Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA) Program

The LUCA program is made possible by the Census Address List Improvement Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-430) which, for the first time, authorizes designated representatives of local and tribal governments to review the MAF. The program will operate as follows:

• The local or tribal government will designate a liaison to review the portion of the MAF covering the area under its jurisdiction. The liaisons will be subject to the same restrictions prohibiting the disclosure of census information as census workers are. The address list is confidential under Title 13 and participants must sign an oath promising to protect the confidentially of the addresses.

• The Census Bureau will send the liaisons listings from the MAF (in either paper or electronic form), corresponding maps, and a tally of MAF records for each census block in their jurisdictions.

• In areas with city-style address, the liaison will provide input regarding individual addresses on the list, as well as addresses missing from the list that should be added. The Census Bureau will verify this input and provide feedback to the participants about the results.

• In areas with noncity-style addresses (i.e., rural route and box number), the liaisons will provide input regarding the completeness and accuracy of the housing unit counts for each block. The Census Bureau will revisit the blocks identified as having a different number of housing units and provide feedback about the number of housing units found.

• Public Law 103-430 allows the local participants to appeal final Census Bureau decisions.