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Census 2000 Education Kit

Workers And Their Families

Workers And Their Families Deserve An Accurate Census In 2000

The collection of full and accurate data in the 2000 census is vital to working families. This information provides the basis for important decision-making that affects working people - not only at the federal level, but also at the state and local levels of government.

Census data provide the basis for decisions on reapportionment of seats in the U.S. Congress and redistricting of federal, state, and local legislative districts. Census data are also used to determine the allocation of billions of dollars in funds for planning and implementation of federal, state, and local programs and services such as school construction, housing and community development, road and transportation planning and job training. Therefore, the accuracy of census data is critically important to working families and the communities in which they live.

Unfortunately, working families live in communities that are more likely to be missed by the census even though these are precisely the communities most in need of social services and economic development programs. When these communities are undercounted, they do not receive the proper amount of fiscal resources they deserve. This has meant a continuing hardship for working families because millions of dollars are incorrectly distributed each year based on inaccurate population figures.

Why An Accurate Census Is Important For Workers

Decennial census data provide the basis for local, state, and federal policy makers to make critical decisions affecting workers and their families. In particular, census information is:

  • Used to identify local areas eligible for grants to implement job training and other employment programs under the Job Training Partnership Act;
  • Used to pinpoint state and local areas with a labor force surplus for programs that promote business opportunities under the Labor Surplus Areas Program;
  • Used to inform the monitoring and enforcement of employment discrimination under the Civil Rights Act; and,
  • Used under the Older Americans Act to plan job training programs for seniors.

It is precisely because working families are so adversely affected by an inaccurate census that national unions - including the AFL-CIO, National Education Association (NEA), American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the International Union of United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW), American Federation of Teachers (AFT), American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), Labor Council of Lat in American Advancement, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), and the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE) - support the Census Bureau's plan to use the most up-to-date scientific methods to ensure the 2000 census is as fair and accurate as possible.
Why An Accurate Census Is Important For Workers Families

In addition to being important to workers, having an accurate and complete census is vital for workers' families and the communities in which they live. Many working families are suffering because the kinds of public services upon which they and their fam ilies depend - schools, public safety, public hospitals, and so on - are deteriorating and funding for these services is being scaled back.

In planning for the future needs of their citizens or providing the services required, state and local governments need accurate census data broken down by small geographic areas. Local governments in particular require data at the neighborhood level for school planning, transportation and economic development. They use census data for:

  • funding to enable low-income and working families to obtain child care while they are at work, in job training, or at school;
  • funding that improves and maintains the health of infants and children;
  • funding for policing agencies and community-based entities to work together to reduce crime;
  • funding to local agencies for food, healthcare, and legal services for senior citizens and individuals with disabilities;
  • the development and strengthening of the criminal justice system's response to violence against women; and,
  • determining the number of people eligible for Social Security and Medicare benefits.

That is why national women's and children's organizations like the YWCA of the USA; American Association of University Women; Children's Defense Fund; League of Women Voters of the USA; and the National Women's Political Caucus, support the Census Bureau' s plan to use the most up-to-date scientific methods to ensure the 2000 census is as fair and accurate as possible.

The Children of Working Families

Of particular importance to working families is how census data affect their children's lives. Working families are worried about their children's future, yet children were the most likely population to be missed in the 1990 census - accounting for an in credible 52 percent of the undercount. OVER TWO MILLION CHILDREN WERE NOT COUNTED AT ALL IN THE 1990 CENSUS. It was as if they did not exist, and thus their needs were not met.

When large numbers of children are missed, states and localities receive less than their fair share of Federal program funds that are allocated based on census numbers and must use their own funds to compensate for the undercount. Every day, state and loc al governments struggle to serve the actual number of children and families with inadequate funds due to the census undercount.

Because the census plays such an integral role in the planning and funding of programs benefitting working families, it is essential that an accurate count is achieved in the 2000 census.