Census 2000 Counting On Increased Publicity

Maybe you’ve seen the public service announcements: students crammed into a broom closet, firetrucks breaking down on the way to a blaze. All because some people didn’t fill out their census forms.

You’re sure to see more.

Census 2000 - the largest nonmilitary operation conducted by the United States - arrives with a much higher profile than in decades past. For the first time, officials have launched an advertising campaign costing $167 million to explain how an accurate census affects everything from school funding to legislative representation.

Federal workers began handing out forms Thursday evening to homes in rural Washington and Idaho. Residents will begin receiving notices and census forms in the mail in the days ahead.

Participation in the census has declined steadily. Mail response rates dropped from 78 percent of households in 1970 to 70 percent in 1980 and 65 percent in 1990. Census officials estimate it will dip to 61 percent this year.

Along with the advertising campaign, other census tactics to get people to respond include enlisting “community partners” such as pastors, school teachers and activists to help spread the message.

Lynn Holder, a Colville tribal member, was hired by the Census Bureau to visit American Indian tribes in Washington, Idaho and Oregon to persuade them to support the census effort.

In 1990, Indians who lived on reservations were the most under-counted group, with 12 percent missed.

A Complete Count Committee in Spokane has emphasized the counting of homeless people, or as the census calls them, “people in unconventional homes.” In the 1990 count, three people in Spokane were counted as homeless.

A census office in Spokane is responsible for the count in Spokane County and the surrounding 10 counties. In all, 277,836 households with city addresses will receive a form in the mail. Another 53,081 homes on rural routes will find a form hung on their doors by a worker from a local office.

The North Idaho office, based in Lewiston, is responsible for 12 counties, from Adams County to the Canadian border.

“The biggest challenge is the geography,” said Michael Coe, manager of the Lewiston office. “Many areas are still snow-covered.”

Todd Morris, manager of the Spokane census office, said every 1 percent of the population that does not mail back the form is expected to cost an additional $25 million in follow-ups to get them counted. For example, if 10 percent of the population does not respond, it could cost the government $250 million.

The Spokane office’s area includes Stevens County - the county with the lowest response rate in the state. In 1990, only 43 percent of Stevens County residents mailed back their census forms.

Several months ago, Morris attended a Stevens County commission meeting and met some resistance from a county official.

“He was proud of the fact he never sent back a questionnaire,” Morris said.

But after a quick lesson as to how federal money - all $200 billion annually - is tied to the census, Morris said the official eventually changed his tune.

The data’s also used to apportion the U.S. House of Representatives for states and draw legislative districts within each state.

If forms are not returned by mid-April, reminder post cards will be sent out. Workers will then go door-to-door to help people fill out their forms, Morris said.

By mid-March, questionnaire assistance sites will pop up around most towns to help people fill out the forms.

The short form, which will be given to 83 percent of all housing units, only asks about seven subjects, including the name, sex, age, relationship, and race of each person in a home. The long form asks detailed questions about finances and other areas. The census uses a random selection to determine who gets which form.