Early census results show improvement

FROM THE ARCHIVE

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FEBRUARY 15, 2001

According to preliminary estimates released by the Census Bureau on Wednesday, the government has done a better job of ensuring that all Americans, including American Indians and Alaska Natives, were counted properly by the 2000 Census.

Based on what is known as an accuracy and coverage evaluation survey, the Census Bureau says its efforts last year show a marked improvement over those made ten years ago. In 1990, the undercount rate for American Indians living on reservations was a whopping 12.2 percent.

The Census Bureau now believes its 2000 undercount could be as low as 2.77 percent or as high as 6.71 percent. But even at its best estimate, the Native American undercount would still the highest of any group in the country.

Still, the preliminary estimates are being praised by Census officials. William Barron, acting director of the Census Bureau, said they were "results in which the country can be proud."

Not everyone is accepting them so heartily, though. The US Census Monitoring Board, a bipartisan coalition which monitors the Census, acknowledged an improvement may have occurred but that minorities are still at risk.

"We must be sure that we are not double counting whites at the expense of counting minorities," said presidential co-chair Gilbert F. Casellas. "What is an acceptable number of Americans not included in the census? Our answer is none."

Last week, the Board released a report warning of the effects of an undercount on Indian Country. According to the report, the 1990 Census missed nearly 3,000 American Indians in the Albuquerque, New Mexico, area alone.

Since a number of federal agencies, including the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Service, use the Census to help determine funding levels, the undercount can significantly affect how a tribe or city like Albuquerque serves the Native community. Indian Country would be tied to the results for the next ten years.

The estimates are also just the beginning of a political fight on how best to use data from the Census. Republicans on Wednesday put forth a plan in which raw numbers would be used to redraw political districts while adjusted, or sampled, numbers would be used to determine federal funding.

Democrats and civil rights groups immediately rejected the idea. "If the numbers are accurate, they are accurate for every use," said Representative Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.) at an oversight hearing before the House Subcommittee on the Census yesterday.

The outcome of the debate will no doubt have significant effects on Indian Country. But John Chambers, a spokesperson for the US Census Monitoring Board, said the decision shouldn't be based on political whims.

"It shouldn't be about politics, it should be about sound science," said Chambers. "It should be that every Native American is counted in the Census."

Get the Preliminary Undercount Results:
Preliminary Estimated Coverage of Census 2000 Based on the Accuracy and Coverage Evaluation (A.C.E.) Survey (US Census Bureau February 2001)

Get the US Census Monitoring Board Report:
Profiling the Native American Community in Albuquerque: Assessing the Impacts of Census Undercounts and Adjustments (US Census Monitoring Board February 2001)

Relevant Links:
House Subcommittee on the Census - www.house.gov/danmiller/census
US Census Monitoring Bureau - www.cmpb.gov
US Census Bureau - www.census.gov