Census 2000 lives on

Despite his objection to intrusive questions not related to a head
count, William Otis filled out and returned his Census 2000 short form
months ago, thinking he had fulfilled his legal obligation to
participate in the constitutionally mandated event. But he was wrong.

Last week, Otis received the "American Community Survey" from the

U.S. Census Bureau, which reads almost exactly like the Census 2000 "long form." Printed on the envelope containing the 23-page document were the words: "YOUR RESPONSE IS REQUIRED BY LAW."

The U.S. Constitution directs Congress to perform a census every 10 years "in such manner as they shall by law direct." Over the years, Congress has passed laws allowing various questions to appear on the census form that are

not relevant to obtaining an accurate count of
citizens. Additionally, Congress authorized the taking of a mid-decennial census, though a bureau supervisor said the American Community Survey is a separately authorized operation.

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Most households received the so-called "short form" for Census 2000 earlier this year. In it, recipients were asked to provide their names, address, race and age. One in six families received the "long form" containing 52 questions, including all those in the short form and several pertaining to individuals' occupation, financial status, medical condition and daily activities. The American Community Survey mirrors the long form.

Some of the ACS questions are:

• Last month, what was the cost of electricity for this house, apartment or mobile home?
• In the last 12 months, what was the cost of water and sewer for this house, apartment or mobile home?
• At any time during the past 12 months, were you or any member of this household enrolled in or receiving benefits from free or reduced price meals at school through the National School Lunch program or the Federal Home Heating and Cooling Assistance program?
• At what location did this person work last week? (Participant must provide street address.)
• How did this person usually get to work last week? How many people, including this person, usually rode in the car, truck or van last week? What time did this person usually leave home to go to work last week?
• Does this person have any of the following long-lasting conditions? (Blindness, deafness, disability, etc.)
• Because of a physical, mental or emotional condition lasting six months or more, does this person have any difficulty in doing any of the following activities: learning, remembering or concentrating, dressing, bathing or getting around inside the home?

A question aimed specifically at females from 15 to 50 years old is: Has this person given birth to any children in the past 12 months?

Otis, 57, and his wife say they will not complete the new form.

"We were ticked off, to put it mildly," said Otis, a self-employed ceramic tile contractor in Trumbull County, Ohio. "We got the short form, and we sent it in like good little citizens." About the American Community Survey, he said, "I think it's very intrusive, and I'm not going to fill it out."

Otis called an 800 number provided on the survey and informed the operator he would not be participating.

"I thought the census was over," he told the operator, adding that he planned to contact his congressman,

Rep. Jim Traficant, D-Ohio. According to Otis, the operator responded by outlining the reasons for completing the form.

A letter signed by Census Bureau Director Kenneth Pruitt was included with the ACS, attempting to assure recipients their responses will be kept confidential by law.

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"Severe criminal sanctions [apply] if any census bureau employee violates these provisions," Pruitt wrote.

"This survey is a supplementary Census 2000 survey designed to improve future censuses," the letter continues. "Schools, hospitals, businesses, community services, banks and other local organizations as well as local, state and national legislators will be able to use this information to pinpoint specific community needs and know what action may need to be taken to address them."

"This survey is a critical part of the Census 2000 program and just as important to your community as filling out your questionnaire for Census 2000, which we recently conducted in your area," adds Pruitt.

According to a glossy color brochure titled "Introducing the American Community Survey," which was included with the survey material, the ACS is "a ground-breaking new survey that will help identify the particular needs of your community. The American Community Survey will provide the most timely and accurate facts ever available, information that you and the public and private sectors in your community can use to address a wide range of social and economic needs."

"No one else will be able to connect your answers with your name and address," the brochure asserts. Otis is skeptical, however, since the survey has his address printed on it, and he must provide the names, phone number and birth dates of everyone in the household.

Remona Gilbert, supervisor of the Census Bureau's telephone center in Jeffersonville, Ind., where the form originates, explained that "only sworn Census Bureau employees see the information" provided in the forms. They are permanent employees and are not hired just for this operation, she confirmed.

Sent out monthly throughout the year, the survey is given to less than 1 percent of the population each month, said Gilbert, adding that the ACS is "basically the same as the long form for Census 2000." It is sent to specific communities -- one neighborhood within one county of one state -- and the location changes every month.

The ACS, which has been conducted since 1983, will replace the long form for the 2010 Census if it is approved by Congress and the

Office
of Management and Budget.

The telephone center handles non-compliance cases after survey recipients decline to answer follow-up forms sent to them. If the randomly selected survey recipients still refuse to answer questions over the phone, a Census Bureau employee may be dispatched to the household to get the information in a face-to-face interview.

"It is a mandatory survey," said Gilbert, who noted that recipients are "subject to fines and penalties" if they do not comply. To her knowledge, however, those penalties have never been enforced. "We'd rather have the information," she said.

Otis would rather the government didn't have the information.

"I feel like we've gotten the census twice. What they didn't get out of us the first time, they're coming back for the rest," he concluded.

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