All those who mailed back a census form, you're fine -- your duty is done for another 10 years.
But for those who haven't returned a form by today, there's a good chance someone will be knocking on your door. "A very good chance," said Robert A. Coffey, manager of the Buffalo census office.
The mail phase of the 2010 census is winding down, and on May 1 the Census Bureau will unleash a small army of workers to count those households that didn't respond to the 10-question form by mail.
Right now, that's about 3 out of 10 households in Erie County.
The local participation rate has been better than at the state and national levels.
But census takers are still going to have their work cut out for them, particularly in Buffalo.
A decade ago, 65 percent of households in the city that received a census form mailed it back. As of Thursday, only 56 percent had. "I certainly anticipated that," Coffey said.
People are also reading…
The mail participation rate is 62 percent in New York State and 67 percent across the United States, according to the Census Bureau.
In Erie County, 71 percent of households that received a census form mailed it back. In Niagara County, it was 73 percent.
Participation has been even higher in some suburban communities, including Marilla, 84 percent; Clarence and Elma, 83 percent; and Alden and Orchard Park, 82 percent.
"Things are going pretty good," said Frank Yavicoli, manager of the census office in Amherst.
Check out http://2010.census.gov/2010census/take10map to see where your community stands.
Buffalo, like other cities, is home to many demographic groups who historically have been hard to count, including immigrants, minorities, homebound senior citizens and the homeless, Coffey said.
Others have speculated that distrust of the government has reached greater heights, contributing to poor returns.
"I think it's just that continual theme of government mistrust," said Kenya K. Hobbs, chairman of the Buffalo Complete Count Committee. "That's the continuing battle we're trying to overcome."
The local census office has been working with the city and local community groups to help people understand that census results determine the number of congressional seats the state will have and steer a large portion of federal aid, particularly for programs that benefit the poor.
The Census Bureau has opened temporary assistance centers, such as the one at the International Institute on Delaware Avenue, where immigrants have been going for help to fill out the census form.
Last weekend, Mayor Byron W. Brown toured some of the city's hard-to-count neighborhoods, encouraging people to participate in the census.
Coffey recently met with a group of pastors in the Hispanic community. "We're reaching out every way we can," he said. "The key is getting to trusted voices in the community who are known and can get the message out."
"The ironic thing is," Hobbs added, "those who would likely benefit the most are those who aren't filling out their forms."
But mail returns are expected to go up.
Census forms are still coming in and haven't been processed, so a more accurate picture of the mail response won't be known for a couple more weeks, explained Malkia D. McLeod, a Census Bureau spokeswoman.
Coffey and Yavicoli said they will have plenty of workers to knock on doors.
The Buffalo office -- which covers Buffalo, Lackawanna, West Seneca, Cheektowaga, the Town and City of Tonawanda, Kenmore, Grand Island, Niagara Falls and the Town of Niagara -- will employ more than 1,800 workers for several weeks, Coffey said.
Many already have been hired and are now counting people in group locations such as nursing homes and college campuses.
By the end of the month, the census office in Amherst -- which covers the rest of Erie County, as well as Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties, a portion of Genesee County and a slice of Wyoming County -- will have hired and trained about 1,000 temporary workers, Yavicoli said.
Yavicoli said his staffing is based on 65 percent of households returning the form by mail, and most of his coverage area has exceeded that threshold.
e-mail: jrey@buffnews.com
