UPDATE: Riis Settlement Census Outreach Paying Dividends in Queensbridge

Standing: Francis Stephen, Sumale Thongsongkrid, Jenny Carrera, Mary Salazar, Patricia Garcia Colmenares, Ysabel Mejia, Yvonne Cabrales. Sitting: Maria Monttedoro Maria Monttedoro speaks with a visitor Sumale Thongsongkrid speaks with a visitor

As the 2010 Census enters it’s next phase, we are pleased to announce that the response rate in Queensbridge as of the April 15 mailing deadline was 69%, well above the Queens and New York City rates and only three points shy of the national return rate.   Our Census Leaders- Cristobal Arpi, Debendra Bhandari, Frances Stephen, Jenny Carrera, Laura Conforme, Maria Monttedoro, Mary Salazar, Nancy Garcia Colmenares, Ysabel Mejia, and Sumale Thongsongkrid- have been busy reaching out to friends, families, local residents, and their ESOL classmates at Riis to spread the word about the census and will continue to do so as census takers begin their door-to-door canvassing.  Also, the results of our census participation contest among our ESOL classes are in! Congratulations to the participants in Alison Millán’s AM Intermediate class, who collected an amazing 348 pledges of census participation from friends, neighbors, family members and co-workers!  Each participating student received a $20 Visa Gift Card.  Despite the promising start, there is still much work to be done.  Our team of intrepid Leaders will now focus on encouraging the community to “open the door” to the census. Here is some additional information.

CENSUS TAKERS ARE COMING

By now, everyone should have mailed in their census forms.  The Census Bureau has started the next phase in the 2010 Census process: phone calls and home visits by Census Takers.  Here's what you need to know:

Who is a census taker?  - A census taker is a local Census Bureau employee, hired to make sure that your neighborhood gets represented as accurately as possible.

When are they coming? - Census takers will visit households between May 1 and August 13. 

What do they do? -  Their purpose is to visit households who haven't yet mailed back their forms, or - less often - to clarify a response or collect missing information.  The census taker will ONLY ask the questions that appear on the census form. 

How will these visits take place?

• The Census Bureau provides the census taker with a binder containing all of the addresses that didn't send back a filled out census form
• The census taker then visits all of those addresses and records the answers to the questions on the form
• If no one answers at a particular residence, a census taker will visit that home up to three times, each time leaving a door hanger featuring a phone number; residents can call the number on the hanger to schedule the visit.

Do I have to talk to the Census Taker?  - YES.  Your participation in the 2010 Census is vital and required by law (Section 221, of Title 13 of the U.S. Code).   That said, you do not have to invite the census taker into your home; all questions can and should be answered at the doorway.  All census takers wear an ID badge around their neck and carry a black canvass shoulder bag reading "U.S. Census Bureau" (see photo attached).  The badge is not a photo ID but will contain the taker’s name and signature. So if you have doubts, ask to see a driver’s license or other photo identification to validate the taker’s identity.  You can also call one of the local Queens offices above, or the general New York census office at any time to verify that a census taker is scheduled to arrive: 212-971-8810. 

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

5/1 - 8/13:  Census takers visit individual households who have not yet mailed their forms - known as Coverage Follow-Up (CFU).  CFU efforts also include collecting missing information (e.g. households with more than 6 residents), to clarify information (e.g. people indicating they might have included or omitted certain households residents by mistake; people who indicate a second home), and to ensure that HTC - "Hard To Count" - households are accurately counted.  CFU is conducted primarily by phone, with some personal visits.

8/14 - 10/2:  Census Coverage Measurement (CCM) operations in the field.  This is where statisticians come in to measure census accuracy (gross error, duplicates and omissions - also called undercounts and overcounts)

9/1 - 12/31:  Local Census Offices close down (smaller offices first, larger offices last)

12/31:  Census Bureau reports census numbers to President Obama.  Soon after, Obama reports the state totals to the nation in a televised address

4/11/2011: Deadline for delivering detailed data to the states for redistricting
Our census outreach among the immigrant communities of Western Queens is made possible thanks to a generous grant from the 2010 Census Funders NYC Initiative.  Participants in the Initiative are the New York Community Trust, the New York Foundation, the Open Society Institute, the Durst Foundation, Public Interest Projects New York, and the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund.

Make yourself count!  ¡Hágase contar!  Additional Questions?  Call (866) 872-6868 (English) or (866) 928-2010 (Spanish) to speak with a Census employee, 8am – 9pm, seven days a week.