For the past week, MyTwoCensus has received reports that the Census Bureau is undergoing some NEW unscheduled/unplanned operations. The question now is WHY? Was the previous data poor?

Here’s an e-mail that was recently sent to 2010 Census managers:

From:	FLD Decennial Data Collection
To:	FLD Regional Directors, FLD Deputy Regional Directors List, FLD ARCM, FLD 2010 Regional Offices List, TMO Decennial Operations Technical Support 2010/BOC@BOC, FLD Decennial Assistant Division Chiefs List, FLD Decennial Branch Chiefs
Cc:	mtrocki@oig.doc.gov, fmeny@oig.doc.gov, Fay F Nash/DMD/HQ/BOC@BOC, Barbara H Campbell/DSCMO/HQ/BOC@BOC, Barbara J Biebl/DACMO/HQ/BOC@BOC, Darlene L Monaco/DMD/HQ/BOC@BOC, Susanna J Winder/DMD/HQ/BOC@BOC, Shelley A Walker/DMD/HQ/BOC@BOC, Hilda S Dimmock/FLD/HQ/BOC@BOC, Ellen W Cafarella/FLD/HQ/BOC@BOC, Lucia J Chavez/FLD/HQ/BOC@BOC, Rodney Peter De Peiza/DACMO/HQ/BOC@BOC, Annetta Clark Smith/DMD/HQ/BOC@BOC, Nancy E Kolkebeck/PHRCC/BOC@BOC, PHRCC Area Managers List@BOC, Patricia A Boykin/FLD/HQ/BOC@BOC, Eric L Cheevers/FLD/HQ/BOC@BOC, Julia A Shaw/FLD/HQ/BOC@BOC, FLD Decennial Data Collection@BOC, Irvin Vann/FLD/HQ/BOC@BOC, Kimberly L Canada/FLD/HQ/BOC@BOC, Craig D Ostrom/DACMO/HQ/BOC@BOC, kamro@ics-nett.com, Andrew G Knaster/DACMO/HQ/BOC@BOC, Sarah K Heimel/DSSD/HQ/BOC@BOC, Geoffrey I Jackson/DSSD/HQ/BOC@BOC, William H Johnson Jr/FLD/HQ/BOC@BOC
Date:	07/30/2010 02:11 PM
Subject:	2010 NRFU NRFU Residual Follow-up Ops Log – July 30, 2010
Sent by:	Hilda S Dimmock

---

ACTION:  July 30, 2010  NRFU Residual Follow-up Ops Log
Regional Census Centers should share the appropriate portions of information in this Ops Log with their LCOs

This is the first Ops Log related to the recently added NRFU Residual Follow-up Operation.  The operation universe, rules and procedures are in the final approval stage, but we are providing the following  field dates to aid in planning:

• 8/11 Scheduled release of PBOCS for NRFU RES for Assignment Prep
• 8/12 Begin Field enumeration
• 8/21 Begin Final Attempt for cases
• 8/24 End of field enumeration
• 8/25 All EQs MUST be shipped to the data capture centers

Highlights of the operations are as follows:

• Training will be similar to VDC in that we will provide a Job Aid for Enumerators, Crew Leaders/Field Operations Supervisors and NRFU Residual section for the Office Manual.
• We will provide information on the size of the universe by early next week.
• Assignment Preparation will very similar to NRFU VDC.
• Field staff active in NRFU VDC will be available in NRFU Res.
• Enumerators should be encouraged to get as many accurate interviews as possible during the short enumeration period based on the status of the address as of April 1, 2010.   What this means is that they should visit during the best time to catch the occupants at home and to continue to contact every address in their assignment before going back for the second or third attempt.
• There will be no added HU during the operation.
• There will be no RI attempts during the operation.
• The Operation will use Operation Code ’91′ and Task code ’091′ for payroll

——————————————————————————-
> Please reply directly to “FLD Decennial Data Collection”

The Orlando Sentinel brings us the following story:

3 census workers quit, citing waste and inefficiency

Former census worker Andy Miller, who quit over procedures he considered wasteful and illogical, in front of the Volusia County office of the U.S. Census Bureau –with his complaint papers in hand– in Daytona Beach, Tuesday, July 27, 2010. (JOE BURBANK, ORLANDO SENTINEL / July 27, 2010)

By Jeff Kunerth, Orlando Sentinel7:39 p.m. EDT, July 29, 2010

As the 2010 census winds down, three Volusia County census takers couldn’t wait for the latest phase of the headcount to end. They walked off the job three days after they started, adding to the complaints that the effort is wasteful, inefficient and frustrating.

