In this report:
- Acknowledgements
- Executive Summary
- Introduction
- Part I - Demographic Trends in Katrina-Affected Areas and Their Impact on the 2010 Census
- Part II - Census Procedures and Operational Challenges to Getting an Accurate Count in the Aftermath of a Catastrophe
- Part III - Operational and Policy Recommendations for a More Accurate 2010 Census in the Gulf Coast
- Appendix A
Consequences of More Households without Phone Service
Another factor that could affect the completeness of the count is the lack of telephone service in some households. As noted in Part I, ACS data from 2007 showed significant increases in the percentage of homes without telephones in the hardest hit counties, even two years after Katrina. This indicator is troubling because Coverage Follow Up operations, which take place after door-to-door visits to unresponsive households, are conducted primarily by telephone and include efforts to gather additional information from all so-called "large households" (e.g. the questionnaire roster indicates more than six residents) and from some households that indicated uncertainty on the "coverage" question about which residents to include on the form.
For large households, the Census Bureau will include in the count everyone listed on the form and the roster, but it will not be able to assure the accuracy of the full set of demographic information (such as race and household relationship, or missing data on age and gender) or confirm that everyone is on the roster, if staff cannot reach the household by phone. The coverage questions ask how many people are living or staying in the home on Census Day and if there are other people staying at the home who were not included on the form. Census workers will follow up by phone with households whose form suggests a discrepancy in the number of people living there and the number for whom information was provided.
The number of households offering temporary shelter to displaced residents, and the number of homes that are habitable but not fully rehabilitated, could be high in communities still in the throes of recovery, making Coverage Follow Up operations all the more important to achieving an accurate count. Without telephone service, residents of these households are at risk of being left out of the census. The Census Bureau should consider modifying its Coverage Follow Up plan in targeted areas to include in-person visits when a form does not include a phone number. Partner organizations engaged in census outreach should convey to their constituents the importance of providing a telephone number – even for a neighbor or relative if they do not have service themselves – to facilitate follow up, if needed.
Next Section: A Potential Downside to Relatively Strong Economic Conditions
