Census office opens in Inglewood
Christianna Kyriacou | 1-21-2010 | Comments |
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As the 2010 U.S. Census gets underway in Inglewood over the next few months, residents are asked for 10 minutes of their time to fill out a simple questionnaire. For each resident counted in the Census, the federal government grants the community $14,000 for state and city services for the upcoming decade.The choice not to participate in the Census proves costly for Inglewood. For each uncounted resident, the city loses $1,400 per year for 10 years, according to Inglewood Census Office Manager Brent Hart. Those dollars represent city services crucial to every resident, including public safety, street maintenance, education and housing.
That message was conveyed on January 12, as civic leaders and residents gathered for the grand opening of the local Census office on La Cienega Boulevard in Inglewood, one of five in the greater Los Angeles area.
Failing to be counted could also cost the city much-needed political leverage, said Inglewood Mayor Roosevelt Dorn at the courtyard ceremony.
“Every individual is important here in the city of Inglewood,” Dorn said. “We must see that everyone is counted because if we don’t, we don’t get the money, the seats in Washington, the seats in Sacramento that we deserve.”
The 2000 U.S. Census reported an Inglewood population of 112,580, which Dorn said fell about 20,000 people short of the actual total. Inglewood saw a one percent population increase from 2000 to 2006 according to the U.S. Census Bureau estimate.
“We have to take on a share of this, each and every one of us,” Dorn said. “If we do that, we can win. Everyone in Inglewood, in the state of California, will lose if we don’t get the proper count.”
Inglewood Councilman Eloy Morales, Jr. addressed the Spanish-speaking community at the event, urging them to participate and to tell their friends. “This has tremendous impact for many years,” he said.
Dan Medina, a city councilman from Gardena, described his experience becoming the first Mexican-American to hold elected office in the city, which is 41 percent Latino. The Census helps build awareness of the ethnicity of a city, he told those in attendance. “You need to be counted,” he said. “Like every voice in the world, you need to be heard.”
Inglewood’s Latino population is typically undercounted, however, because of tenuous immigration status and simple lack of awareness that the Census exists, Hart said.Hart said he and his staff hope to increase participation among minorities in Inglewood as well as those in West Carson, Gardena, Hawthorne and Lawndale, other cities served by their office.
“We are determined to get a complete count because we are trying to remove all of the fears,” Hart said. He added that he plans to reassure residents that Census information is protected by law and cannot be shared with any federal or law enforcement agencies.
The Inglewood office will serve approximately one million households, or four million people, according to Al Fonteno, Jr., a spokesman from the U.S. Census Regional Office in Northridge. Hart said that it plans to hire about 1,200 field staff by the beginning of March at $17 to $18.50 per hour to collect information door to door.
The Census survey comprising 10 questions will be mailed in mid-March and is due April 1, Fonteno said. Only 67 percent of Los Angeles residents mailed back their questionnaires during the last count, he said.
Before the finalized Census report is submitted to President Obama on Dec. 31, a quality control check will review the accuracy and completeness of the data, Hart said.
“Every head that’s counted is a benefit to the city, to the state and to the United States,” Medina said at the event.
Inglewood residents and employees said they hope the Census will bring vital services and resources to their community.
“It’s very important that everybody be counted and accounted for,” said Bruce McCall, a community relations deputy for the L.A. County Sheriff’s Office who said an accurate count could help bolster youth services, such as after school programs, which are lacking in Inglewood.
“A lot of people are afraid of giving information to the Census,” said Inglewood resident Jerome Carmouche. “There’s so much that depends upon the information received from the Census. A lot of people don’t realize that it helps the community in so many ways.”
Tags: brent hart inglewood inglewood census office inglewood city council u.s. census bureau