What You Need to Know About the US Census 2010

Earlier today, a friendly woman named "Jan" knocked on my door introduced herself and explained she was with the US Census. She confirmed my physical address then gave me my US Census packet along with the standard privacy information. The transaction took less than 5 minutes. I live in a small town and have seen "Jan" around the area so I was not concerned about her identity.

You should know the US Census provides an overwhelming opportunity for scam artists of all shapes, sizes, and colors. Some important information to remember:

1. Census workers should never ask to come inside your home.
2. Census workers carry census worker identification. If you doubt their census worker id, ask for a secondary id to confirm their identity.
3. Census workers should never ask for social security numbers, bank accounts, passwords, or any other private information.
4. Census workers should not ask for money or donations.
5. Census workers should not make statements on behalf of political parties.
6. The 2010 US Census is not conducted on the internet.
7. The 2010 US Census will not request your participation through email.

If in doubt about a worker's identity, contact your regional office to validate their identity.

It is very important you complete the census form and promptly return it. Your census worker should give you the deadline as well as the means to return it. I have to mail ours by April 1^st.

The US Census is taken every 10 years. The data from the US Census is how the federal, state, and local governments decide where to allocate funds for a myriad of projects including:

• money for schools
• community and senior centers
• hospitals
• road and highway projects
• child care
• the number of seats your state occupies in the US House of Representatives

The data from the US Census is also used to locate pools of skilled workers as well help rescue workers during a national disaster. As you can see the information is widely used and accurate reporting today is critical for future programs and services.

The most common oversight seems to be with accurately reporting children. Children have been under-reported in EVERY census since the first one in 1790. It is crucial to report ALL the children in your home, regardless of their age.

Census counts are used, in whole or in part, for more than 140 programs that distribute more than $400 billion of federal funds to states and localities, including such child-focused programs as:

Special Education Grants to states ($10.8 billion)

Head Start ($6.9 billion)

State Children's Health Insurance Program ($5.9 billion)

Foster Care Title IV-E ($4.7 billion)

Improving Teacher Quality State Grants ($2.9 billion)

Your kids may not be ready for some of these programs today but an accurate report will ensure the programs and services are there when they are old enough to benefit from them.

Photograph by the U.S. Census Bureau, Public Information Office (PIO).

*This Public Service Announcement about accurately reporting children on the 2010 US Census was brought to you by Global Influence.