To accurately count immigrants, Census 2010 will include outreach in more languages

Census 2010 to include outreach in more languages

SAN FRANCISCO — With the launch of the 2010 census less than six months away, the U.S. Census Bureau is preparing its most targeted and far-reaching language outreach yet to more accurately count the country’s immigrants.

Census Director Robert Groves briefed San Francisco elected officials and community groups Wednesday on ways the federal agency is working to connect with residents who speak languages other than English.

“We’re come to realize that a census run out of Washington, D.C., on a one-size-fits-all model doesn’t work very well,” Groves said. “We’re working to customize the experience, to use words, languages that make sense and make it easier for people to participate.”

The campaign, expected to cost about $300 million, is designed to remedy that, Groves said.

Part of the outreach will occur through Census Bureau alliances with institutions such as churches and ethnic organizations to inform communities and overcome fears of working with the federal government.

A media campaign, including advertising in ethnic newspapers, will also help get the word out, Groves said.

Along with a 10-question form in English, postcards in five other languages — Vietnamese, Korean, Chinese, Russian and Spanish — will point users to a Web site in their language.

Assistance guides in scores of languages, designed to walk a respondent through the English forms, will be distributed through places such as barber shops and supermarkets, or delivered door-to-door, Groves said. Over-the-phone help will be offered in up to 59 languages.

Bilingual forms in English and Spanish will be mailed to 13.5 million households in neighborhoods where at least one-fifth of households report speaking primarily Spanish.

Some advocacy groups wanted the Census Bureau to ask immigration authorities to stop workplace enforcement raids during the nationwide count, so immigrants feel less fearful of the government.

One federal agency cannot ask another to stop doing its work, Groves said, but the confidentiality of respondents will be protected.

“We assure them their participation will not lead to any harm, in any way,” Groves said. “We take this oath very seriously. This is a very safe thing to do.”

San Francisco is investing more than $800,000 in community outreach because undercounting comes at significant cost to the city.

In 2008, the city challenged the 2007 census estimate. New figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau recognized an additional 34,209 residents, giving San Francisco a total population of 799,185 — and additional federal funds.

“Given how much federal funding is at stake, we have to invest in this,” said David Chiu, a San Francisco supervisor.

On the state level, a PricewaterhouseCoopers census study estimated that more than half a million Californians were not counted in the last census, which meant a loss for the state of more than $1.5 billion in federal dollars.