Census, Distrust and O.C. Needs

It sounds simple enough, at least as spelled out in the Constitution: Conduct an “actual enumeration” of the population every 10 years to determine how many people live in America and where they reside.

Down at ground level, it isn’t always easy.

To its credit, the federal Census Bureau this year has made a concerted effort to persuade people to cooperate and be counted. Several days ago a dozen federal workers showed up at the Somebody Cares Kitchen in Costa Mesa.

Somebody Cares does a good job of feeding the needy, many of whom are homeless. Most people get census forms in their mailbox at home; the homeless can’t get the forms in the mail and usually are not counted. When it comes time to hand out federal funds and determine representation in Congress, those on the short end of the count lose out. By some estimates, California has lost $2 billion since the 1990 census because of an undercount.

In Orange County, the census found fewer than 2,000 homeless people in 1990. Social workers believed the number to be far higher. Today’s estimate is perhaps 15,000 people sleeping in shelters, bus stations, parks or cars.

Because minorities also are subject to not being counted, the Census Bureau made a special effort to reach members of the Hispanic and Vietnamese populations in the county.

Some of those at shelters and soup kitchens were unhappy at being questioned about their age, marital status and other personal identifiers, either for fear or distrust of the government or a concern over invasion of privacy. But since complying with the census is the law, shelter operators made a special effort to persuade those seeking a bed or a meal to cooperate.

The census can help government agencies determine how to allocate resources. That’s especially important for Orange County, which sends far more tax money to Sacramento than it receives in state funds. The more accurate the population count, the better the chance of getting a fair share of funds returned by Washington. Anaheim estimates it lost out on more than $1 million, most of it in community development block grants and job-training money, because of a short count 10 years ago. This year’s efforts were needed to ensure that the count for this decade is correct and the money is sent where it belongs.