 The 2010 census is coming quickly! The census is a count of everyone residing in the United States: in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Island Areas. The Census Bureau will mail or deliver questionnaires to your house in March 2010. We will mail a second form to households that do not respond to the initial questionnaire. Households that still do not respond will be called or visited by a Census worker. Census workers can easily be identified by a census badge and bag.
What is the Census?
- The census is a count of everyone residing in the United States every 10 years.
- This includes people of all ages, races, ethnic groups, citizens and non-citizens
- The census is mandated by the U.S. Constitution and .
- The Census Bureau must count everyone and submit state population totals to the U.S. President by December 31, 2010
- 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.
Why fill out the census form?
Every household in the country will receive a questionnaire in 2010. To ensure an accurate and fair count of all populations at all geographic levels in the nation, the Census Bureau needs you or someone in your household to respond to the census questionnaire.
- It’s important – Census data affect funding for your community, your community’s representation in Congress and your community leader’s planning decisions.
- It’s easy – The census questionnaire takes only a few minutes to answer and return by mail.
- It’s confidential – Your responses are protected by law (Title 13, U.S. Code, Section 9). All Census Bureau employees have taken an oath to protect confidentiality and are subject to a jail term, a fine – or both – for disclosing any information that could identify a respondent or household.
- It’s required by law – The information you provide is combined with responses provided by your neighbors and other households across the country, to provide summary statistical data that are used by various local, state and federal agencies.
It's important because is affects funding in Vernon Hills
- Census data directly affects how more than $300 billion per year in federal and state funding is allocated to communities for neighborhood improvements, public health, education, transportation and much more. That's more than $3 trillion over a 10-year period. Spending just a few minutes to fill out your census form will help ensure your community gets its fair share of federal and state funding.
- Census affects your voice in Congress and is mandated by the U.S. Constitution; the census is also used to apportion seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and to redistrict state legislatures.
- Census affects your representation in state and local government and is used to define legislature districts, school district assignment areas and other important functional areas of government.
- Census informs your community's decisions and it is like a snapshot that helps define who we are as a nation. Data about changes in your community are crucial to many planning decisions, such as where to provide services for the elderly, where to build new roads and schools, or where to locate job training centers.
2010 Census Timeline: Key Dates
- Fall 2008: Recruitment begins for local census jobs for early census operations.
- Spring 2009: Census employees go door-to-door to update address list nationwide.
- Fall 2009: Recruitment begins for census takers needed for peak workload in 2010.
- February – March 2010: Census questionnaires are mailed or delivered to households.
- April 1, 2010: Census Day
- April – July 2010: Census takers visit households that did not return a questionnaire by mail.
- December 2010: By law, Census Bureau delivers population counts to President for apportionment.
- March 2011: By law, Census Bureau completes delivery of redistricting data to states.
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