It isn't too late to fill out your 2010 census form and encourage your neighbors to fill it out. The Census Bureau will accept the form by mail through the middle of April. Starting on May 1st and continuing through July, census workers will be ringing the doorbells of households that didn't mail back their forms. Fill out your form and send it to the Census Bureau so they don't ring your doorbell!
54% of the nation’s households have mailed back their census forms. But participation by Kensington residents ranges from the low 30s to the high 40s. You can check the 2010 census website to see how much participation there has been so far in our neighborhood.
Census data determines how many representatives we will have in the U.S. House of Representatives, how much federal funding we're entitled to (out of the more than $400 billion available), and the extent of community services we'll be provided with, such as
- hospitals and other healthcare,
- job training centers,
- public schools, education programs, and daycare services,
- housing assistance for elderly, handicapped, and low-income homeowners,
- senior centers,
- transportation infrastructure (roads, bridges, tunnels, and other public works projects), and
- emergency services.
The 2010 Census form only has 10 questions that only take about 10 minutes to complete. Strict confidentiality laws protect the respondents and the information they provide. Please participate, and please encourage others to participate!