My Two Census

In New York, two state lawmakers (with Rev. Al Sharpton) are criticizing the Census Bureau policy of counting inmates in the district where they are incarcerated, rather than their home communities.

From the Albany Times-Union:

The longtime U.S. Census Bureau guideline was denounced as “prison-based gerrymandering” by Sen. Eric Schneiderman, D-Manhattan, and Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, D-Brooklyn, who were joined by Sharpton and more than two dozen advocacy groups at a news conference at New York City Hall.

“This is an injustice all across America,” Schneiderman said. “We pass hundreds and hundreds of bills every year about highways and forestry and insurance and sewers. This bill is different. This bill is about justice.”

The Times-Union also delves into the pros and cons of the current policy, which a regional manager tells the paper is unlikely to change this year:

Alice Green, executive director for the Center of Law and Justice in Albany, has opposed the Census policy for more than two decades. “Prisoners are not allowed to vote, but yet we count them and then exploit them,” she said.

Because of the location of most state prisons, Census Bureau policy tends to benefit the upstate population count.

New York’s rural 45th Senate District, which includes Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, Warren and Washington counties, houses over 13,500 inmates incarcerated in 13 prisons.

Queensbury Republican Sen. Elizabeth Little, who has represented the district since 2002, supports the current Census Bureau guidelines.

“How do we know these people are going to go back to their hometowns once — or if — they are released?,” Little said. “Are they serving life sentences? Do they still have family in their hometowns?”

A recent Pew survey found that the Census Bureau has a ways to go in educating the public about the census, and new data from Ipsos and Telemundo shows that the problem is particularly acute among Hispanics.

AdWeek has more on the new survey:

The survey found that the proportion of those who have never heard of the Census is slightly higher among Hispanics than it is among the U.S. population at large (18 percent vs. 11 percent). And the proportion of those who have heard of it but know nothing more about it is also higher among Hispanics than it is among the total U.S. population (31 percent vs. 23 percent).

The survey found that only half of Hispanics know either “a little” or “a lot” about the Census (52 percent), compared with two-thirds among the U.S. public at large (65 percent).

That said, most of the Hispanics polled indicated they believed the Census was important, with 84 percent agreeing that they and their families intend to be counted.

The New York Times’ politics blog, The Caucus, recently launched its “Ten Minutes” video series, and this week’s guest was Census Director Robert Groves.

To watch Groves talk about the Census and his role in making it happen, check out the video and accompanying blog post here.

Since 2000, the Republican Party has sent out mock-census forms to fundraise for GOP candidates — but this year, these mailings may get confused with real Census forms.

The mailer, which arrives in an envelope marked “DO NOT DESTROY, OFFICIAL DOCUMENT” and labeled with a “tracking code,” contains 36 questions on political issues and a request for a donation.

The questionnaire includes items such as “Do you think the record trillion dollar federal deficit the Democrats are creating with their out-of-control spending is going to have disastrous consequences for our nation?” and “Do you believe the Obama Administration is right in dramatically scaling back our nation’s military?”

A “knowledgeable Republican operative” explained the mailing’s benefits to Politico’s Ben Smith:

Of course duping people is the point…that’s one of the reasons why it works so well. The others: low per piece cost — they drop hundreds of thousands of pieces at a time, and will likely mail millions this year. And incredible targeting.

But citizens and politicians alike are objecting to the content. Organizing for America Tennessee director Justin Wilkins told the Chattanooga Times Free Press that the mailings are “disappointing” and “vilifying, fearmongering rhetoric,” and conservative writer Ira Stoll raised objections about multiple aspects of the ‘census’ forms:

It’s problematic for three reasons. First, it uses the word “census” repeatedly to convey the false impression that it is a government document. “DO NOT DESTROY OFFICIAL DOCUMENT,” the envelope says. Inside, the letterhead says “2010 Congressional District Census” and includes a survey with faux-official language like “Census Tracking Code” and “Census Certification and Reply” and “Census Document.” The text of the letter includes a sentence that says “And when you send back your completed Census, I urge you to also demonstrate your commitment to the Republican Party by including a generous donation of $25, $50, $100, $250 — or even $500.” All this could easily dupe an unsuspecting target into thinking, incorrectly, that it was part of the real 2010 government census.

Census Bureau director Robert M. Groves will travel to Alaska Monday to begin the official tally for the 2010 Census.

Groves is slated to count the first household in Noorvik, a remote Inupiat Eskimo village located north of Arctic Circle.

The AP has some background and more details:

Monday’s single count will be the only one conducted by Groves, and the rest of Noorvik’s population will be enumerated beginning Tuesday. Census workers and trained locals are expected to take a week to interview villagers from the same 10-question forms to be mailed to most residents March 15. Census workers also will visit 217 other rural communities, all in Alaska, in the coming weeks.

Alaskans in rural communities not linked by roads have been the first people counted since the 1990 census. The unlinked communities are the places where the process is first conducted in person by census workers. The bureau makes personal visits to nonresponding residents around the country.

It’s easier to get census workers to the Alaska villages before the spring thaw brings a muddy mess, making access more difficult, said Ralph Lee, director of the bureau’s Seattle region, which oversees Alaska. Also, residents in many villages still live off the land, hunting and fishing for their food, and it’s important to reach them before they set off for fishing camps or hunting expeditions when the weather begins to warm.

A survey from the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press shows that Census Bureau still has a ways to go in educating U.S residents about the 2010 Census.

Though 90 percent of respondents said the census was very or somewhat important, the survey underscored the public’s lack of knowledge about the decennial count. Only 31 percent knew census participation is required by law. Answers about the census’ purpose fared somewhat better: 59 percent knew that the census is used to appropriate government funds and 64 percent knew the census determines congressional representation.

