Hiring an army of census counters

The U.S. Census Bureau is ramping up their activities in preparation for the 2010 census, and they are looking for help - an army of help in fact.
In order to perform the once-a-decade count of everyone residing in the United States, as mandated by the Constitution, a small army of census takers has to be recruited and trained - they’ll be hiring approximately 12,000 people in Queens alone, according to the bureau.
Every 10 years, the effort begins anew, and the same problems arise: people don’t understand that federal law not only requires everyone to participate, but protects the privacy of individuals.
Only a handful of census officials have access to personal information and are sworn to preserve secrecy for life. The penalty for divulging personal census information is five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both.
Interviews take about 10 minutes and the information not only determines the allocation of Representatives in Congress, but is a valuable policy tool for all levels of government, and a resource for business.
Personal information is not available from the database, just the statistics, the bureau explained.
They also need donated space that accommodates from 20 to 50 people, in order to run training and recruitment programs. They ask that anyone with space available call Martin Brennan at 646-233-2443.
For more information on the next census, visit www.census.gov/2010census.