Every person counts.

That statement is especially true when it comes to the national census, which has the task of counting every household in the U.S. once every ten years.

Marcel Maddox, a representative for the United States Census Bureau, is visiting local city governments to bring attention to the 2010 census. Starting in February 2010, census questionnaires will be mailed to households across the nation.

This year's motto for the nationwide count is, "It's easy, it's safe, and it's important." The questionnaire asks ten basic questions and takes about ten minutes to complete.

While statistical data is released publicly, personal information collected by the Census Bureau is confidential. U.S. Census employees take a lifetime oath to keep information private for 72 years.

Maddox stressed the importance of the survey because federal funding is directed to neighborhoods, cities and counties based on the number of people in that region. Planners in all levels of government use this data to forecast the need for new hospitals, schools and social services.

Citizens are urged to fill out their questionnaire when they receive it in the mail and send it back by Census Day, April 1, 2010. Census workers will personally visit every household that does not return a survey.

blog comments powered by Disqus