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State of New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development     LWD  





Census 2010

 

 

 

EASY Every residence will receive a short questionnaire that is simple and fast to complete and return.

SAFE
By law, the Census Bureau cannot share an individual’s answers with anyone including federal, state and local agencies.

IMPORTANT Over $300 billion in federal funds awarded to states and communities for new hospitals, schools, better transportation and social services.

For more information: Call 212-584-3400 or 215-717-1800
New Jersey State Data Center: 609-984-2216
www.census.gov/2010census

WHY DO WE TAKE THE CENSUS?

• The U.S. Constitution (Article I, Section 2) mandates a headcount every 10 years, of everyone residing in the United States: in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the Island Areas. This includes people of all ages, races, ethnic groups, citizens, and noncitizens. The first census was conducted in 1790 and has been carried out every 10 years since then.

• The next census occurs in 2010. The population totals from this census will determine the number of seats each state has in the House of Representatives. States also use the totals to redraw their legislative districts.

• The U.S. Census Bureau must submit state population totals to the President of the United States by December 31, 2010.

• The totals also affect funding in your community, and data collected in the census help inform decision makers how your community is changing. Approximately $300 billion in federal funding is distributed to communities each year.

Will the 2010 Census be the same as 2000?


No, there are some important changes:
• 2010 Census will be short form only—just 10 easy questions.
• The long form is now part of the annual American Community Survey.
• Handheld computers with Global Positioning System will be used to check our address list in 2009.


Informational Questionnaire (English and Bilingual)


English Questionnaire

 
Other Languages
Spanish
Korean
Vietnamese
Simplified Chinese
Russian 

Bilingual Questionnaire
Cuestionario en ingles y espanol


 

10 Questions
10 Minutes


 


Informational Video

 

2010 Census: A New Portrait of America
General Audiences

African American Audiences

American Indian/Alaskan Native Audiences

Asian American Audiences

Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Audiences 

Latino/Hispanic Audiences

2010 Census: A New Portrait of America

Un nuevo perfil de los Estados Unidos

English Language

Spanish Language 

Census Videos On YouTube


 HOW ARE CENSUS DATA USED?

Census data are widely and wisely used.

Determining congressional seats and federal funding is just a hint of the many important uses of census data. Take a look at examples below and refer to 50 Ways Census Data Are Used and Grants Using Census Data for even more uses of census data.

Downloadable Fact Sheet 1 
 
 
• The federal government uses population data to allocate funds in a number of areas:


• Title 1 grants to educational agencies (school districts across the nation)

• Head Start programs

• Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) (food grants)

• Public transportation

• Road rehabilitation and construction

• Programs for the elderly

• Emergency food and shelter

• Empowerment zones

• The data help the private sector as well as state and federal governments determine where jobs and job programs are needed.

• Census data help potential homeowners research property values, median income, and other demographic

information about a particular community.

• Corporations use population data for market research to determine locations for commercial enterprises, such as food stores, pharmacies, and other essential services.



 
ARE CENSUS DATA REALLY CONFIDENTIAL?

ABSOLUTELY!

Your answers are protected by law (Title 13 of the U.S. Code, Section 9) and are strictly confidential. It is illegal for the Census Bureau, or its employees, to share your personal information with any other government agency—not law enforcement, IRS, Welfare, FBI, Immigration, etc.

 Downloadable Fact Sheet 2
 

 
 • No court of law, not even the President of the United States, can access your individual responses. 1953—During the Truman administration, the White House had to undergo renovation. It was necessary to relocate the President until the renovation was completed. The Secret Service requested from the Census Bureau information on residents living in the proposed relocation area for the purpose of performing background checks. However, because census data are ABSOLUTELY CONFIDENTIAL, even to the President, the request was denied. President Truman spent his exile at Blair House.
 
• Census workers must pass security and employment reference checks and are highly motivated to protect your answers. All Census Bureau employees are subject to a $250,000 FINE AND/OR A 5-YEAR PRISON TERM for disclosing any information that could identify a respondent or household. 1980—Armed with a search warrant authorizing them to seize census documents, four FBI agents entered the Census Bureau’s Colorado Springs office. No confidential information was ever released because a census worker held off the agents until her superiors resolved the issue with the FBI.

 

WHERE TO BE COUNTED?

Where do you live and sleep most of the time?
  • The US Census Bureau is committed to counting every person... and to count every person in the correct place.
  • The guiding principle for the Census is "usual residence", which is defined as the place where the person lives and sleeps MOST OF THE TIME. This place is not necessarily the same as the person's voting residence or legal residence.
  • The census forms will be mailed out in March 2010...and will not be forwarded by the Post Office. The forms that are mailed to a residence are geocoded specifically to that address.
  • Snowbirds (people who live in one state but spend the winter in another state with a warmer climate) are to be counted at the residence where they live most of the year.


What to do if you spend most of the time over the year in your residence and you receive a form while you are away?
  • Wait to return to your "usual residence" and complete a form in person with a Census enumerator or at a County Library or Questionnaire Assistance Center (QAC). A list of QAC's will be listed here when established.
  • Replacement Census Questionnaires - For the first time, the Census will be mailing out replacement Census forms to non-respondents within a initial period of time, sometime in May or June 2010.
  • The Residence Rules also affect college students, live-in nannies, military personnel, migrant workers, and people away on business or vacation.
  • For more information click here 

Here are just a few of the many programs significantly affected by the population count of our older adults.
This is why we need you to be counted!

  • Transportation
  • Congregate and Home Delivered Meals
  • Home Health Aides
  • Respite Care
  • Protective Services
  • Adult Day Services
  • Senior Centers
  • Mental and Physical Health Services
  • S.H.I.P.
    (State Health Insurance Assistance Pgrm) 



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