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To serve Clearfield ... Census Bureau opens office in State College
Saturday, November 21, 2009
STATE COLLEGE - With Census Day (April 1, 2010) less than five months away, all operations are moving into high gear to ensure that every person residing in the United States is counted.
Today, census officials and community leaders celebrated the opening of a new office, located at 3500 E. College Ave., Suite 1120, State College, PA 16801. The office will serve the following eight counties: Cameron, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Elk, Jefferson, McKean and Potter.
During the opening ceremony, Phil Lutz, assistant regional census manager for the Philadelphia Regional Census Center, welcomed community leaders and elected officials and provided highlights of major initiatives that will be undertaken in the coming months to increase the response rate to the 2010 Census.
Speaking on behalf of the community about the importance of a complete count to the region were Jon W. Eich, chairman of the Centre County Board of Commissioners; Mike Glazer, on behalf of Congressman Glenn Thompson; Bill Mahon, vice president for University Relations at The Pennsylvania State University; Linda Tataliba, executive director at Food Bank of the State College Area Inc.; and Carol Eicher, chairwoman of the Census Community Diversity Group and human resources manager of Hospitality Services for Penn State. Tina Riden performed the National Anthem. Bathanie Decker interpreted the program for the hearing impaired.
Lutz stated, "We are pleased that the leaders of this community have taken such a proactive approach with the 2010 Census to ensure a complete count. The elected officials together with community leaders from both the private and public sectors have initiated a number of outreach activities to educate and engage the residents as to why the 2010 Census is easy, safe and important."
Fifteen Complete Count Committees have been formed in the eight counties, and more are in the process of being formed; more than 125 organizations have signed formal partnership agreements with the U.S. Census Bureau.
With just 10 questions, the 2010 questionnaire takes about 10 minutes to complete. All information is confidential and is not shared with any other government agency. The census is important because congressional representation and the distribution of federal funds, for a wide variety of projects that range from social services for people of all ages to transportation and infrastructure, are determined by using census statistics.
Lutz also announced that the recruitment process for jobs that will be available in the spring began Nov. 15. Hundreds of field positions will be filled this winter for the next major operation. Interested applicants are encouraged to call 1-866-861-2010 for information on how to apply. Currently, the State College office employs 24 people.
The U.S. Constitution requires a population and housing count every 10 years. The effort employs some of the most sophisticated technical and operational tools available, as well as a workforce of 1.4 million temporary employees to count every man, woman and child once and in the right place. Census results are the basis for congressional representation as well as the distribution of federal, state, and local funds totaling more than $400 billion annually. Census Day is April 1, 2010.
For more information about the 2010 Census, visit www.census.gov/2010census.
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