US Census 2010 – Countdown 3-2-1! Children count too!

As the Census forms begin arriving at homes, counting everyone living in the household has never been more important.  Everyone – even babies!!!

According to the Census Bureau, young children, especially those under age six, are more likely than any other group to be undercounted.

On the top of the list are minority children and children living in hard-to-count neighborhoods.  They make up 20 percent of the children’s population and their omission in the census results in reduced funding for needy families in these hard-to-count areas.

That is why the bureau wants to make sure that everyone – all infants, children of all ages and adults, citizens and non-citizens, be counted.  The projects funded in our community based on the census numbers will significantly impact the lives of everyone in Miami-Dade.

The census is conducted every ten years.  The information provided is vital to how the federal government will distribute more than $400 billion to local and state governments.  The data helps determine funding and locations for new roads, schools, hospitals, childcare and senior centers and other facilities.  It is also used for legislative and congressional redistricting to ensure there is appropriate representation.

All the answers provided in the census are strictly confidential!  All personal information cannot be shared with the Internal Revenue Service, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Central Intelligence Agency or any other government agency.  Not even the President of the United States.

This year’s census form is one of the shortest in history.  With only ten questions, it should not take more than ten minutes to complete.  Census workers will visit households that do not return their forms to insure that everyone is counted.