U.S. Census Bureau Is Having PROBLEMS!

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U.S. Census Bureau having its share of problems
Some residents have not received their form yet, while others have received two.

The U.S. Census Bureau is having no shortage of glitches as it tries to count and locate about 300 million residents across the country.


Census officials admit many of the households expecting forms never received them and many received at least two, leaving people confused as to what to do.

Census spokeswoman Earlene Dowell said given that 134 million forms were sent out in March, there were likely to be some problems. She said she didn't know how many received duplicate forms or none at all.

One reason some might not have received their form was because they had a post office box as an address, she said.

That's because the Census Bureau wants to send the forms to where people live, and not P.O. boxes.

But Dowell said the second batch of census forms, which was sent out Thursday and Friday, will include some forms sent to people with P.O. boxes.

Despite the second batch of forms that was sent, some people with P.O. boxes are still likely to be left out, according to the bureau's Web site.

Dowell said if people expecting census questionnaires didn't receive them by April 12, they should telephone the bureau at 1-866-872-6868.

Another potential reason for the oversight was that census workers mapped homes and addresses incorrectly, she said.

Helene Jackson said it was frustrating watching her neighbors get their forms when she didn't.

"Some people take the census very lightly, but I think it's important," Jackson said. [The coming census] has been on television ... so I was expecting mine."

The 64-year-old Ocklawaha woman is hoping she will be included in the April batch of forms.

Janis Goodson's problem is that she received two census forms. The first arrived about two weeks ago and the second came Thursday.

"What a huge waste of money for them to send it out twice and to print the forms again," she said. "[The second form] is still sitting on the table. I don't know what to do with it."

Dowell said that areas of the country that had response rates less than 59 percent in the 2000 census were slated to get duplicate forms, in hopes residents would send one in.

"The theory is that the more you see something, the more likely you will return it - like Disney," she said.

Given the $57 cost to send a census worker to a residence which hadn't returned the questionnaire, it's cheaper to print and send second forms, according to the bureau's Web site.

"The vast majority of people who do not return a completed questionnaire after a couple of weeks have not decided to refrain from returning it," the Web site read. "Most lead busy lives with many other obligations and have set aside the questionnaire to finish later."

"The mailing of a second questionnaire is a polite way to remind them that they have indeed failed to do something they intended to do. Fairly quick responses generally result," according to the bureau's Web site.

Dowell said people who received two forms should complete and return both. People won't be counted twice because the duplicate form will trigger a red flag with the bureau's computers.

That will prompt the bureau to telephone the home from which it received two forms. Dowell said the resident should explain that they received two forms.

If the resident doesn't return the second form, the bureau will send a worker to the home and ask why it didn't receive its questionnaire back.

As of Friday, 56 percent of the census forms sent to homes were returned. Florida had a return rate of 53 percent.

The information collected by the bureau is used to allocate electoral votes, congressional seats and government funding.

The cost to administer the census is estimated at $14.5 billion. It is estimated that 48 million households won't return the forms by mail.

The bureau estimates that it hired 650,000 workers to visit the homes that didn't return the census forms.

The census is mandated every 10 years by the U.S. Constitution, and the first took place in 1790.