Complete Count Committee Future Grand Rapids 2010
Contact: Haris Alibasic, 456-3497
| The City of Grand Rapids has established a Complete Count Committee (CCC) to aid the United States Census Bureau in achieving an accurate and efficient count of our community’s population. The City recognizes the importance of the Census and understands the count of every Grand Rapids citizen is paramount for a number of reasons. Following is a brief reminder of how our community is affected by the count: Drawing federal, state and local legislative districts Establishing distribution for federal and state funds Forecasting future transportation needs for all segments of the population Reapportioning seats in the House of Representatives Establishing fair market rents and enforcing fair lending practices Designing public safety strategies These outcomes, along with many others, determine Grand Rapids’ eligibility for a plethora of funds, services and awards. Plus, quantifying the population helps the City better understand how it is attracting and preserving human capital as well as the trends of our financial, religious and ethnic demographics. These are all indicators of how robust and diverse our community is becoming. The CCC consists of a voluntary group of community leaders charged with mobilizing our constituents around the census. This will ensure that all citizens are aware of the coming census and what they must do to help, in concert with dispelling myths commonly associated with the count. To do this, the CCC will be organized into six subcommittees as follows: Government Subcommittee – Assist in all activities between the Census Bureau and the local government while indentifying resources for Complete Count Committee activities. Faith-based Subcommittee - Creates and coordinates activities and materials that can be used by any local faith-based institution in the promotion of the 2010 Census awareness and participation. Education Subcommittee - Facilitates census awareness for local schools from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, as well as postsecondary education institutions in the area. Media Subcommittee - Creates and orchestrates ways to get the census message to all community residents, utilizing available sources such as local newspapers, newsletters, flyers, local festivals, radio and television. Community-based Organizations Subcommittee - Collaborate with community organizations to inform residents of the importance of participating in the 2010 Census while providing space for testing job applicants and/or training new employees. Business Subcommittee - Disseminate information about census job openings in the 2010 Census community. Information will include the number of jobs available, types of jobs available and the locations of testing and training sites. A diverse cross section of community representatives from government agencies, education, businesses, religious organizations, ethnic, non-profit agencies, neighborhood associations, and the media were invited to participate on the CCC. The response was overwhelmingly positive by everyone. Below is a tentative timeline for the CCC. | RESOURCESU.S. Census Bureau: www.census.gov2010 Census: www.census.gov/2010census/Regional Census Office: www.census.gov/rodet/www/Census Jobs: www.census.gov/rodet/www/emply.htmlNational Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO)*: www.naleo.org/naleoeducationalfund.htmlAsian Amerian Justice Center**: www.advancingequality.org/census/*This website has information on the Census with a particular focus on Latinos. **This website has information on the Census with a particular focus on Asian Americans. |
Future GR 2010 Census Timeline 2009 Complete Count Committee established and Subcommittee members confirmed Members of the CCC receive census training /orientation Subcommittees meet bi-monthly and develop their strategy and work plan CCC spreads word about census jobs January 1 – March 31, 2010 CCC begins community organization mobilization CCC begins 2010 Census publicity campaign March 2010 U.S. Census mails questionnaires to every household in America April, 2010 Households return completed questionnaires Late April through Early July, 2010 Non-response follow up; census workers will visit households who did not return their questionnaire by mail to collect the information CCC thanks the community for their participation in the 2010 Census December 31, 2010 Census delivers population counts to the President of the U.S. |