Census workers start early to encourage better Beaufort County response

When the census was taken nearly 10 years ago, only about 54 percent of Beaufort County residents returned their completed questionnaires to Washington.

That was slightly worse than the statewide response rate of 58 percent, which was almost the lowest rate in the country, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

"South Carolina ranked 49th in terms of response rate," census partnership specialist Terry Seabrook recently told the Beaufort County Council.

Census data determine the number of congressional seats a state gets, the shape of local governmental districts and how billions of dollars in federal funding will be distributed.

With so much at stake, officials are working nearly a year in advance to make sure South Carolina earns a higher spot on that response list.

WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW?

More than 2,000 census workers started fanning out across the state April 6, knocking on doors to develop an address list. Census questionnaires will be sent to addresses on the list in March 2010.

Workers use handheld computers with Global Positioning Systems and check to see if there are other living quarters on the same property, bureau officials said. They do not ask for bank-account or Social Security numbers.

Seabrook told council members she planned to ask government officials in each municipality, along with churches and community groups, to help organize specially trained Complete Count Committees to help promote the census to local residents.

"We want local governments and community organizations helping us create a positive public atmosphere, so when that questionnaire comes in March 2010, people will answer it because they know how important it is to South Carolina," said B.J. Welborn, a spokeswoman for the regional census bureau office inCharlotte.

WHAT'S NEXT?

A local census office, one of eight in the state, will open in Beaufort in the fall, Welborn said. Around that time, local residents will be hired for census jobs countywide.

Census offices are open already in Columbia and Charleston.

After forms are mailed to residents in March 2010, the completed questionnaires should be mailed back the next month.

In December 2010, census bureau officials will deliver population counts to the president.

"This is the biggest thing a government does in peacetime," Welborn said.