Census forms sent again to areas with low response rates

Juan Castillo
April 7, 2010

First came the letter advising that the 2010 census questionnaire would soon land in mailboxes. Then came the questionnaire. Then, a postcard reminder followed. Now, the Census Bureau says that for the first time, it is mailing a second round of questionnaires to about 40 million U.S. households, with about 2.4 million going to Texas, including to households that have already submitted the forms.

The second round targets areas with poor response rates in 2000, the Census Bureau said Tuesday.

A spokeswoman couldn't provide figures on how many second questionnaires are headed to Austin, where the current mail response rate is well below the national average of 67 percent in 2000.

Some critics questioned the cost and effectiveness of the mailings. But census officials defend the expenses - part of an overall $14 billion census operation - as a means to avoid as much as possible the more expensive task of visiting households that fail to return the forms.

"While it cost $42 million to print the replacement questionnaires, the typical increase in the response rate results in a savings of more than $500 million," said Jenna Steormann, a census spokeswoman in Dallas. Steormann said people who already returned the form and receive a second one should ignore it.

"The Census Bureau feels like there's a high percentage of people who haven't done anything or threw (the census form) out. And that may be true," said Bruce Elfant, a Travis County constable who is a co-chairman of the Austin-Travis County Complete Count Committee. For months, the panel has been encouraging residents to fill out and return the forms or risk losing part of the region's share of $400 billion in federal money that flows back each year to communities for schools, roads, hospitals and other services. Elfant said the committee learned of the second wave of questionnaires Monday night from a local census staffer, Ivonne Espada-Simeon .

With Austin and Travis County trailing the response rates of many other Texas cities and counties, and with the census scheduled to begin visiting nonresponding households in May, Espada-Simeon said it was time to eschew traditional outreach strategies such as news conferences for more grass-roots efforts, such as a Walk and Roll parade planned Saturday in the Dove Springs neighborhood in Southeast Austin, where pockets have some of the lowest response rates in the city so far.

"It's obvious we could do more if we were right in their back door, if we're talking neighbor to neighbor or talking about how this is important for your community, your family and your neighbors," Espada-Simeon said.

Last week, Austin ranked last among U.S. cities with 300,000 population or more, said Ryan Robinson, the City of Austin demographer and a member of the committee. He said Austin and Travis County have enjoyed big bounces in their response rates; both stood Tuesday at 52 percent.

After it was formed late last year, the committee set a county response rate goal of 75 percent - the rate was 67 percent in 2000.

"I didn't think that was Pollyannish ," Robinson said. "We may still make it. This week is going to be telling."


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Targeted second mailing

In March, the Census Bureau mailed or delivered 2010 census questionnaires to 134 million households. On Tuesday, the bureau announced it was sending a second wave of questionnaires to 40 million of those households.

At least 25 million of the forms were mailed last week to all homes in tracts with a mail response rate of 59 percent or less in 2000, regardless of whether the 2010 form had already been returned. About 15 million forms were sent to areas that had response rates between 60 and 67 percent in 2000 but only to households that have not yet mailed back completed 2010 forms. The national average in 2000 was 67 percent.

The Census Bureau says households have until mid-April to mail back their forms before census takers begin visiting residences that did not respond.

On the Web: To track census response rates or to locate U.S. census questionnaires, visit 2010.census.gov/2010census/take10map.