Census workers hit streets

The U.S. Census Bureau has launched its first major on-the-ground operation in Tennessee to prepare for the nationwide count in spring 2010.

April 1 marked one year prior to Census Day. More than 3,000 census workers have begun going block-by-block across Tennessee to develop a correct and complete address list.

This operation will continue through mid-summer and the updated address list will be used to deliver 2010 Census questionnaires next March.

Nationwide, more than 140,000 address listers will knock on doors across America in the address canvassing operation.

"Address canvassing marks when the census jumps from the page to the pavement," said William W. Hatcher, regional director at the Charlotte Regional Census Center, which supports 2010 Census operations in Tennessee, the Carolinas, Kentucky and Virginia.

"We've been planning this constitutionally-mandated counting for years. Now the census will be visible."

Hatcher emphasized the address list developed in 2009 is the cornerstone of a good census in 2010, and said that could translate into power and money for Tennessee.

Census results are used to determine the number of congressional seats for each state, the shape of legislative and local government districts, and how $300 billion in federal funds is distributed annually to communities across America.

Address listers will use handheld computers that capture GPS information as they comb the streets and knock on doors to verify an address and inquire about additional living quarters on the premises.

Census workers also can be identified by their official U.S. Census Bureau badges or by calling a local census office.

Census workers never ask for bank or Social Security information. All census employees take an oath of confidentiality and face a fine of up to $250,000 and five years in prison for violating that oath.

The Census Bureau has opened three local census offices in Tennessee to support the address canvassing. The offices are in Memphis, (901) 251-4390; Nashville, (615) 234-5740; and Knoxville, (865) 291-5400.

Later this year, seven more local census offices will open in the state to support peak census activities in 2010. Address canvassing will be conducted from local census offices across the United States.