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New citizen dives into 2010 Census work in Mono County |
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Saturday, 23 January 2010 |
By Catherine Billey
Mammoth Times Staff Writer
 Submitted photo Rebecca Garrett, a Mono County 2010 Census worker, is planning out her recruiting route for the day. “One of our goals is to plan the most efficient daily route that we can,” she said.
And citizenship also qualified her to apply for one of the temporary 2010 Census jobs advertised in Mono County in early 2009, an endeavor that has evolved into one of the most fascinating jobs she’s ever had.
“I thought it sounded like an American thing to do,” she quipped in a recent phone interview. She clarified that non-citizens can participate in census work, but job preference is given to citizens
A friend had encouraged her to apply for one of the census jobs because the flagging economy had begun to affect Garrett’s photography business.
Within a week of taking a test, she was hired last April to do quality control on the address canvassing operations in Mono County.
“That meant going and checking other canvassers’ work with a hand-held GPS unit,” she explained.
“I got sent to corners of Mono County that I don’t think most people have ever seen before. I got to know people around Mammoth, Bridgeport, Bodie, Benton, Chalfant – just all over Mono County. And I really, really enjoyed it. Mono County is one of the most beautiful places in the world.”
Rhythm of the census
The Census is mandated by the United States Constitution and counts every resident in the country every 10 years. None of the 10 census questions asks for financial information.
This March, census forms will be delivered to every resident in the United States and Puerto Rico.
“That means that there is going to be an operation that takes place before the census date, and we are hiring for that and the non-response follow-up,” she clarified. “Alpine and Mono counties present some serious challenges.”
Because Mono County is on a post office system, forms must be hand-delivered. Garrett said that creates some unique challenges – like dealing with 10 feet of snow and getting into remote areas like Mono City.
But, the more people that work for the census, the more likely Mono County will receive an accurate count and future funding it badly needs, she added.
Garrett explains that the information the census collects helps determine how more than $400 billion dollars of federal funding each year is spent on infrastructure and services such as hospitals, job training centers, schools, emergency services, senior centers, bridges, tunnels and other public works projects.
She intentionally avoids use of the word “mandatory” with regard to participation in the census, preferring to say instead that “the census has been taken every 10 years since 1790 and is mandated by our Constitution.”
Locals are preferred to work the census in Mono County. “What all the past experience has indicated is that we get the most accurate counts when locals work in their own community. Neighbors talking to neighbors,” she explained.
In the work she’s done so far verifying addresses, she said she has occasionally run into people who ask difficult questions, such as why they should be counted, as well as people who are suspicious of the government.
“I always try my best to educate them about the importance of census and that our representation comes from the numbers that come out of the census.”
The Census Bureau estimates the response rate will be between 64 and 70 percent this year.
“We’re expecting a 67 percent response rate. Anything lower than 64 percent is added workload for us,” said Dennis Trinidad, local Census Bureau office manager in a phone interview. “We don’t know what the non-response rate will be, but we do have a good estimate, so we’re planning for that type of work.”
“We don’t know how long the operations will last because we don’t know how long it will take,” Garrett echoed. “If we’ve got 10 feet of snow on the ground, it will take a longer time to deliver the questionnaires.”
And after that, non-response follow-up will depend on how many people didn’t fill out the questionnaire.
By the end of her first operation, Garrett was the only remaining worker. She believes that’s because it took longer than the other four expected, but that wasn’t an issue for her because even when her photography business takes her to Los Angeles for photo shoots, she can work those assignments around the census work and vice versa.
“Hours are flexible,” she said. Census workers may not exceed 40 hours a week, but may mix up how many hours they work per day.
When her first operation ended, she was called in July to work as a recruiting assistant for Alpine and Mono counties.
“The reason they started recruiting for these jobs this year was because of the snow and the geographical difficulties that Alpine and Mono counties present for the Census Bureau,” she said.
“I think I was one of the few recruiters hired for that point for the county to make sure we get an accurate count.”
Eventually, she was taken off that post, asked to do another job, then returned to the recruiting.
“So I’m on my third operation for them. It’s fabulous,” she said. “It’s incredibly interesting.”
Her final operation could run through the end of April.
The Better Business Bureau circulated information warning people to be cautious of “fraudsters” posing as census workers. “If a U.S. Census worker knocks on your door, they will have a badge, a handheld device, a Census Bureau canvas bag, and a confidentiality notice,” the notice says.
Garrett and Trinidad confirmed the accuracy of that statement, except that local census workers will not carry the handheld computers in their operations.
Also, census workers will not ask for Social Security, credit card, banking, or any financial information.
Anyone who is interested in applying for temporary 2010 Census work should call (866) 861-2010. |
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 30 January 2010 )
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