CRLA 2010 Census

Why is the 2010 Census important to CRLA clients?

CRLA RESEARCH ON 2010 CENSUS

CRLA has partnered with JBS International on a research project to evaluate 2010 Census coverage in rural California. Our research assessed the accuracy of the 2010 Census in hard-to-count rural communities and the impact of our own education and outreach initiative, in order to understand how improved operations might enhance the accuracy of future Censuses and to determine which rural California sub-populations are differentially undercounted in the Census. Many of CRLA's client communities are among those historically undercounted in the Census, and previous research by CRLA and JBS has demonstrated that migrant and seasonal farmworker communities experienced a mega-undercount in past Censuses.

The current research is based on personal interviews with over 400 households in hard-to-count Census tracts in rural counties served by CRLA, including in the Central Valley, Central Coast and South Coast regions. This region was chosen because CRLA Community Workers conducted extensive education and outreach to low-income workers and families in order to increase Census awareness and participation among historically undercounted communities. Community Workers also conducted interviews and provided key insights for the research project.

The findings show dramatic improvements in Census coverage of hard-to-count rural communities since 2000, and indicate that CRLA played an important role in enhancing 2010 Census enumeration due to our recommendations for key improvements in Census Bureau operations. The Census Bureau's targeted mailing of bilingual questionnaires to areas with high concentrations of Spanish-speaking households helped to ensure that farmworker and immigrant families had equal opportunity to participate in the Census, and helped to reduce differential undercount within these communities. The report confirms, however, that much work remains to reach more recent immigrants and to successfully enumerate hard-to-locate housing and complex households with multiple members. The final report, entitled "2010 Census Enumeration of Immigrant Communities in Rural California: Dramatic Improvements but Challenges Remain," contains additional recommendations to improve outreach and partnerships for future Censuses and the American Community Survey.

For more information about this study or Census work at CRLA, contact Ilene Jacobs at ijacobs@crla.org