FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FRIDAY, JULY 28, 2000
Decennial Media Relations CB00-CN.50
301-457-3691/301-457-3620 (fax)
301-457-1037 (TDD)
e-mail: 2000usa@census.gov
Census Bureau Director Completes Review of
15 Local Census Offices; Says No Further Action Needed
Census Bureau Director Kenneth Prewitt announced today before the
bureau's standing advisory committees that he had completed his review of
the operations of 15 local census offices (LCOs) around the country and
found no cause to take further action. The LCOs were named earlier this
week in a staff report of the House Subcommittee on the Census as areas
where improper procedures may have been employed during the door-to-door
phase of Census 2000.
"After a careful review of the operations of each of the offices
listed, I find no need for any further action," the census director said.
"In each case, the increased pace of field work by dedicated census takers
either at the beginning or at the end of our door-to-door phase is
consistent with the staff resources applied to the situation. I am
convinced that the work in these offices has contributed to the overall
success of Census 2000."
"Our highest priority is to correct any errors in the census," Prewitt
said, "however, in this instance I must correct serious errors in this
report. For instance, in one case, the report inaccurately suggests that
door-to-door enumeration was suspect in an area of tribal lands, where we
use completely different counting processes."
Prewitt noted, "The staff report summarizes Census Bureau data from
April, May and June which we shared with the committee. However, it is
seriously flawed. It points to issues we ourselves identified and already
remedied, or unfairly criticizes a local community because it finished
earlier than most, or had a late surge in production. It's important to
note that we continuously monitor every one of our 520 local offices.
Nothing new came out of the re-review we conducted this week."
"We are hearing from mayors, many of our local partners, and our
employees that they are genuinely offended that their best-intentioned
efforts and their hard work have now been unfairly impugned. This is
especially unfortunate when you realize that the census is not over, and
that our workers will be conducting quality check operations until
September."
Prewitt's announcement came at the regularly scheduled joint meeting of
the seven Census Advisory Committees: those on the African American
Population; the American Indian and Alaska Native Populations; the Asian
Population; the Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander Populations;
the Hispanic Population; the Census Advisory Committee of Professional
Associations; and the 2000 Census Advisory Committee. The committees are
made up of 169 members, chosen to reflect a broad cross-section of the
populations and groups they represent. The committees have provided
sustained, detailed input on a wide variety of program areas and made a
significant contribution to the success of Census 2000.
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