U.S. Census Bureau Offers Language Assistance Services to Help Russian Americans Complete the 2010 Census Form

The Census Bureau has launched the 2010 Census Language Assistance Program to help residents in the Russian American community who don’t speak English complete their census form.  Building on the success of the Census 2000 Language Assistance Program, the Census Bureau offers resources to help each community achieve an accurate 2010 Census count. The Language Assistance Program also helps reduce the cost of the 2010 Census by reducing the number of census takers that must go door-to-door to help residents fill out the form.

For the first time in the history of the Census, Questionnaire Assistance Centers (QAC) will be available to assist Russian speakers.  Residents can order Russian-language forms over the phone call through a toll free number 1-866-965-2010. Bilingual census personnel at QACs also can help Russian speakers fill out English forms that they receive in the mail. Residents can contact their Regional Census Center for a list of local QACs if they need assistance in completing the census form.

Another way that the Census Bureau hopes to increase participation within the Russian community is through Language Assistance Guides, which are available upon request in 59 languages, including Russian. Language Assistance Guides explain how to complete an English-language census form. All Language Assistance Guides will be available to read, download or print at 2010Census.gov or by calling one of the Telephone Questionnaire Assistance centers.  The 2010census.gove site also provides an informational video in Russian explaining step-by-step instructions for filling out the census form.

For any Russian-speakers that need further help, the Census Bureau is hiring bilingual census workers in addition to providing access to Russian-speaking employees at the QACs.  The bilingual census employee will visit the respondent at their home to collect the answers in person if the respondent does not fill out and mail back the census form on time.

The Census Bureau encourages state and local government officials, as well as community leaders, to help their community receive its fair share of federal funding by driving local, targeted awareness campaigns that will reach the hard-to-count populations.    

2010 Census Forms Set to Arrive in 120 Million Mailboxes Across Nation

Responding By Mail to 10 Question,10 Minute Census Could Save Taxpayers Millions

2010 Census forms will arrive this week in 120 million mailboxes between March 15-17 ― continuing the constitutionally mandated, once-a-decade population count and civic ceremony that dates back to 1790.

Census Bureau Director Robert M. Groves is urging communities to fill out and return their census forms as soon as they receive them. “It’s one of the shortest forms in our lifetime asking just 10 questions and should only take about 10 minutes to complete ― yet the benefits to your community are enormous.”  In fact, census data help determine how more than $400 billion in federal funds are distributed to tribal, state and local governments every year ― including funding for schools, roads, health care and other critical social service programs. 

Groves adds that if residents mail back the census form, they could help save hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars.  “It’s a lot less expensive to get responses back by mail than it is to send census takers to knock on doors of households that failed to respond,” he explains.  Following up door-to-door to count households from May to July will require hiring about 650,000 census workers and cost more than $2.3 billion. 

It’s Easy: A Look at the 2010 Census Questionnaire

The census mailing package includes a cover letter, the 2010 Census form and a postage-paid return envelope. The 10 questions are basic and should take about 10 minutes to complete. The 2010 Census asks the following questions:  
 
1.     The number of people living in the residence
2.    Any additional people that might be living there as of April 1, 2010
3.    Whether the residence is owned or rented
4.    Telephone number (in case the Census Bureau has follow-up questions)
5.    Name
6.    Sex
7.    Age and date of birth
8.    Whether of Hispanic origin
9.    Race
10.   Whether that person sometimes lives somewhere else                      
 
The Census forms will be available in Russian. Residents can obtain the forms by calling Telephone Questionnaire Assistance at 1-866-965-2010 for help in Russian or 1-866-872-6868 for help in English. Bilingual census personnel at Questionnaire Assistance Centers (QACs) also can help Russian speakers fill out English forms that they receive in the mail.

Language Assistance Guides in 59 languages, including Russian are also available at local QACs or at 2010Census.gov.  The 2010Census.gov site also provides an informational video in Russian  explaining step-by-step instructions for filling out the census form.
It’s Safe: Your Personal Information is Confidential by Law
 
Census data are the basis for America’s representative democracy, ensuring that Congress is reapportioned every 10 years based on a state’s total population. All census responses are confidential; they are protected by law and not shared with anyone. By law, the Census Bureau cannot share respondents’ individually identifiable answers with anyone, including other federal agencies and law enforcement entities. All Census Bureau employees take the oath of nondisclosure and are sworn for life to protect the confidentiality of the data.
 
More information, electronic press kits, news releases, fact sheets and multimedia are available on the Census Bureau’s online news room at 2010census.gov.                

About the 2010 Census
The 2010 Census is a count of everyone living in the United States. By law, everyone in the United States, both citizens and non-citizens, must be counted every 10 years. Census data is used to reapportion congressional seats to states and directly affect how more than $400 billion per year in federal funding is distributed to state, local and tribal governments. The 2010 Census form is one of the shortest census forms in the history and takes about 10 minutes to complete. By law, the Census Bureau cannot share respondents’ answers with anyone, including federal agencies and law enforcement entities.