Census 2010

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2010 Census - It's In Our Hands!

Recent News about Census 2010:
Take Ten Toolkit
Interactive map with real-time participation rates across the country
List of Questionnaire Assistance Centers (QAC's) in NWCCOG's Region
Snowbird Flyer
What We Ask and Why We Ask It
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Census Day is HERE!!!. Now is the time for NWCCOG's jurisdictions to get the word out to its communities about the importance and safety of the Census.  For every resident counted, our communities gain a minimum of $826 per person each year for 10 years in federal funds.  This translates into funding for schools, libraries, parks, road improvements and health programs.  Census questionnaires have been delivered to nearly all households in NWCCOG's region by now.  We need to continue to encourage residents to complete and mail back the census forms.

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The Promotional Materials listed below are tools your Jurisdiction can use to promote the Census.  These are all READILY AVAILABLE on the Department of Local Affair's Census Page. 

Promotional Materials Include:

Promotional Materials with Colorado spin:

Bi-Lingual Message to Include with Employee Paychecks
Fact Sheet for State & Local Governments - pdf
Fact Sheet for Community Based Organizations - pdf
Fact Sheet for Community Based Organizations in Spanish- pdf
Brochure for the General Public - pdf
"Talking Points" to Help You Answer Census Questions - pdf
1/2 Page Flyer (one-sided) - pdf NEW!
1/2 Page Flyer (two-sided) - pdf NEW!

Other Promotional Materials:

A Census Designed Poster - pdf
How to Make Your Own PSA Instructions, with scripts in English - pdf
PSA Scripts in Spanish - pdf
Census Awareness Poster in Spanish - pdf NEW!

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Become a Census 2010 Partner! 

Funds are available for active Census 2010 Partners for education and outreach activities.  Learn more by reading these related documents:

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NWCCOG's Census Bureau contacts for NWCCOG's region:

BRIAN MEINHART, Partnership Specialist
720.475.3670
(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

MANNY GONZALES, Partnership Specialist - Hispanic Outreach
720.233.5168
(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

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Facts About the Census:

  • The census is a count of everyone living in the United States every 10 years.
  • The census is mandated by the U.S. Constitution.
  • The next census is in 2010.
  • Your participation in the census is required by law.
  • It takes less than 10 minutes to complete.
  • Federal law protects the personal information you share during the census.
  • Census data are used to distribute Congressional seats to states, to make decisions about what community services to provide, and to distribute $300 billion in federal funds to local, state and tribal governments each year.
  • Census 2010 Questionnaire
  • Census 2010 Bilingual Questionnaire

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Why the Census Matters to Colorado

MONEY:  Congress uses census data to allocate funds under various federal grant programs to state governments. Many state-funded grant programs also rely on census data. Because the annual population estimates use the decennial census counts as a base, if a community's population is undercounted in the decennial census, these funds get misallocated for an entire decade.

What Is a Person Worth?
Eighteen of the largest federal grant programs rely (at least in part) on census data to apportion funds. The federal govenment provided over $255 billion in funding to states for fiscal year 2004 for these 18 programs (the largest being Medicaid).  Although each program's funding formula is complex (and in most cases unique), we can use a simple calculation to get a rough idea of per capita funding nationwide.

•$255,296,421,079 in funding
•308,935,581 people (projected population for 2010)
•$826 per person each year

POWER:  Congressional Representation and the Electoral College:  Colorado gained a seat in the House of Representatives after Census 2000-leaving us with seven representatives. This also has an impact on presidential elections since each state's number of electoral votes is equal to its number of representatives plus senators.

Local Representation:  Census data are also used to define state legislature districts, school districts, and County Commissioner districts.

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Colorado Prepares for Census 2010

Key Dates:

  • January 2008-2010 Annual Boundary and Annexation Survey
  • Summer 2008 Local Communities become involved - Complete Count Committees Formed (suggested)
  • Summer 2008 Training for Statistical Areas Program, Recruiting and hiring takes place for managers of early local census offices
  • October 2008 Limited number of Local Census Offices open and local recruiting begins
  • April - June 2009 Address Canvassing (listing) - specific dates determined by geographic area
  • Summer 2009 Statistical Areas Program - Deadline for return of materials
  • Late 2009 Remaining Local Census Offices open
  • USPS mails Advance Letter to U/L Housing Units: 2/26/2010 - 2/28/2010
  • USPS mails Advance Letter to Mailout/Mailback: 3/10/2010 - 3/12/2010
  • USPS Delivers Mailed Questionnaires: 3/17/2010 - 3/19/2010
  • USPS mails Reminder Postcards: 3/24/2010 - 3/26/2010
  • Mid March - June 2010 Questionnaires mailed to households or door-to-door enumeration
  • April 1, 2010 Census Day
  • May - June 2010 Follow-up with households that did not return their questionnaire
  • Summer - Fall 2010 Quality Control Operations take place
  • December 31 st 2010 Delivery of population counts to the President for reapportionment
  • April 1, 2011 Delivery of population counts to the state