I showed him it was all in pencil and that made him feel more comfortable too.

We never ever called in the law or anyone else to get someone to cooperate. I can't imagine that ever happening.

[Sylph]

I appreciate all the interesting stories about working an an enumerator and in the census office!
An altruistic reason for filling out the census is so your future greatgrandchildren or greatgrandnephews can find out more about you and the times in which you lived.
The study of census records gives a personal flavor to dry facts about history. For instance, the fact that my 2nd greatgrandmother had "4 living children and had given birth to 10 children, total, brings home the tragic fact of high infant mortality in the 1800s. You can find out about military service by your relatives and learn about unusual occupations, and so much more.
I hope folks are not so paranoid about filling out the census after the discussion in this thread. After all, if you have a SS# and file taxes, the feds already know all about you. They have many other ways of 'knowing', too!
In April of 2012, the 1940 census will be released to researchers. After 72 years, you will be dead (or won't care too much) if your personal household history is out there.

Podcast Episode: Family History: Finding & Interpreting Census Records (Genealogy Made Easy

Census Records

Remember the old childhood story of Hansel and Gretel and how they left a bread crumb trail to try to find their way back out of the forest? Well, the U.S. government created a sort of bread crumb trail for your ancestors as well – it’s called the Federal Census. You can follow that census trail from 1930 possibly all the way back to 1790.

The most current census available for searching is the 1930 census. That’s because there is a rule in place meant to protect the privacy of citizens. Since 72 years is considered an average life expectancy, the census can only be released after that amount of time has passed since the census was taken. The 1930 census was released to the public in 2002 and will remain the most current available census until April of 2012 when the 1940 census will become public.

But the 1930 census is great because chances are you’ll be able to find either your parents or grandparents in it. That gives you the starting place for following your census bread crumb trail back in time.

You can find the complete 1930 census index and scanned images of the original documents at Ancestry.com. It’s part of the U.S. Records Subscription.

The 1930 census is also available through the National Archives on microfilm at the National Archives Building in Washington, DC as well as one of 13 regional archives. I will have a link to their webpage that walks you through the process of locating the microfilm roll that you need along with links to the 13 regional archives.
.

[MsTerry]

If all the personal info is stripped (as someone said), how are you able to check on your family history?

I appreciate all the interesting stories about working an an enumerator and in the census office!
An altruistic reason for filling out the census is so your future greatgrandchildren or greatgrandnephews can find out more about you and the times in which you lived.
The study of census records gives a personal flavor to dry facts about history. For instance, the fact that my 2nd greatgrandmother had "4 living children and had given birth to 10 children, total, brings home the tragic fact of high infant mortality in the 1800s. You can find out about military service by your relatives and learn about unusual occupations, and so much more.
I hope folks are not so paranoid about filling out the census after the discussion in this thread. After all, if you have a SS# and file taxes, the feds already know all about you. They have many other ways of 'knowing', too!
In April of 2012, the 1940 census will be released to researchers. After 72 years, you will be dead (or won't care too much) if your personal household history is out there.

Podcast Episode: Family History: Finding & Interpreting Census Records (Genealogy Made Easy

Census Records

[Sylph]

If all the personal info is stripped (as someone said), how are you able to check on your family history?

By law (92 Stat. 915, Public Law 95-416, enacted on October 5, 1978), census records are sealed for 72 years.^[28] This figure has remained unchanged since before the 1978 law, reflecting an era when life expectancy was under 60 years, and thus attempts to protect individuals' privacy by prohibiting the release of personal information during individuals' lifetimes. Thus, the most recent Census released to the public was the 1930 Census, released in 2002.

[MsTerry]

Yes, I read that in your great link.
But how does that jive with this

Any paperwork we use in the office that connects anyone's name to any of their personal data, even relatively public stuff like their phone number and address, gets shredded.

and this

When you tell the Census Bureau something private about yourself, such as (to use oliviathunderkitty's example) how many times you've been pregnant, no one will ever know what your answer was. It just gets added to a statistical database which gives information about the behavior of large groups of people, with no individuals' names attached to the data.

Are they keeping a hard copy some where and only who-knows-who has access to it?

By law (92 Stat. 915, Public Law 95-416, enacted on October 5, 1978), census records are sealed for 72 years.^[28] This figure has remained unchanged since before the 1978 law, reflecting an era when life expectancy was under 60 years, and thus attempts to protect individuals' privacy by prohibiting the release of personal information during individuals' lifetimes. Thus, the most recent Census released to the public was the 1930 Census, released in 2002.

[Sylph]

Are they keeping a hard copy some where and only who-knows-who has access to it?

Yes, the info goes into the Individual Census Record File, some big federal computer somewhere. All the papers can then be shredded. That's how I understand it, anyway. We can be confident(?) that genealogists won't be snooping into the records until 2082.

Ancestry.com - U.S. Census 2000: How America "Keeps" What America Needs

In a quiet moment, I got online and filled out the 2000 census form via the Census Bureau’s Web site. It took less than five minutes to fill out and return my family’s 2000 Census questionnaire—names, ages, relationships, ethnicity, telephone number, and status of home ownership.

As I responded to the questions and finally pushed the "Send" button, I began to think about what I had done. I had just created an original source record regarding the life of my family that had never been (and likely will never be) committed to paper. From my keystrokes and across cyberspace to the Census Bureau’s Web server, no paper record was created. In 2072, when my posterity will be searching original sources for details of their ancestors’ lives, they won’t see my chicken scratches on government-printed paper. The "document" in the term "source document" no longer applies to this future genealogical record.

From the article, it seems that a percentage of the forms may have been digitally scanned and preserved as well, at least for 2000.

[Aida222]

I'm glad there has been interest in this topic, and thank you for some helpful information. We live in the country, have "No Trespassing" signs up, have dogs and do not want anyone coming onto our property without permission, there's nothing shady going on, just privacy in general. Are the census takers canvassing properties automatically, or is there going to be an attempt via the mail first? If they are just allowed to enter anyone's property unannounced, we feel it is extremely dangerous and unfair!!!!!

[Sylph]

What I understand is that you can 'fill out the form' by internet or phone instead of having someone come to the house.
Hopefully, we'll find out how to do that closer to the actual census.

I'm glad there has been interest in this topic, and thank you for some helpful information. We live in the country, have "No Trespassing" signs up, have dogs and do not want anyone coming onto our property without permission, there's nothing shady going on, just privacy in general. Are the census takers canvassing properties automatically, or is there going to be an attempt via the mail first? If they are just allowed to enter anyone's property unannounced, we feel it is extremely dangerous and unfair!!!!!

[Bryan]

I believe there are 2 forms - a short form and a long form. The length of the form is based upon wanting more detailed information to cover the overall questionairre. People will receive one or the other which is sent out randomly. Most get the short form of course.

If you send either form in on time, you may still be contacted. You would think that would do the job, but the census may not properly record your form and may want to have it filled out again. If they contact you, they will usually do an interview and return the form by hand. We did some phoning during one phase but I don't remember what questions we asked.

However, I don't know if this rural area how they can contact everyone in person easily as we as so spread out and its hard to actually find addresses, let alone someone at home during the day.

The best is to send it back asap to try to get it recorded fast. I haven't had any issues here for the last 2 census in Sebastopol. Also, you could try to contact the local office if necessary to get the form finished without anyone coming out to your home.

I'm glad there has been interest in this topic, and thank you for some helpful information. We live in the country, have "No Trespassing" signs up, have dogs and do not want anyone coming onto our property without permission, there's nothing shady going on, just privacy in general. Are the census takers canvassing properties automatically, or is there going to be an attempt via the mail first? If they are just allowed to enter anyone's property unannounced, we feel it is extremely dangerous and unfair!!!!!

[Dixon]

Ooooops! I forgot about the genealogy thing. They do in fact keep on file (in computers nowadays) some personal data of the type that interests genealogists. But, as Sylph mentions, the info is kept secret for 72 years by way of protecting peoples' privacy. I'm assured that the privacy of such information is tightly guarded, and judging from the tight security in the Census office wherein I work, I'm inclined to believe it.

I apologize for my confusion which caused me to give slightly inaccurate info in my previous post; I'd forgotten about the genealogy thang. Let's all meet somewhere in 72 years and we can have a Census info party. I'm sure by then our memories will need to be refreshed with the Census data!

Dixon

I appreciate all the interesting stories about working an an enumerator and in the census office!
An altruistic reason for filling out the census is so your future greatgrandchildren or greatgrandnephews can find out more about you and the times in which you lived.
The study of census records gives a personal flavor to dry facts about history. For instance, the fact that my 2nd greatgrandmother had "4 living children and had given birth to 10 children, total, brings home the tragic fact of high infant mortality in the 1800s. You can find out about military service by your relatives and learn about unusual occupations, and so much more.
I hope folks are not so paranoid about filling out the census after the discussion in this thread. After all, if you have a SS# and file taxes, the feds already know all about you. They have many other ways of 'knowing', too!
In April of 2012, the 1940 census will be released to researchers. After 72 years, you will be dead (or won't care too much) if your personal household history is out there.

