ad info




CNN.com
 MAIN PAGE
 WORLD
 ASIANOW
 U.S.
 LOCAL
 POLITICS
 WEATHER
 BUSINESS
 SPORTS
 TECHNOLOGY
 NATURE
 ENTERTAINMENT
 BOOKS
 TRAVEL
 FOOD
 HEALTH
 STYLE
 IN-DEPTH

 Headline News brief
 daily almanac
 CNN networks
 CNN programs
 on-air transcripts
 news quiz

  CNN WEB SITES:
CNN Websites
 TIME INC. SITES:
 MORE SERVICES:
 video on demand
 video archive
 audio on demand
 news email services
 free email accounts
 desktop headlines
 pointcast
 pagenet

 DISCUSSION:
 message boards
 chat
 feedback

 SITE GUIDES:
 help
 contents
 search

 FASTER ACCESS:
 europe
 japan

 WEB SERVICES:
US

Census recruits thousands for millennium count

Census
The 2000 census starts in April -- stand up and be counted!

RELATED VIDEO
CNN's Gary Tuchman talks with folks trying to reduce fear over the census
Windows Media 28K 80K
 FACTOID:

Billions of dollars determined by census

Census Bureau expects $182 billion will be distributed based on formulas using Census 2000 data.

About half of the $162 billion distributed to state, local and tribal governments by 22 of the 25 largest federal funding grant programs in 1998 used formulas involving census population data, according to a report by the General Accounting Office.

 

June 25, 1999
Web posted at: 10:41 p.m. EDT (0241 GMT)


In this story:

Efforts made to reassure illegal immigrants

Billions of dollars in federal aid at stake

RELATED STORIES, SITES icon



From Correspondent Gary Tuchman

NEW YORK (CNN) -- In what is sometimes described as the largest peacetime mobilization in U.S. history, the U.S. Census Bureau is trying to recruit some 860,000 temporary employees for the 2000 census, which officially begins next April.

The federal agency is reaching out to state and local governments, tribal governments, community-based organizations, media and the private sector. Some members of those groups will be hired as "census partnership specialists" to reassure people who are concerned about giving out personal information.

Kewulay Kamara is already on the job as a specialist, explaining to minority groups why it is important that everyone in America be counted and why no one should fear giving information to the census takers.

Efforts made to reassure illegal immigrants

U.S. law prohibits the Census Bureau from releasing any information to other federal agencies, so illegal immigrants are being told they should step up and be counted and not to worry about being deported because of any information in the census questionnaires.

"I assure them confidentiality is of utmost importance," said partnership specialist Eun Joo Kim.

The census has been part of American life since 1790. The U.S. Constitution requires the counting procedure to take place every 10 years to help draw Congressional districts.

The census also tells the nation's history -- in numbers only. Such as how many people live where, how much they earn, how many attend school and many other qualities that can be quantified.

"It shows us where we were, who we are today, and therefore where we're going," said Sam Roberts, author of "Who We Are."

Billions of dollars in federal aid at stake

And these days, the Census determines where tens of billions of dollars in federal aid are going. That's what the partnership specialists try to impress on their neighbors.

"If you don't fill out the census forms, its going to affect how much funding you get in your community, which in turn will affect the roads, the schools, the hospital services, the health care," Kim said.

The Census Bureau counted 4 million people in the United States back in 1790. Now 22 states each have 4 million or more residents. So Census 2000 will be a daunting task.

But with its partnership specialists, the Census Bureau believes it has people it can count on to do the counting.



RELATED STORIES:
Parties wage war over 2000 census
April 16, 1999
Report: World population to top 6 billion this year
April 5, 1999
2000 Census battle heats up
March 25, 1999

RELATED SITES:
U.S. Census Bureau
Partnerships for Census 2000
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.

 LATEST HEADLINES:
SEARCH CNN.com
Enter keyword(s)   go    help

Back to the top   © 2001 Cable News Network. All Rights Reserved.
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines.