U.S. officials seek help getting census right in Oklahoma's Hispanic community
Agency hopes to have better response from Hispanics in the 2010 count
MICHAEL MCNUTT
Published: June 30, 2009
Improving the participation of Oklahoma’s Hispanics in next year’s census is essential in getting an accurate count of the population, a census worker said Monday.
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what’s ahead?
2010 CENSUS TIMELINE
• Fall: Recruitment begins for census takers to support peak workload in 2010 and materials for schools become available.
• February: March: Census questionnaires are mailed or delivered to households.
• April 1: Census Day, the last day when census questionnaires should be returned.
• May-July 2010: Census takers visit households that did not return a questionnaire by mail.
• December 2010: By law, the U.S. Census Bureau delivers population counts to the president for congressional apportionment.
• March 2011: By law, Census Bureau completes delivery of redistricting data to states.
SOURCE:
U.S. CENSUS BUREAU
Oklahoma’s Hispanic population has grown by 55 percent since 2000,
Jeronimo Gallegos, a
U.S. Census Bureau partnership specialist, told members of the Governors’ Advisory Council on Latin American and Hispanic Affairs.
He asked for their help and will be seeking assistance from other groups to get Hispanics to complete and return census questionnaires.
Oklahoma ranks 23rd in the nation for percentage increase in the Hispanic population between the 2000 census and the 2008 population estimates, he said. The estimated increase is 100,000 people. Hispanics account for nearly 8 percent of Oklahoma’s population of 3.6 million.
"Traditionally, Hispanic groups for some reason have not responded effectively to the census,” he said.
Blacks, American Indians and Asians also have a poor participation rate with the census, he said.
"Perhaps there’s a language barrier, perhaps there’s a fear of government,” Gallegos said.
Every household in the state will be mailed a questionnaire in March as part of the census, which is done every 10 years. The theme for the census is "It’s in Our Hands,” or "Esta en Nuestras Manos” in Spanish.
The goal is to have all census questionnaires returned by April 1.
Gallegos said the census will be easier this year.
Unlike 2000 when residents received a long form or a short questionnaire, only one form will be mailed in 2010, he said. It has 10 questions about the household and should take about 10 minutes to complete. A pre-paid return envelope is enclosed with the questionnaire.
Gallegos said information obtained in the census is kept safe with the Census Bureau.
"Information provided cannot be shared with anyone by law,” he said. "We can’t share with law enforcement, we can’t share it with
DHS (state Department of Human Services). Anyone who violates that stands to go to jail for up to five years and be fined up to $250,000.”
It’s vital, he said, for Oklahomans to be counted to prevent what happened after the 2000 census — Oklahoma lost a seat in Congress. While the state gained in population, it didn’t keep up with the pace set by states with more rapid growth.
"This is our official population for the next 10 years,” Gallegos said. "The population counts will obviously determine our congressional representation in Congress.”
The Census Bureau will hire thousands of Oklahomans to work on the census, Gallegos said.
It already has offices open in
Oklahoma City and
Tulsa, and in two to three months will open offices in
Enid,
Lawton and
Tahlequah.
Census workers were out in neighborhoods earlier this year verifying and checking addresses, he said
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