Guest blogger Monica Santiago, County Extension Agent for Urban Development with the Texas AgriLife Extension Service, writes this month about the importance of participating in the 2010 Census.
This year's census is short, sweet, and to the point! With only 10 questions to answer, you can be a part of some wonderful benefits to your community in just ten minutes!
Here are some benefits to making sure you're counted!
· Does your community need money for development? The federal government allocates more than $400 billion to states and communities every year based, in part, on census data! Census data can be used for writing grant proposals.
· Does your community need more services? Census data is used to determine locations for new retail stores, schools, hospitals, housing developments, and other facilities, such as highways, senior centers, and school lunch programs. Local government uses census data to determine critical social services to implement and funding to provide in your local communities.
· Does your community need effective representation? Census data dictates boundaries for state and local legislative and congressional districts. This data will determine the number of seats each state will have in the US House of Representatives.
· Is your community experiencing severe traffic-related congestion and environmental effects? Census data is used by transportation planners to determine traffic control needs, reduce traffic-related congestion, plan for parking, and develop plans for alternative forms of commuting locally.
Negative impacts of non-participation are numerous, but some include the following:
· Ever wonder why certain areas seem to have more locally elected officials than yours? Problems in redistricting.
· Ever wonder why there are no translators for certain groups in your community? Improper addressing of language barriers - Undercounting of Limited English Proficient (LEP) community members may limit elected officials' ability to secure funding for bilingual and ESL services.
· Ever wonder why your school's student/teacher ratio is so much higher than that of a school one mile away? The undercount of children can result in overcrowding of schools.
When you receive that questionnaire in the mail this March, just remember: I'll answer 10 questions in 10 minutes and make a difference for a lifetime! Let's all yell - Count me In!
Resources: US Census Bureau
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