The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

In this report:

Table of Contents

1. Overview
2. The Importance of the Census
3. Census Accuracy: The Undercount (and Overcount)
4. Census 2010: Key Operations and Milestones; How You Can Get Involved
   1. Overview of the census plan
   2. What you need to know
   3. How you can help
5. Additional Information
   1. Frequently asked questions
   2. Facts and figures
   3. Census history

Overview of the 2010 Census Plan

The 2010 census includes the most significant change to the census since 1930. In 2010, every household will receive a short form census consisting of ten questions, covering six topics. The long form previously sent to one out of six households will be replaced by the American Community Survey (ACS). The ACS is still a part of the decennial census and collects essentially the same questions as the long form. But instead of once a decade, the ACS is sent to a rolling sample of addresses every month, every year, throughout the nation, producing annually updated estimates of important socio-economic indicators about the nation's population and housing.

The Census Bureau has been planning for the 2010 census for an entire decade, but significant operations started in the fall of 2008 when recruitment began for address canvassing. The address listers will walk the streets in the spring and summer of 2009 to update the Census Bureau's address file. In January 2010, enumeration begins in remote Alaskan villages; most households will receive their census forms in the mail in March. April 1, 2010 is Census Day. By late April through June, the Census Bureau will follow up with households that either did not return their form or did not fill out all information. In late summer and fall of 2010, the Census Bureau will conduct a post-enumeration survey to check for accuracy. In December, the Bureau will report state population totals to the President for apportionment purposes.

The Census Bureau's plan for outreach includes an integrated communications plan, which consists of a partnership program, paid advertising, and a Census in Schools program. People who need help filling out their census forms can visit Questionnaire Assistance Centers or call Telephone Questionnaire Assistance lines; people who think they were not counted can pick up a form at Be Counted sites in every community. Some households will receive a bilingual form in English and Spanish. The census form also will be available in Simplified Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and Russian, while language guides in more than 50 additional languages can assist others whose English proficiency is limited.

Next Section: The Importance of the Census