Census 2010 Address Canvassing: Coming to Your Neighborhood

Written by Town of Weathersfield

Tuesday, 28 April 2009 14:48

On April 20, 2009, U.S. Census employees will begin visiting every community in Vermont during the first major field activity in preparation for the 2010 Census. What is Address Canvassing? By visiting living quarters in every community, the Census Bureau will know where to send questionnaires and enumerators in 2010. Using hand-held computers, Census employees will walk through your community to verify the location of every housing unit. This is how it will work: 1) Employees will visit each housing unit. They will knock on the door to let residents know they are there. If someone answers, they will introduce themselves and explain what they are doing; they will not wait for someone to respond before doing their work. 2) Employees will stand in front of the house for several minutes while they verify the address. They will record the address and GPS coordinates for the unit in their hand-held computers. 3) In some cases, the employees may ask residents to clarify the address and the number of housing units in the building. If no one is available, they will move on to the next structure. This is an extremely important field operation as it lays the groundwork for the success of other 2010 Census operations that follow. Address canvassing in Vermont will begin April 20 and end July 2. The Census appreciates the cooperation and patience of residents. The Census: A Snapshot What:  The census is a count of everyone residing in the United States. Who:  All U.S. residents must be counted— both citizens and non-citizens. When:  Census Day is April 1, 2010. Why:  The U.S. Constitution requires a national census once every 10 years. The census will show state population counts and determine representation in the U.S. House of Representatives. How:  Census questionnaires will be delivered or mailed to households via the U.S. mail in March 2010. Census workers will visit households that do not return their questionnaires. 2010 Census Timeline: Key Dates Spring 2009:  Census employees go door-to-door to update address lists nationwide. Fall 2009:  Recruitment begins for census takers to support peak workload. February-March 2010:  Census questionnaires are mailed or delivered to households. April 1, 2010:  Census Day. May-July 2010:  Census takers will visit households that did not return a questionnaire by mail. December 2010:  The Census Bureau delivers population counts to the President. For more information on the Census in general and the 2010 Census in particular, please visit www.census.gov. Or call Census partnership specialist Helen Simon in Vermont at (802) 264-0856. < Prev   Next >