NATIONAL MAIL PARTICIPATION RATE HITS 60 perc, COUNTIES AND CITIES IN THE NY REGION TRAIL BY MORE THAN TEN POINTS

New York, NY – Starting today, on Tuesdays and Thursdays of this month, the New York Regional Office of the Census Bureau will send out a bi-weekly media alert highlighting the 2010 Census mail participation rates in the region. These alerts will present data for designated areas: the States of New York and New Jersey, the 19 counties in the New York Region, including the five boroughs, municipalities with a population of over 50,000, as well as for neighborhood “hot spots”, which are significantly lagging behind the rest of the region. 

The Census Bureau invites all media outlets to incorporate the data, presented in easy-to-print graphics, in their publications and/or programming. Media are also invited to embed the “Track Participation Rate” widget for select cities / locality via www.2010census.gov/take10map.  

Please see the attached PDF document for select mail participation rate data as of April 5^th, 2010.

Today’s Highlights:

• At 39%, Brooklyn (Kings County) is the lowest ranked county in the New York Region.  Queens County is the second lowest at 44%.
• Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx currently have the lowest mail participation rates in New York City. 
• Irvington, Newark, Jersey City, East Orange, Orange, New Brunswick, and Paterson are the large municipalities with the lowest participation rates in New Jersey. 

April 10^th – National “March to the Mailbox” Campaign

On Saturday, April 10^th, the New York Region of the Census Bureau, 2010 Census partners, local elected officials, and local residents will conduct dozens, and perhaps even hundreds, of “March to the Mailbox” events in neighborhoods that are lagging behind in returning their census forms.  These events are part of a national initiative and aim to generate community and media interest in “hot spots”, as well as to educate locals on how they can participate even if they did not receive a census form.

Check out our “Take 10” Map accessible via http://www.2010census.gov, or directly, at: http://www.2010census.gov/take10map 

• Locate a Be Counted Site near you, where you can pick up a 2010 Census form if you did not receive one by mail
• Locate a Questionnaire Assistance Center near you, where you can receive help completing your form in designated languages
• Track your town / neighborhood’s daily progress in mailing back the 2010 Census on by selecting “View Participation Rates” 
• Embed the daily Participation rate tracker widget on your website by selecting: “Track participation rate” once you have selected your location of interest. 

About the 2010 Census 

The 2010 Census is a count of everyone living in the United States and is mandated by the U.S. Constitution to be conducted every 10 years. Census data are used to apportion congressional seats to states; to distribute more than $400 billion in federal funds to local, state, and tribal governments each year; and to make decisions about what community services to provide. The 2010 Census form will be one of the shortest in U.S. history and consists of just 10 questions, taking about 10 minutes to complete. Strict confidentiality laws protect the respondents and the information they provide.

2010 CENSUS TIMELINE OF OPERATIONS

March 2010 – December 2010 

March 8-10:                Advance letters are mailed to most homes.

March 15-17:              Mailing of 2010 Census form to most homes.

March 19 – April 19:  Opening of Be Counted Sites / Questionnaire Assistance Centers in select neighborhood locations to provide extra forms and help to those who need it, as well as the nationwide Telephone Assistance Center.

March 22-24:              Mailing of reminder postcards.

March 29-31:              Service-based enumeration - census workers count homeless people at shelters, soup kitchens/food vans, and selected outdoor locations.

April 1-10:                  Second mailing of 2010 Census form to many homes that have not returned first one.

April 1, 2010:             Official Census Day. Group Quarters enumeration begins.

May 1:                        Launch of Non-Response Follow-up operations - census workers visit households that have not mailed back their census form.

July 24:                      Launch of Vacant Delete Check operations.

August 6:                   Launch of Field Verification operations.

Dec. 31, 2010:           Reporting of Census data to the President of the United States.

2010 CENSUS LINKS

Main Page: http://www.2010census.gov

‘Take 10’ and Be Counted / QAC Map: http://www.2010census.gov/take10map/

To sign up for SMS updates and help: Text “census” (English) or “censo” (Spanish) to 66835

NY Regional Website: http://www.census.gov/regions/new_york

Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, more): http://2010.census.gov/2010census/involved/index.php

NY Regional Facebook ID: New York Regional Census Office 

2010 Census Logos: http://2010.census.gov/partners/census-logos/

Multimedia Center: http://2010.census.gov/mediacenter/index.php

Images, b-roll and other tools: http://mediadownload.census.gov/