The American Community Surveyand Its Benefits to the 2010 Census

Frank A. VitranoAssociate Director for 2020 Census

US Census Bureau

Geneva, SwitzerlandMay 24, 2012

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Conference of European StatisticiansOrganized by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and Eurostat

• Introduction• Background on the American Community Survey• Benefits of removing the long form from the 2010 Census• Using American Community Survey data in planning the 2010

Census• The 2020 Census and the American Community Survey

Overview of My Talk

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• From 1940-2000, the U.S. Decennial Census included both a short form (to collect basic characteristics from everyone) and a long form (to collect detailed characteristics from a sample of people)

• Basic characteristics needed for Congressional apportionment and redistricting

• Detailed characteristics data mostly used for distribution of federal funding

• Although data collection driven by the needs of the federal government, state, local, and tribal governments, businesses, media, academia, and others also rely on these data.

Introduction

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• To meet growing demands for more timely and frequent data on population and housing, the Census Bureau developed the American Community Survey

• 2010 Census collected only basic demographic data from everyone—no long form sample

• ACS began collecting detailed socioeconomic data in 2005

Introduction of the American Community Survey

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ACS Topics

Administrative:

Basic (Population):

Social (Population)

Financial (Housing)

Physical (Housing)

Economic (Population and

Housing)

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Ancestry, citizenship, disability, educational attainment, fertility,

grandparents as caregivers, language spoken at home, marital history and status,

military service, place of birth, school enrollment, residence 1 year ago, undergraduate field of degree, veteran status, VA service-connected disability

rating, year of entry.

Class of worker, food stamps benefit, health insurance

coverage, income, vehicles available, work status last year,

industry, journey to work, occupation, place of work, labor

force status.

Acreage, agricultural sales, bedrooms, house heating fuel,

kitchen facilities, plumbing facilities, telephone service available, rooms, units in

structure, vehicles available, year moved into unit, year

structure built.

Business or medical office on property, cost of utilities,

condominium fee, insurance, mobile home costs, mortgage, real estate taxes, rent, tenure,

value of property.

Name, contact information, #of people

at address, date*

Age, sex, Hispanic origin,

race, relationship*

*Also asked on 2010 Census form

Topics in the American Community Survey

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1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

First data released for nation and areas 250,000+

Demonstration Period: evaluated operational feasibility and survey quality

Expanded to full sample of HUs in all counties in 50 states, DC & PR

GQs added

First 1-yr est. released for areas more than 65,000

First 3-yr. est. released for areas more than 20,000

First 5-yr. est. released for areas of all sizes

Implemented new and modified content to meet emerging need.

History of the American Community Survey

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There are two main ways the American Community Survey benefits the census:

Simplifying the census

Providing current data to facilitate census operations

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• Lower respondent burden

• Improved mail response rate (63.5% in 2010 compared to 53.9% in 2000)

Benefits of Removing Long Form from the 2010 Census

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• Allowed mailout of bilingual (English/Spanish) questionnaire

Benefits of Removing Long Form from the 2010 Census

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• Major reductions in printing and mailing

• Simplified data collection operations

• Reduced data capture workload and equipment needs

Benefits of Removing Long Form from the 2010 Census

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Used ACS data to identify geographic areas to receive the bilingual questionnaire

ACS Data Used for Planning the 2010 Census

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Used ACS data to identify geographic areas to receive the bilingual questionnaire

ACS Data Used for Planning the 2010 Census

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Used ACS data to:

• Select the five primary non-English languages and an additional 45 languages that might need language assistance in 2010 Census.

• Determine which households would receive a Direct Mail postcard that contained contact information in non-English languages for our Telephone Questionnaire Assistance Centers.

• Plan workload estimates and staffing needs for Telephone Questionnaire Assistance Centers in each of the five primary non-English languages.

ACS Data Used for Planning the 2010 Census

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2010 Census Language Program

2010 Census Field Logistics and Enumeration Planning:

• To assist our regional and local offices, we created a Planning Database

• Initially contained Census 2000 data

• Later updated with ACS data

• Planning Database used to identify hard-to-enumerate areas and areas with low mail response rates.

Other ACS Data Used for Planning the 2010 Census

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2010 Planning Database (ACS Data)

Population Characteristics

• Age Disability• Sex Place of Birth• Detailed Race Categories Citizenship• Group Quarters Language spoken• Household types with # of children Ancestry• Own or adopted children Employment• Under 18 Commute• School enrollment Occupation• Education level Income• Veteran’s status Poverty status

Housing Characteristics

• Occupation status Number of vehicles

• Owned or Rented Heating Fuel• Housing unit type Phone• Mobile home Home value• Year built Rent amount• Number of rooms Vacancy status• Year of move in

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• The 2010 Census Communications Campaign needed to know:

• What are the characteristics of the hard-to-count populations?• What are the obstacles to counting these populations?• How do research results translate to the 2010 Census Communications

Campaign?

• Data from Census 2000 and ACS provided direct evidence about who responds and who doesn’t

• Information used to plan campaign messages and to determine where to direct those messages.

ACS Data and the 2010 Census Communications Program

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2010 Census Communications Program

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2010 Census Communications Program

Data Capture and Processing:

• Used ACS data to impute missing information on 2010 Census questionnaires

• Used the ACS processing system infrastructure to support the Island Areas data processing

Other ACS Data Used for the 2010 Census

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Other ACS Data Used for the 2010 Census

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Experimentation Program:

• The 2010 Census Experimentation Program included an alternative questionnaire experiment to test some potential content changes

• Used ACS data for stratification to ensure sufficient oversampling of specific race and Hispanic Origin groups

· Support Agile Decision-making· Reuse Data· Leverage Systems and Methods· Leverage Partnerships· Support Organizational Solutions· Build a 21st Century Workforce

Guiding Principles for the 2020 Census2020 Census Mission

The 2020 Census will conduct a census of population and housing and disseminate data to the President, the States, and the American people.

A Complete andAccurate Census

Embraced andValued Results

An Efficient2020 Census

A Well-Managed 2020 Census Program

An efficient and quality census that counts people, once, only once, and in the right place.

2020 Census Goals

· Reduce Cost· Maintain Quality· Reduce Field Timeline· Tailor Response Modes· Leverage ACS· Support Continual Frame Updating

2020 Census Vision

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Field Logistics and Planning:

• Annual 5-year ACS estimates at block group level provide more current information on variables for planning local strategies and other 2020 Census efforts

Facilitate Testing:

• Systems used by the ACS and other demographic surveys prior to the 2020 Census should help us develop well-tested production systems for the 2020 Census

Using ACS Data to Assist with the 2020 Census

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Tailoring Response Modes:• ACS data will provide us with valuable information on trends with self-response and

response modes, and help us plan appropriate approaches for different demographic and geographic groups.

Reusing ACS Data:• We plan to use pre-existing data sources, including ACS data, to support 2020 data

collection.

Developing Organizational Solutions:• We hope to lower costs and reduce risks by creating corporate solutions for the ACS

and other programs that can be tested and used in production prior to the 2020 Census.

Using ACS Data to Assist with the 2020 Census

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New ACS Questions on Broadband Usage

• The elimination of the long form sample from the 2010 Census simplified census planning and implementation.

• The ACS is releasing timely information on an annual basis providing data users with much more and timely information than they ever had from the decennial census.

• ACS data were useful in planning components of the 2010 Census, especially with programs, such as the Language Program and communications efforts, that require different approaches at local levels

• The ACS will provide additional opportunities to simplify and improve the efficiency of the 2020 Census.

Conclusion

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THANK YOU!