The survey comes as Bureau begins heavy promotion of the census: A $133-million advertising campaign began this week and a road tour was launched earlier this month.

The first stage of the ad campaign will focus on awareness and the Bureau has spent much time touting its outreach efforts — with nonprofits, minority groups and others. But it’s now evident that awareness about the census isn’t enough (84 percent of survey participants had heard of the census, and a full 92 percent were familiar with it after hearing a description) — education must be a key part of the marketing plans.

Perhaps owing to this lack of education, the poll also found that 18 percent of those surveyed may not participate in the 2010 Census. Ten percent said they might not fill out the form, 6 percent said they definitely or probably would not and 2 percent said they were unsure. Top reasons for not participating included a lack of interest or knowledge and a distrust of government.

Readers, what do you think: What’s the best way to educate the public about the cenus?

Two reports recently issued by the Office of the Inspector General, one the latest quarterly report on the 2010 Census, released last month, and one on the top management challenges facing the Commerce Department, released this month, shed new light on potential issues and trends to watch with this year’s Census.

First, the December report acknowledges that the Census Bureau is moving forward with its important operations for the year, including the completion of address canvassing in July and and group quarters validation in October.

The address canvassing, while completed successfully last year, was $88 million — almost 25 percent — over budget. In order to make up for this overrun, the Census Bureau is now revising its budget for non-response follow up.

One major concern addressed in both reports is the Census Bureau’s ability to successfully develop its paper based operations control system (PBOCS).

After the Census Bureau abandon plans for handheld computers to deal with non-response follow-up, the Bureau took over the development of the PBOCS; this means, the report says, that the system will have to be completed much more quickly:

As a result of the highly compressed schedule, the system will undergo less testing than desirable. And once deployed, there is no margin for error. Hundreds of thousands of NRFU enumerators must be able to receive and submit completed assignments, and the bureau must be able to monitor progress. Documented contingency plans currently do not exist, and in the event PBOCS experiences serious operational problems or failures, the decennial schedule would be seriously jeopardized and costs would surely increase. Successful PBOCS development, testing, and implementation represent one of the most significant decennial challenges facing the Department.

This month’s report also addresses the rising cost of the Census and the need to develop cost-effective strategies this year to prevent the necessary funding from skyrocketing in the 2020 Census. According to the report, the price of conducting the Census has doubled every decade since 1970 — meaning the 2020 Census could cost almost $30 billion unless new strategies are developed this time around. The report describes the Census Bureau as an “insular organization that eschews open dialogue with outside parties and even its own regional offices,” saying that outside input must be sought in order to create new, cost-effective strategies.

The reports address other Census-related risks being discussed by the Census Bureau, such as what to do in the event of an H1N1 influenza outbreak. The Census Bureau’s Risk Review Board began drafting plans for H1N1 outbreaks in October.

The full reports can be read here and here.

A new analysis of census data from the Pew Research Center says that more men are marrying women who earn more than they do.

The New York Times reports:

“Men now are increasingly likely to marry wives with more education and income than they have, and the reverse is true for women,” said Paul Fucito, spokesman for the Pew Center. “In recent decades, with the rise of well-paid working wives, the economic gains of marriage have been a greater benefit for men.”

The analysis examines Americans 30 to 44 years old, the first generation in which more women than men have college degrees. Women’s earnings have been increasing faster than men’s since the 1970s.

“We’ve known for some time that men need marriage more than women from the standpoint of physical and mental well-being,” said Stephanie Coontz, a professor at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash., and research director for the Council on Contemporary Families, a research and advocacy group. “Now it is becoming increasingly important to their economic well-being as well.”

And Jezebel has a closer look at the data and a round-up of how it’s been covered in the media.

In a bit of news from across the globe, Iraq will hold its first census in more than 20 years later this year.

Reuters has more:

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Plans are on track to take Iraq’s first complete census in 23 years, a process that will help answer questions critical to the future of Iraq’s northern oilfields, such as “how many Kurds live in Kirkuk?”

The long-delayed count, which may shut down the country for two days in October, is also expected to determine how many Iraqis live abroad and how many have been forced to move within Iraq in seven years of war, census chief Mehdi al-Alak said.

The census was postponed for a year over worries it was being politicized. Ethnic groups in contested areas like the northern city of Kirkuk, home to Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen and a valuable part of Iraq’s oil fields, opposed it because it might reveal demographics that would undermine political ambitions.

The count could provide answers or create more squabbles in a diverse nation riven by sectarian violence following the U.S. invasion in 2003 and now trying to bolster fragile security gains while deciding how to share out its vast oil wealth. Iraq has the world’s 3rd largest crude oil reserves.

The autonomous Kurdish region in the north claims Kirkuk as its own. The census will determine whether Kurds are the biggest ethnic bloc in the city, which could bolster that claim.

It will also find out how many people live in Iraqi Kurdistan, which will define its slice of central government revenues, currently 17 percent. If the census finds Kurds are a greater percentage of the total population, the constitution says the region gets more money, and retroactive payments.

Police records released yesterday showed that Kentucky census worker William Sparkman, found hanging from a tree near a cemetery in November, had told a friend of his plan to commit suicide.

WKYT in Lexington, Ky., has audio from the 911 tape from the day Sparkman’s body was found. At the time, police said Sparkman’s death was a suicide staged to look like a murder, but further details — including the 911 call and that Sparkman had disclosed his plans to a friend — were not released until this week.

Listen to the 911 tape here (it’s about a minute in to the segment).