Podcast Episode: Family History: Finding & Interpreting Census Records (Genealogy Made Easy

[MsTerry]

Apologies accepted

Ooooops! I forgot about the genealogy thing.
I apologize for my confusion which caused me to give slightly inaccurate info in my previous post;
Dixon

[Dixon]

Hey Aida222---

My understanding re: the Address Canvassing which is about to start is that they're just trying to verify all habitable structures and get an address to send the questionnaire to later. If there's some confusion, for instance regarding what the address is, or whether a building is commercial or has a residence in it, they need to talk to whoever may have the info (you or a neighbor). If your address is clearly displayed and there has been no major change in the status of your building since the 2000 Census (no outbuildings which may or may not be inhabited, for instance), they probably won't need to ask you any questions; they can just verify visually that the place is still at that address and apparently inhabited.

But even if they have no need to ask you questions, they're instructed to give a "courtesy knock" on the door to let people know that they're with the Census Bureau and just doing Address Canvassing; this is to reassure people about the harmlessness of the strangers looking around their neighborhood. If even such brief and friendly contact bothers you, take comfort in knowing that they won't try to approach your door if they're locked out of the yard or sufficiently scared of the dogs, and if they make it to the door and knock, you don't have to answer.

Having verified your address, the Census Bureau will mail you a questionnaire early next year. Filling it out completely and returning it promptly is the best way of assuring that there will be no need for further visits.

Dixon

I'm glad there has been interest in this topic, and thank you for some helpful information. We live in the country, have "No Trespassing" signs up, have dogs and do not want anyone coming onto our property without permission, there's nothing shady going on, just privacy in general. Are the census takers canvassing properties automatically, or is there going to be an attempt via the mail first? If they are just allowed to enter anyone's property unannounced, we feel it is extremely dangerous and unfair!!!!!

[Cyndi]

I worked for the Census in Boston in 1990. First as an ennumerator, then as a supervisor with the side job of filling in gaps in undercounted neighborhoods.

It is true there is a federal law that you must cooperate with the Census. But the only information mandated by law is to find out how many dwellings there are in any particular area and how many people lived in that dwelling on the target date (probably April 1st, 2010, but that may be different).

I had the fun of doing my own street and was shocked to find out how apartments identical to mine (many of the buildings were built at the same time) were subdivided. Illegally, but that wasn't any of my business.

The other information, even though some may be intrusive, is quite useful, but also quite optional. Data about number of people and households is essential for determining voting districts, which is the main charge of the Census. Race makes a difference here too. But data about rent paid, commute time, pregnancies, family structure, language spoken at home, and etc is valuable for helping to plan government services like transportation, health care, education, and more. The statistics (but not the details that identify people) are available to the general public: urban planners, rural services, academics, scientists, historians, anyone.

[MsTerry]

It sounds like the best thing to do is to fill out the form and leave out any incriminating info. There is no way of knowing who has access to the real info and what can and will be used against you. So far, we have only heard from fairly low level and temporary workers with no real inside knowledge of who has access to the info.
If the Bush administration was still in place, who would volunteer personal information to the government?

[dararichter]

As a census worker, it upsets me that some people are so anti-census without even knowing what it is we're doing and why. We don't attempt a mailing first; the whole point of this initial project is to update our address list to make sure everyone who lives in the US receives a questionnaire in the mail, or gets one hand delivered if they can not receive mail where they live. We are trying to include EVERYONE, from a single person living in a mansion, to a community of people living in shacks and tents, to families living in shelters, to private folks living in the country, etc. We will be counting citizens, non-citizens, and "undocumented" folks all the same, without revealing any information to any other agencies. Even if there was "something shady going on," we are bound by an oath not to report anything, or even talk about it with anyone. As far as protecting your privacy goes, the confidentiality training for census workers is very intense. I literally guard your information more carefully than my own wallet (there's not much in there anyway) and the only data I'm gathering now is addresses, WITHOUT NAMES! The penalty for breaching confidentiality is up to 5 years in prison--not jail, PRISON--and $250k in fines.

But why do we do the census at all? Well, how can a government truly represent and serve its constituents if it doesn't know how many they are, or their demographics? Funding for fire departments, parks, road repair, hospitals, playgrounds, nursing homes, etc. is distributed based on a community's population/demographics. Also, one of the main reasons the census was written into the constitution is to determine the number of Representatives in the House for each state, based on its population. It's part of the whole system of "checks and balances," which you probably learned in high school.

