NEW YORK—On May 1, Census 2010 entered a new phase as Census Bureau enumerators began going door-to-door to further ensure that everyone in the country is counted. The Asian American Federation, in a press conference last week, called on the members of the community to be aware of, feel safe and to cooperate during this phase of the census, which is expected to run until mid-July.
"We are a long way from getting a really good percentage of our community to participate, that is why we need to work harder," said Cao K. O, executive director of the federation. According to documents obtained by the Asian Journal, New York currently has a 67% participation rate while New Jersey has 72%.
Census Bureau enumerators carrying US Census Bureau-issued ID cards will knock on doors if they need to verify information or if they did not receive a census form from that household. Census officials are asking people to remember that the census is safe and confidential, and like the census form, the enumerators will not ask immigration status, financial information or social security numbers. These enumerators have sworn an oath to protect the privacy of Census information for life.
Veronica Lavarro, who works at the Census Bureau, explained that household members can contact their local census offices to verify the enumerator’s status as a Census employee.
"We are now on the Nonresponse Follow-up (NRFU) phase of the census. If we received your form but it is incomplete or you submitted it late, our enumerators will be knocking on your door," Lavarro said. It is estimated that census workers will have to visit about 47.2 million homes during this phase.
Community leaders are one in saying that an accurate count in this year’s census is critical in the development of the various communities.
"New York State is now in serious trouble of losing millions of dollars in federal funding due to a very low response rate, a mere 67% compared to the national response rate of 72%," Assemblywoman Grace Meng, who represents Flushing, said in a statement.
In Hudson County, New Jersey, the participation rate so far, at 63% has exceeded the 62% it posted during the 2000 Census.
"We are not stopping there, we may have exceeded our 2000 figures but we need to raise the number up. That is still low," said Rolando Lavarro, representing the Philippine-American Friendship Committee, a Jersey City-based Filipino organization. Many Filipinos call Hudson County home, and Lavarro said that they are working with other Fil-Am groups to get the word out, specially since Jersey City figures show that participation rate so far is only 57%.
Another area with a big concentration of Filipinos – Queens, New York – has a current participation rate of 59%. Though low by national standards, this is already an improvement on the 56% rate it posted back in 2000.
Enumerators are prepared to assist speakers of non-English languages in getting counted, to make sure that everyone in the country gets to participate. They will be carrying a "Language Identification Flashcard" where household members can point to their spoken language on the flashcard if they need assistance. The 2010 census is written in 51 languages. The enumerator will then return with a speaker of that language to assist with completing the census form. Language assistance guides and sample census forms are available online at 2010census.gov to view and download.
If the enumerators do not find anyone home, they will leave a "notice of Visit" with a local phone number to call to schedule an appointment or take information over the phone. The Census Bureau will staff these phone with people hired from the neighborhood and speak the languages found in the neighborhood.
"Nonresponse follow-up is critical to achieving an accurate census," said Lester Farthing, Census Bureau’s New York regional director. "If an enumerator knock on your door, please cooperate. Answer ten simple questions so that your community can receive its fair share of federal funding and representation in government."
If anyone in the Asian community is having difficulty in communicating with the Census Bureau or is hesitant to speak directly with the census staff, the Asian American Federation and its community partners say that they stand ready to help answer questions. For more information, visit www.aafederation.org.
( Published May 6, 2010 in Asian Journal Las Vegas p. A1 )
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