To lay the groundwork for the 2010 Census, census workers are already canvassing addresses in 151 local census offices. They plan to finish by mid July. Census workers will carry an official Census Bureau badge and will never ask for bank or social security information. Workers also take an oath not to reveal respondents' answer even to official government agencies such as the FBI, the IRS, the CIA, Welfare, or Immigration.
The 2010 Census kicks off in January 2010 in remote Alaskan villages. In late March most Americans will receive their census forms by mail or in person. An advance letter will inform people that the census is about to begin. Census forms will be available by request in five languages other than English: Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Russian.
It is important for everyone to complete census forms since data collected from the census are used to decide how many Congressional seats a state gets as well as what community services and how much federal funding local, state, and tribal governments will receive.
For those interested in a job with the census, peak recruitment begins in the fall of 2009 with most hiring occurring in the spring of 2010. For more information and for a link to a practice test for potential census workers, access the 2010 Census Job site.
