Tally Ho for 1990 Census: Forms to Appear Today

It’s that time of the decade again.

The 1990 U.S. Census kicks off in earnest today as questionnaires begin arriving at homes in Orange County and across the nation.

During the next few days, 88 million households will get their copies of the census form, which by law must be filled out and mailed back to the bureau by April 1.

Most people will get a short form that census officials say takes about 14 minutes to answer. But one of every six people will receive the so-called “long form,” which features a wider array of questions to flesh out what makes America tick in 1990. It takes about 43 minutes to complete, officials say.

Local census officials said they are ready for a deluge of completed questionnaires.

“We’ve got our systems in place,” said Fernando Tafoya, census district manager. “We’re ready to be inundated.” There will be an open house at his office this morning to usher in the count.

With the decennial head count, the nation will be able to tally its population, which is expected to rise to 250 million people, about 2.3 million of them in Orange County.

The census also resets the nation’s demographic gauges, figures into political apportionment (Orange County is expected to gain another seat in Congress) and determines how $73 million in federal money will be divvied up for a variety of services, from freeway construction to school lunch programs.

Demographers suggest that the 1990 census will once and for all topple the image of Orange County as a homogeneous stronghold of well-heeled whites. It should, they say, reveal changes that mirror many that are sweeping the United States--a profound ethnic shift led by swelling numbers of Latinos and Asians, a growing polarization of socioeconomic conditions and a shrinking middle class.

But the census is also expected to illuminate tendencies indigenous to the region, such as the increasing tilt of the population toward fast-growing South County. With housing prices skyrocketing throughout the county, the census might demonstrate that more adult children are living with their parents, demographers say.

First, however, an accurate count needs to be made, and it is that task that has sparked debate across the nation.

While most people will dutifully fill out and mail back the census questionnaires, demographers and other population experts worry that the census will undercount those hardest to find--illegal aliens, non-English speaking newcomers, people without homes and the wariest of the urban poor.

In 1980, an estimated 1.4% of the population was missed, but the percentage was thought to be higher among minorities. Authorities estimate that 7% of the Latino residents and 6% of the nation’s black population was omitted.

Several cities, among them Los Angeles, have filed suit over the census. The bureau’s officials have, in turn, agreed to consider using a post-census survey to double-check whether this year’s count is accurate. Neighborhoods that are typically undercounted would be subject to an intense recount, and the new figures would be compared to census population totals to determine if adjustments should be made across the country.

In the meantime, census officials and civic leaders have launched ambitious programs to promote participation in the nationwide survey, hoping to avoid an undercount in the very communities that need federal assistance the most.

Santa Ana has been perhaps the hardest-working Orange County city, earning praise from top Census Bureau officials as one of four “model cities” in the nation. The city has been distributing informational pamphlets, producing cable TV videos and conducting other promotional efforts.