Andy Miller, 54, of Daytona Beach said he quit after being told by his supervisor to return three times to a vacant house that he verified with a real-estate agent had been empty for more than six months.

“It was clear to me the Realtor had the information, but I was told, ‘No, go back. You might find someone who was living there that the Realtor didn’t know about,’” Miller said.

The same instructions — go back three more times — applied to an apartment above a store; the owner said the apartment was used for storage and was unoccupied. Miller also was told to go back another three times to a home where a relative of the homeowner provided all the information by proxy.

“If you get the person who lived there, you don’t have to go back. But if you get a proxy, you had to go back,” Miller said.

A Census Bureau spokeswoman said the check-back-three-times routine is standard procedure to make sure the census takers get the best information possible.

“That is the policy we expect people to follow,” said Pamela Page-Bellis. “We don’t want people to take the easy way out. They are to gather the most accurate information possible.”

Miller was told the same thing by his supervisor when he appealed what he considered absurd and illogical instructions. That was when Miller and two others in an eight-person crew walked out July 10 — three days into their summer job of checking for vacant houses and addresses that should be deleted.

Jeanne Tanke said she walked out with Miller because she was frustrated with the policy of going back to a vacant apartment or condo three times before being permitted to talk to the building manager about whether anyone was living in the units. In some cases, the same addresses had been visited three times by the door-to-door enumerators in the previous phase of the census.

“It didn’t seem logical to me that we kept knocking on the door when nobody answers, but we can’t ask the manager until we’ve been there three times,” said Tanke, 71.

The third person who quit said he objected in particular to having to go back three times to empty houses that are verifiably empty.

“It’s just inefficiency. That’s all it is,” said the 68-year-old retired sales manager who didn’t want his name used for fear it would jeopardize any future employment by the government.

All three former census takers worked during the manpower-intensive, door-to-door part of the census that ended in May. Thousands of enumerators were laid off, but they were among those chosen to continue in the slimmed-down follow-up efforts that started June 28 and are scheduled for completion by Aug. 25.

What the Census Bureau defends as being as thorough and accurate as possible, Miller and the others regard as a system designed to take as much time as possible. The attitude of managers, they said, was that the three-visit rule was a good way to make the job last longer.

“They alluded to this can take three days or three weeks. It’s up to us,” said the retired sales manager. “I don’t feel right about padding hours.”

As a reader noted to me, the Vacant/Delete thread is morphing into the Field Verification thread. Let’s start a new thread here to specifically focus on Field Verification thoughts, complaints, etc.

Enjoy the weekend!

Though the Census Bureau is holding a press conference today, they never bothered to send an e-mail out about it. It’s a great way to dodge tough questions by not having reporters at a press conference…

What:
As the 2010 Census reaches another milestone, U.S. Census Bureau Director Robert M. Groves will brief the media on the status of operations. Groves will announce America’s progress as the door-to-door follow-up phase concludes and discuss the next steps in field operations. The briefing will include a media question-and-answer session.

When:
Wednesday, July 7, 1 p.m. (EDT)

Who:
Robert M. Groves, director, U.S. Census Bureau

Where:
National Press Club, 13th floor
Holeman Lounge
529 14th St. NW
Washington, D.C. 20045

Members of the media may also participate by telephone. (Please dial-in early to allow time for the operator to place you in the call.)

Dial-in number: 888-603-8938
Passcode: 2010 CENSUS

Online Press Kit:
Event materials will be posted online shortly after the event begins and can be accessed by clicking on the 2010 Census Operational Press briefing at <http://2010.census.gov/news/press-kits/operational-press-briefing/>.

Webcast:
There will be a live webcast of the briefing, accessible at <http://www.visualwebcaster.com/event.asp?id=69687> noon (EDT) on event day.

Sorry for the lack of posts the past few days. I was traveling and am now finally back at the computer. Let’s hear your “Vacant/Delete” questions and comments and get some good discussions started.

(It’s HOT out there…any incidents of heat stroke or dehydration on the job?)