Census workers coming onto your property is NOT considered trespassing; we are instructed to knock on every front door that we can physically get to, and you are legally obligated to comply with the census worker. I know you probably don't want to hear that, but it's true. How else can we ensure an accurate count if we don't all participate? This is not about the government trying to bust in on your privacy--if it was, I could not do this job.

When I approach a property where I suspect that the residents would be very surprised to see me, I call out in a clear, friendly voice, "hello!" several times just to give you a heads up so you know I'm approaching. And if you live on a road that has no shoulder, or if your driveway is very long, I have to pull into your driveway, but I will never block your driveway if I can help it.

You know what's ironic? I feel that it is, to quote you, "extremely dangerous and unfair" that while I, a census worker, am simply doing my job, which is to help ensure that everyone gets counted and represented, I have to fear for my own safety because of paranoid residents thinking I'm "trespassing," or maybe just angry at the government and wanting to take it out on the messenger, so to speak.

It is dangerous for the unarmed, lone census worker canvassing the homes of hostile/paranoid/aggressive residents, not the other way around. All of the census workers passed a rigorous background check. We are your neighbors, and some of us are elderly, a little on the frail side, afraid of dogs, and nervous when we are blatantly unwelcomed. Please have compassion for the census workers. We are just trying to do our jobs by confirming your address so that we can mail you a questionnaire and you can be counted, even if you don't want to be. Maybe you could even call off the dogs, unless they just want to lick and make a new friend. Peace.

I'm glad there has been interest in this topic, and thank you for some helpful information. We live in the country, have "No Trespassing" signs up, have dogs and do not want anyone coming onto our property without permission, there's nothing shady going on, just privacy in general. Are the census takers canvassing properties automatically, or is there going to be an attempt via the mail first? If they are just allowed to enter anyone's property unannounced, we feel it is extremely dangerous and unfair!!!!!

[NudeTea]

Well you come on up to my door and I'll invite you to set down for a minute, chat our helloes and have a beverage break. Peace.

Peace.

[dararichter]

Hey, thanks, that makes me smile.

Well you come on up to my door and I'll invite you to set down for a minute, chat our helloes and have a beverage break. Peace.

[Speak2Truth]

dararichter...

But why do we do the census at all? Well, how can a government truly represent and serve its constituents if it doesn't know how many they are, or their demographics?

Heightening the paranoia is that the Obama Administration is putting ACORN on the Census job and pulling control over the census directly into his Administration. ACORN hired crooks and lowlifes all over the nation and provided horribly botched-up voter registration information, skewing voter registration rolls.

The Census, as you say, directly affects representation. Americans across the board are highly alarmed that a crooked organization will be rewarded, at taxpayer expense, with an opportunity to fudge the demographic data - as well as an opportunity to "case the joint" as an earlier poster mentioned.

Thanks to these recent moves, Census workers face what is probably a more adverse public than ever.

[NudeTea]

Anyone who thinks the Census is fudging the demographic data should get a job with the Census and be the answer.

dararichter...



Heightening the paranoia is that the Obama Administration is putting ACORN on the Census job and pulling control over the census directly into his Administration. ACORN hired crooks and lowlifes all over the nation and provided horribly botched-up voter registration information, skewing voter registration rolls.

The Census, as you say, directly affects representation. Americans across the board are highly alarmed that a crooked organization will be rewarded, at taxpayer expense, with an opportunity to fudge the demographic data - as well as an opportunity to "case the joint" as an earlier poster mentioned.

Thanks to these recent moves, Census workers face what is probably a more adverse public than ever.

[Speak2Truth]

Anyone who thinks the Census is fudging the demographic data should get a job with the Census and be the answer.

I wish it was that easy. I have a regular job. And I, as a census worker, would be in no position to monitor the accuracy of all the others.

Sounded nice, though.

[Cyndi]

Oh please, don't buy into the right wing propaganda which was just for the election anyway.

ACORN is a fabulous org that has done important work for decades. They hired hundreds of people to register new voters. You try hiring hundreds of people for a low-level temporary job and avoid getting any cheaters. When ACORN saw that some of the voter registration forms (a tiny tiny fraction) were obviously falisified, they marked them as such when they turned them in. And they fired any workers caught doing this cheating. Since all voter registration forms have to be verified anyway, no fake voters actually got added to the voter lists.

Let me repeat that last part: there is zero evidence that even one single fake voter was added to voter rolls because of ACORN. None. There are ALWAYS some fakes when doing registration and they generally get caught. And since ACORN didn't ignore them: instead, they actually marked them as probable fakes, they made the job easier for the government workers processing the registrations.

But of course the "other side" just had to leap on it as a way to discredit not only ACORN but the Democratic candidate for president.