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
This Report
This report will review the factors that contribute to the extraordinary challenges of producing an accurate count in the Gulf Coast region and set forth a series of policy and operational recommendations designed to increase the likelihood of a successful count.
The stakes are extremely high. As the GNOCDC noted in a March 2009 report, "New Orleans has to get it right the first time."11 That holds true for the entire region.
Other organizations and reports have examined the factors that have contributed to the slow pace of recovery in some areas and have created barriers to rebuilding and resettlement, especially for low- and moderate-income households and people of color. As Leroy Johnson, executive director of Southern Echo in Mississippi, an organization working tirelessly to conduct outreach and promote census participation along the Gulf Coast, especially in poor, rural, minority communities, reminds us: "Low-income people can't come home yet."
Our goal is not to review or repeat those research findings here, but rather to identify current conditions in the Gulf Coast – however they came about – that are obstacles to an accurate census, and recommend steps to help the Census Bureau and Katrina-impacted communities themselves, and overcome those challenges. The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund and its partners are committed to working with federal and local officials, as well as community-based organizations and activists, to achieve that goal.
Next Section: Part I - Demographic Trends in Katrina-Affected Areas and Their Impact on the 2010 Census
11. GNOCDC, March 2009 report.
