Published: October 01, 2008
By Melody Kinser
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Wanted: census takers.
The U.S. Census Bureau is already gearing up for 2010 by preparing to full full-time and part-time positions in the Richmond area.
Offices will be opening this fall in Richmond, Roanoke and Alexandria.
“What they’re going to do is lay the groundwork for the census that is coming in 2010,” said B.J. Welborn, a media specialist with the U.S. Department of Commerce, during a Sept. 16 visit to The Mechanicsville Local office.
By starting early, the goal is to hire people “who know their neighborhoods. We will really be looking for job applicants in the fall,” she added.
When 2009 arrives, she said they want people trained to “make sure we have an accurate and complete address list so we can mail out the census questionnaire in 2010. It’s just around the corner and, as you know, it only comes once every 10 years as mandated by the Constitution.
Welborn is based in Charlotte, N.C., and which Richmond is part of that region.
“It is a constitutional mandate that has become too large for the goverment itself, so we have to hire thousands and thousands [of people] around the country,” she noted.
She also said it takes about “a half million people at the top of our operations to get it done.”
The 2010 census will make “the 23rd time we’ve done this. The first one was in 1790 when federal marshals went out on horseback. The country is so large and so diverse that now the census is our government’s largest peacetime mission.”
Mechanicsville resident Ronald E. Brown, a partnership specialist with the U.S. Department of Commerce, said he wants “people in the community to understand how it (the census) impacts them.
“The federal government annually distributes $300 billion annually into communities and it is based on counting everyone in the community.
The count, Brown said, also impacts legislative representation in Congress — how many seats each state will have.
“I want people to understand it’s easy and it’s safe.” The census has 10 questions and “we collect no identifying information like social security [numbers] or anything like that.”
He also stressed that they do not share any confidential information “with anyone outside the Census Bureau.”
A key to the work of the census, Welborn interjected, is making sure money and power are fairly distributed. “That’s why it’s is in our Constitution.”
By hiring people in their own communities, Brown said it “helps to make it easier to tell them about the importance of the census and completing it — we are counting everyone.
“We are independent, we work with no other law enforcement agency, immigration and naturalization — we are keeping this information confidential — we recognize that whether they are documented or undocumented they are still using services in the community: medical, education.”
They both said it simply comes down to the fact that “by counting them we can determine how to fund” (their communities).
For 2010, Welborn said the most significant change is there will only be a short form with 10 questions. “And then the data is good for 10 years until the next census.”
A long form, known as a rolling survey with the name American Community Survey, was formally launched in 2005 “right between the last census and this census,” she said.
The Census Bureau samples a quarter million households each month. “We’re the fastest growing developed nation in the world. We need to know exactly who’s out there and what they need.”
With more families living together now, for example grandparents raising grandchildren, Brown said “these enumbers will help identify what the poupulation looks like, what services they need to develop or to grow as they relate to the various segments of the poupulation and what services do we offer.”
As a partnership specialist, Brown said he will “go around to various communities and develop partnerships whether it’s governmentt, educators, faith-based.”
Those people taking census data will be working in their communities. “It’s important they get onboard with spreading the word; help us recruit for individuals in the community to fill these vacancies,” Brown said. “Jobs are available now and through the census in 2010. It’s an ongoing process. I have to go out and help educate the people. We need to make sure people feel comfortable about the census coming, they’re not afraid of it and they do fill it out — it’s very important to the pepole and the community.”
Welborn pointed out that it’s an “important job and it pays well.” She said there will “literally be thousands [of jobs] through 2010.” Anyone interested can visit the Web site, http://www.census.gov and click on the Charlotte region to get to the employment opportunities listing available.
She said the census work is ideal for retirees and those wanting to supplement their income.
The 2010 census also will feature a bilingual questionnaire, with forms in English and Spanish. It will be mailed to those areas where large populations of Hispanics are known to reside.
Brown added that “historically, minorities — African-Americans, Hispanics, Latinos, Asians — are often much more difficult to count.”
He also said there is a “fear of government, not knowing what the government is going to do with the information.
“People are not willing to share their information because of a distrust of government.”
He again emphasized that “We do not share the information with anyone.”
At this time, however, Welborn said “It’s jobs, jobs, jobs and the census is coming and the census is important. Virginia gets its chance to get its fair share of political power and federal funds once every 10 years and if you’re not counted you’re invisible for 10 years.”
Recruiting assistants are now being hired.
For more information, call 1-888-222-4936.
On the Web, visit http://www.census.gov
