Census forms arriving in Chatham as agency cancels hiring workers

Posted Tuesday, April 15, 2008

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Pittsboro, NC - On April 10, the Chatham County Manager’s Office received notice that the US Census Bureau will not be hiring any local Census workers as part of the 2008 Census Dress Rehearsal. Households are urged to voluntarily mail back Census forms, because no workers will visit homes to collect information.

“We were stunned to receive this information with such late notice,” said County Manager Horne. “It appears that funding issues were involved based on follow-up conversations.”

He added that “our biggest concern is that as many as 300 Chatham County residents are awaiting word from the Census Bureau on field worker jobs. To find out that no jobs are available at this point will be devastating news for some residents.”

Debra Henzey, director of Community Relations in the County Manager’s Office and chair of the Complete Count Committee said, “Our committee members are most distressed that jobs were promised and did not happen. Since last fall, we worked hard to recruit people and had pushed even harder last month when still had a reported shortage.”

Census worker training was slated to start later this month in various local facilities, Henzey said.

“Despite these problems, it is important for people to return the forms once they arrive, because Census Bureau is testing a new short form and we need to know if the form is effective,” Henzey said. The Chatham County Board of Commissioners adopted a resolution making May 1st Census Day in Chatham County, because that is the day that is the initial deadline for mailing back the forms.

“We are concerned that not having field workers to collect information from households will lead to an insufficient Census count during the Dress Rehearsal,” said Henzey. “Without workers to collect information from non-responding households, it will be a real challenge to get a sufficient return rate.”

Horne said that it is disappointing that the county was unable to benefit from a complete Dress Rehearsal. “We could have gained much more knowledge about what practices worked or did not work well before the 2010 Census arrives. For instance, we will not identify all the barriers we need to address when it really matters.”Henzey said that she is very proud of the members of the Complete County Committee’s and their contributions. “They represent many communities across the county and provided so many good ideas. They will be a great foundation for an accurate count in 2010.”