Students' help sought in Census

McALLEN — The Rio Grande Valley could receive almost $10 billion in federal aid over the next decade for children’s programs. All the Valley has to do is fill out a simple U.S. Census Bureau survey.

Historically, the Valley has been undercounted, and local nonprofits, school districts and other institutions want to make sure the area receives its share of tax dollars.

The U.S. census helps determine where the federal government sends more than $400 billion a year for infrastructure and other government services. It also is used for the decennial re-apportioning of the U.S. House of Representatives, which can result in states gaining or losing seats in that chamber.

Luisa Saenz, director of Children’s Defense Fund Texas-Rio Grande Valley, attributes the previous undercounting of the region’s residents to a combination of fear among families worried their information would be shared with other government agencies and the fact that there are many families who live in remote areas of the Valley that are hard to access.

Several community groups, nonprofit organizations and educational institutions have been working to encourage more families to fill out the census forms and dispel any misinformation they might have received.

Among those initiatives is a partnership that Children’s Defense Fund Texas-Rio Grande Valley has formed with local school districts to reach students and their families.

“The Rio Grande Valley is one of the fastest-growing areas in the state and in the country,” said Daniel King, superintendent of the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo school district. “And with growth comes a need for all kinds of services. … If we’re not counted, we don’t get our fair share.”

The PSJA school district alone gained more than 8,000 students from the last census taken in 2000, with enrollment now estimated at over 31,000, according to the Texas Education Agency.

And more students means more money to educate them, King said during a news conference Tuesday.

According to state data and the Austin-based Center for Public Policy Priorities — a liberal, nonprofit think tank that lobbies on behalf of low- and moderate-income Texans — each child in the Valley who is counted can bring in $21,000 worth of federal aid for programs that benefit them including nutrition, health insurance and education. The center is working with Children’s Defense Fund and other organizations to reach more people for the census.

At Tuesday’s news conference, representatives from various organizations assured those in attendance that the census forms are confidential and the information cannot be shared with other government or law enforcement agencies. The census forms ask for names and telephone numbers so the Census Bureau can contact people if the agency needs to clarify any of the information provided on the forms.

The forms do not ask about citizenship.

“We’re not out to get anybody,” said Efren Salinas, a media specialist for the Census Bureau’s Dallas region. “It’s just a head count.”

Census questionnaires were mailed out to Valley addresses March 15 through 17. Census workers are also in the process of hand-delivering forms to families who live in remote areas or still have a post office box address, Salinas said.

Employees with the Census Bureau will begin conducting house visits in May to interview residents who did not return the forms and have them fill out the questionnaires, he said.

Failing to participate in the census not only denies communities federal funding, it also costs taxpayers more money, Salinas said.

It costs taxpayers 42 cents for every questionnaire mailed — the government provides a prepaid envelope with which to return the form — but $60 to send an employee to visit a home, he said.

“At the end of the day, it’s taxpayers’ dollars that are being used,” Salinas said.

The Census Bureau’s local offices in Edinburg and La Feria are still seeking more workers to help with the census. Applicants must be at least 18 years old, have a valid driver’s license and pass a background check and a 30-minute basic skills test. A practice test can be viewed on the bureau’s Web site, http://2010censusjobs.gov, Salinas said.

Positions are available for those who already have jobs, as well as for retirees, students and those who are jobless, he said.

Those who are unemployed and receiving Medicaid, food stamps and temporary assistance will not have those benefits suspended if they are hired to work for the bureau for the census count, Salinas said.

For more information about applying for census-taker position, call (866) 861-2010.

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 Jennifer L. Berghom covers education and general assignments for The Monitor. She can be reached at (956) 683-4462.