When it comes to returning their Census forms, Westchester residents are doing better than the state average but still lag behind the national average.
As of last Thursday, 70 percent of Westchester residents had returned their forms – which is only 2 percentage points lower than the final response rate 10 years ago. This is far better than the 47 percent level Westchester County had reached as of April 1. While above the state average of 67 percent, Westchester remains below the national average of 72 percent.
"It is very important to our county, to our neighborhoods that we get an accurate count," said County Executive Robert P. Astorino. "Millions of dollars are at stake. We have a few communities approaching 80 percent compliance – Briarcliff and Scarsdale, but even they can do more."
Census workers are beginning the next phase – going door to door to get the count.
Astorino stressed that census workers will carry official badges and are only permitted to ask the 10 simple questions on the Census form, such as the number of persons living in the household; their gender, age and race; and whether the resident rents or owns their home. They are prohibited from asking for Social Security numbers or about a resident's status. The privacy of the information gathered is protected by law and cannot be shared with police, tax, or any other enforcement agencies.
The door-to-door phase will continue until the end of June and focuses on people who did not mail in their forms. (People who have not yet returned the mail-in form may still do so, but they may also get a Census worker visiting.)
Participation in the census is required by law, and the information provided benefits the county. A census taker can visit a home up to three times and attempt to reach the household by phone.
Residents will know a census worker has visited by their calling card - a double-sided English and Spanish notice that includes a phone number for residents to call to schedule an appointment.
The Census takes place once every ten years. The count is used to allocate the number of seats for congressional representation, determine the amount of electoral votes allocated to each state and to determine where to distribute over $300 billion in federal funds annually. A complete count is key to ensuring that Westchester and New York State continues to receive their fair share of funding.