Census 2010: Will Roosevelt be counted?

The U.S. Census Bureau claims the country can’t move forward until residents have mailed their census forms back, but it never sent questionnaires to Roosevelt.
Census Day, the climax survey day for the rest of the U.S. population, came and went April 1 without any Roosevelt resident having received a census form in the mail. As of that day, the official Census 2010 website still stated that census forms were delivered to every residence in the U.S. and Puerto Rico in March 2010. However, Roosevelt residents won’t get their forms until after April 12 because they rely on post office boxes.
“In Roosevelt, the entire town has P.O. boxes,” Monica Davis, media specialist for the Philadelphia Region Census Center, said. “The census bureau cannot deliver to P.O. boxes with the initial go-around.”
Rooseveltians have three options to ensure they are counted. They can wait until April 12 and call 866-872-6868 to have a census form mailed to their post office box.
“After April 12, the bureau will deliver the forms to a P.O. box,” Davis said.
Those who do not want to wait until April 12 to request a form can choose the second option of going to the closest questionnaire assistance center to fill out the form, or the third option of waiting for an enumerator to visit their home.
To execute the second option, residents can visit 2010.census.gov/2010census/ and click on “Questionnaire Assistance Center.” Then, click on “Help Centers” in the upper right corner of the page. When the next page appears, type in 08555 to retrieve the closest assistance center locations. The closest center to Roosevelt is the Millstone Township Senior Center at 463 Stagecoach Road. The hours of operation are 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday to Friday.
Those who wait for an enumerator to come to the door won’t be counted until May or June. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, it costs taxpayers $25 to send an enumerator door-to-door to collect census information. As of the 2000 census, there were 337 households in Roosevelt. Therefore, sending enumerators to every Roosevelt household would cost $8,425, whereas giving each household the chance to send the forms back with a 42-cent stamp would have cost a total of $141.54.
The total census is expected to cost $14.5 billion this year, or $46.93 per person, according to the census bureau.
The bureau’s website states, “For every one percentage point increase in the national participation rate by mail, taxpayers can help the census bureau save about $85 million in operational costs.”
Davis called the situation in Roosevelt “slightly tricky” but “not unique,” noting that the census bureau faces similar issues in other communities in the Philadelphia region and south Jersey.
Although these communities will be counted, it will take their residents more time and effort, and ultimately cost taxpayers more money than those communities that received the forms in the mail.
Despite the added trouble for Rooseveltians to take part in the census, Davis said doing so is important, as more than $400 billion will be allocated to communities based on census data for schools, hospitals, road and infrastructure repairs, and community programs.
“Everyone should be counted so they can get their fair share,” Davis said.
Census data also determines the number of New Jersey congressional seats, as well as the number of members who can serve on local committees and councils, Davis said. She also said schools use census data to plan for providing services based on projected enrollments.
“It affects everyone on a local, state and federal level,” she said. “Census data determines so much of the future of each community.”
Filling out the census form takes between three and 10 minutes, according to Davis. Title 13 of the U.S. Code protects the confidentiality of all census information. By law, the census bureau cannot disclose names, addresses, GPS coordinates, Social Security numbers or phone numbers. Answers cannot be used against residents or viewed by any government agency or court, according to Davis.
The census bureau uses the information to produce statistics for central and local governments, health authorities and other organizations to target resources effectively, and to plan for housing, transport and health services. Private companies, students and others can also look at the statistics to find trends in their areas of interest, according to the census bureau.
For more information, visit 2010.census.gov/ or call 732-333-9680.