On the eve of national Census Day, local governments are getting out the word for all residents to mail in their census forms not only to ensure a full count but to qualify their communities for their share of federal dollars.
“Each person counted means more money, representation and services to the city,” San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom said in a prepared statement.
According to Newsom, San Francisco lost out on $300 million over the past decade because 100,000 of its residents were not counted in 2000.
Census forms were mailed to every U.S. resident in March. Between April and July, census workers will visit households that did not return forms by mail to try to get a full count by December.
More than $400 billion will be allocated to communities based on the census data. The money goes to schools, highways, job training and other local programs and services.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of Tuesday, only 50 percent of census mailings nationwide have been returned. California participation is 48 percent so far, and San Francisco’s participation rate is 46 percent.
For more information, visit http://2010.census.gov.
