DELAND -- Volusia counts. Everybody counts.
With that message, Volusia County’s Complete Count Committee is kicking off a major public-awareness campaign to encourage all residents to complete and return their 2010 census questionnaires, said Psat Kuehn, Volusia County spokeswoman.
All persons who live in Volusia County at least six months a year are counted.
Chaired by Joie Alexander, Volusia County Council vice chair and at-large representative, the newly formed volunteer committee includes
eight subcommittees representing local governments, education, businesses, housing, community organizations, faith-based organizations,
migrant and farm workers, and marketing and communications.
“The committee’s primary focus will be on education and awareness throughout the county,” Alexander said. “So much is counting on the
counting. We stand to lose millions of dollars if our census figures do not include everyone. It’s not a one-time loss; it’s a loss every
time state or federal money is divvied up for the next 10 years.”
Dozens of community representatives started meeting in early August to coordinate outreach efforts and address the unique characteristics of the county’s diverse communities. They will make a special effort to contact hard-to-reach populations such as the homeless, migrant workers, minorities, renters and people living below the poverty level.
The committee will get the word out that responses are confidential and are not shared with any agencies, including the FBI, Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services.
According to Alexander, the committee will work with individual cities, agencies and businesses to ensure a coordinated and unified response.
The U.S. Census Bureau will mail census questionnaires to every household in the United States in mid-March, and residents are required
by law to complete and return the forms by April 1. Data will affect how more than $400 billion in federal funds will be distributed to state,
local and tribal governments each year. It also will be used to draw state legislative districts and determine the number of seats each state has in the House of Representatives.
In 2000, 67 percent of households in Volusia County returned their census forms, compared to state and national return rates of 63 percent.
“We can’t be satisfied with a 67-percent response rate,” Alexander said. “This does not reflect our needs when we are seeking state and federal funding, and we can’t continue to have a baseline below our needs. We must have everyone counted.”
The census form, one of the shortest in history, asks for name, age, gender, race, date of birth, relationship to the head of the household,
and whether the respondents own or rent their home. It can be completed in 10 minutes.
Plans for the census awareness campaign between now and Census Day, April 1, include community outreach, advertising, news releases and a centralized Web site.
The news media are encouraged to become campaign partners by including 2010 Census information in news coverage, public service announcements and on Web sites.
For more information about the U.S. Census, go to www.census.gov/2010census. For more information about the county’s Complete Count Committee, please contact staff liaisons Betty Holness at (386) 736-5920, ext. 2603; or Pat Kuehn (386) 822-5062, ext. 2934.
FAST FACTS:
2000 Census response rates*
City Response Population
Daytona Beach 59% 64,112
Daytona Beach Shores 50% 4,299
DeBary 77% 15,559
DeLand 66% 20,904
Deltona 74% 69,543
Edgewater 75% 18,668
Holly Hill 64% 12,119
Lake Helen 67% 2,743
New Smyrna Beach 60% 20,048
Oak Hill 46% 1,378
Orange City 70% 6,604
Ormond Beach 72% 36,301
Pierson 60% 2,596
Ponce Inlet 51% 2,513
Port Orange 76% 45,823
South Daytona 69% 13,177
Volusia County 67% 443,343
Florida 63% 15,982,378
*Source: U.S. Census Bureau