Census 2000 in a Flash The United States Constitution requires a census every 10 years to determine how many seats each state will have in the U.S. House of Representatives. But community leaders use the census for everything from planning schools and building roads to providing recreational opportunities and managing health-care services. Every year more than $185 billion in federal funds are awarded to localities based on census numbers. How Big Is It? * About 275 million U.S. residents * Approximately 118 million housing units in the United States alone * About 1.5 million housing units in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Island Areas * More than 3 million job applicants recruited * More than 860,000 jobs at peak * 520 Local Census Offices, 12 Regional Census Centers and 4 Data Processing Centers * 520 local area networks, 7,800 personal computers and 2,600 printers (set up, used and dismantled in one year) * More than 20 million maps needed for field work * 40 to 70 million questionnaires returned during the peak two-week period * 8 to 9 million blocks covered When Is It? 1998-1999: Develop the address list for Census 2000; begin recruiting workers for census jobs Beginning mid-march 2000: Deliver census questionnaires APRIL 1 2000: CENSUS DAY March-May 2000: Census takers visit housing units in rural and remote areas to drop off and/or pick up forms Late April-Early July 2000: Census takers visit housing units that did not return census forms October-November 2000: All field work completed December 31, 2000: Apportionment counts delivered to the President April 1, 2001: All states receive redistricting counts What's on the Census Form? The short form asks seven questions: name, sex, age, relationship, Hispanic origin, race, and housing tenure (whether the home is owned or rented)-and takes approximately 10 minutes to complete. About 83 percent of households receive the short form. The long form covers about 34 subjects, including education, ancestry, employment, disability and home heating fuel. Only 1 in 6 households receive the long form which takes about 38 minutes to complete. Why Should You Answer the Census? Answering the census is important for your community-Census numbers help local planners pick the best locations for schools, roads, hospitals, clinics, libraries, day-care and senior citizen centers, playgrounds, bus routes, job training programs and much more. Every year, over $100 billion in federal funding and even more in state funds are awarded to localities based on census numbers. Answering the census creates jobs and ensures the delivery of goods and services-Businesses use census numbers to locate supermarkets and shopping centers, new housing, new factories and offices and facilities like movie theaters and restaurants. Answering can save your life - An exaggeration? Not at all! When Hurricane Andrew hit South Florida in 1991, Census Bureau officials were able to aid the rescue effort by providing estimates of the total number of people in each block. Answering the census is safe - By law, the Census Bureau cannot share your individual records with any other government agency, including welfare agencies, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Internal Revenue Service, courts, police and the military. Census workers must be sworn to secrecy before they see the numbers. If someone gave out any information they saw on a form, they would face a $5,000 fine and a five-year prison term. The law works-millions of questionnaires were processed during the 1990s without any breach of trust. This is your future. Don't leave it blank. For additional information about Census 2000, visit the Census Bureau's Internet site at http://www.census.gov or call one of our Regional Census Centers across the country: Atlanta 404-331-0573 Boston 617-424-4977 Charlotte 704-344-6621 Chicago 312-353-9697 Dallas 214-656-3060 Denver 303-231-5029 Detroit 248-967-9524 Kansas City 816-801-2020 Los Angeles 818-904-6522 New York City 212-620-7702/3 Philadelplia 215-597-8313 Seattle 206-553-5882 U.S. Department of Commerce An Equal Opportunity Employer Economics and Statistics Administration U.S. Census Bureau BUREAU OF THE CENSUS D-3237 (Rev. 11-99)