2010 Census: Bureau Needs to Specify How It Will Assess Coverage Follow-Up Techniques and When It Will Produce Coverage Measurement Results

摘要

An accurate decennial census relies on finding and counting people--only once--in the right place and collecting complete and correct information. GAO reviewed the Department of Commerce's U.S. Census Bureau's (Bureau) plans to (1) improve the census's accuracy--or coverage--with its coverage follow-up operation, (2) assess the accuracy of the census through its census coverage measurement program, and (3) evaluate these efforts after 2010. GAO reviewed documentation and interviewed Bureau officials about the Bureau's coverage follow-up and measurement plans. GAO compared plans for measuring coverage in 2000 and 2010 and interviewed 15 experts about changes to the plans. The Bureau plans to expand its coverage follow-up operation to improve the accuracy of enumeration data collected in 2010. As in Census 2000, coverage follow-up is intended to resolve count discrepancies (when the number of household members reported on a completed questionnaire fails to match the number of persons for whom information is collected) and complete the enumeration of large households (more than six persons living in a housing unit). For 2010, the Bureau researched new techniques to increase the number of ways a person or household could be selected for coverage follow-up.