01-18-00 Regular Meeting of La Porte Complete Count Committee

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• Census. 2000 The census is as important to our nation as highways and telephone lines. Every question is required by law to manage or evaluate federal programs or is needed to meet federal case law requirements. Federal and state funds supporting schools, employment services, housing assistance, road construction, hospital services, program for the elderly and more are distributed based on census figures. You will be receiving a census form this year. Please fill it out and let us count on you to do your part for our city. FIVE BIG REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD FILL OUT YOUR CENSUS FORM 1. Help your community thrive. Does your neighborhood have a lot of traffic congestion, elderly people living alone or over crowded schools`I Census numbers can help you community work out public improvement strategies. 2. Get Help In Times of Need. Many 911 emergency systems are based on maps developed for the last census. Census information helps health providers predict the spread of disease through communities with children or elderly people. When floods, tornadoes or earthquakes hit, the census tells rescuers how many people will need their help. When Hurricane Andrew hit South Florida in 1991, census information aided the rescue effort by providing estimates of the number of people in each block. 3. Make Government Work for You. It's a good way to tell our leaders who we are and what we need The numbers are used to help determine the distribution of over $100 billion in federal funds and even more in state funds. We're talking hospitals, highways, stadiums and school lunch programs. Senior citizens in one New England community successfully argued their case for a new community center before county commissioners. They used the census numbers to support their request. 4. Reduce Risk for American Business. Because census numbers help industry reduce financial risk and locate potential markets, businesses are able to produce the products you want. All the Basic Facts you Need to Know to Start a New Business, a publication of the Massachusetts Department of Commerce, shows small businesses how to use census numbers to determine the marketability of newproducts. 5. Help Yourself and Your Family. Individual records are held confidential for 72 years, but you can request a certificate from past censuses that can be used as proof to establish your age, residence or relationship, information that could help you qualify for a pension, establish citizenship or obtain an inheritance. In 2072, your great-grandchildren may want to use census information to research family history. Right now, you children may be using census information to do their homework Because we've had a census every 10 years since 1790, we know how farAmerica has come. IT'S ALL CONFIDENTIAL The Law Protects Your Answers. By law, the Census Bureau cannot share your answers with the IRS, FBI, Welfare, Immigration - or any other government agency. No court of law, not even the President of the United States, can find out your answers. The same law that keeps your answers out of the hands of these agencies, prevents the Census Bureau from selling or giving away your address to people who want to send you mail. Technology Protects Your Answers. The Census Bureau protects your information with numerous security measures, including electronic barriers, scrambling devices and dedicated lines. Your answers are combined with others to produce the statistical summaries that are published No one can connect your answers with your name or address.