The U.S. Census Bureau on Monday launched a canvassing operation to verify addresses for the decennial census.
Secretary of commerce Gary Locke will make remarks Wednesday at the National Press Club in Washington, DC on the administrations efforts to ensure that all Latinos will be counted in the 2010 Census.
"A complete and accurate address list is the cornerstone of a successful census," said Tom Mesenbourg, acting director of the U.S. Census Bureau. "Building on the achievements of the 2000 Census, we have been testing and preparing for the 2010 count all decade and we’re ready to fulfill our constitutional mandate to count everyone living in the United States."
Address canvassing is ahead of schedule and should conclude by mid-July, the bureau said. The operation will use new hand-held computers equipped with GPS to increase geographic accuracy and cut down on coding errors caused by using paper maps in previous counts.
Over the last several years, the Census Bureau has been a preparing for the 2010 Census, setting up 151 local census offices across the U.S. This is the first census to include group quarters such as dormitories, group homes, prisons and homeless shelters in the address canvassing operation, which should improve both the accuracy and coverage of the final count.
2010 Census workers will never ask for bank or social security information. All census information collected, including addresses, are confidential and protected by law and will not be shared with any other government agency.
Historically, the U.S. Census Bureau has had a poor track record of enumerating the growing Latino community, according to the NALEO Education Fund. In 2000, the Census undercounted Latinos by one million, or 3 percent.
