Oregon Public Broadcasting

The 2010 Census asks the following questions: Number of people living in the residence Additional people that might be living there as of April 1, 2010 Whether the residence is owned or rented Telephone number (in case the Census Bureau has follow-up questions) Name Sex Age and date of birth Whether of Hispanic origin Race Whether that person sometimes lives somewhere else

Census forms start arriving Monday in mailboxes all over Oregon.

The Census Bureau again faces challenges getting an accurate count in communities of color.

The Census Bureau is trying to make sure Latinos are accurately counted. Gloria Wiggins, with Catholic Charities, told OPB’s Think Out Loud many factors complicate the count.  

Not the least of those is the language barrier.

“Many people don’t know they can have access to the forms in Spanish. Also lack of information comes with the experience many of us have in our native countries.People tend to ignore those kind of requests, don’t fill out the forms, or don’t open to the door to someone who comes asking for private information as we see it," said Wiggins.

Wiggins says community groups like hers are fanning out to churches and other gathering places, encouraging Latinos to take part, and answering questions.
 


This is the first time in Census history that the form offers some flexibility for people who identify as multi-racial – they can check more than one box.

But the bureau acknowledges even those boxes may not meet everyone’s needs.

For more information:

U.S. 2010 Census

Oregon Mail Return Rates for 2000 Census