Census 2010 Problems
Submitted by blakeley on Sat, 2008-03-08 22:57.
Uh oh. The Field Data Collection Automation (FDCA) PDAs that are supposed to replace the traditional pen and paper method used by census-takers are not working properly. Thus, the census "dress rehearsal" this spring has been delayed by a month as the agency scurries to come up with backup plans. The FDCA program that was meant to save taxpayers $1 billion now has these delays sending the cost $600 million to as much as $2 billion.
Carlos M. Gutierrez, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce, testified at the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs hearing on the status of the 2010 Census.
Gutierrez stated: "We have discovered serious problems with the FDCA program and I am personally involved in bringing key issues to the surface and developing a way forward. In short, the current situation is unacceptable."
The GAO published a report on these Census problems and made an announcement designating the 2010 Census Project as "High Risk". The GAO warned the Census bureau last year about slow and inconsistent data transmission from last year's field testing. Guess they should have heeded that warning, right?
The IEEE blog made a good point on this whole mess: "Fed Ex can use handhelds to track packages, why can't we do the same for collecting Census data - should be dead easy, right? The idea in itself wasn't not outrageous, as long as the risks involved were clearly understood and managed" and obviously they were not!
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Question about the census
A census taker came to my door early spring, asked me ONE question - was this the only house we owned - and gave me a hand-out called "Your Answers Are Confidential" and said I would be contacted to fill out the census over Internet. Have heard nothing since. Who would need to know this, i.e., should I report this to someone?
Where to report census scams
Hi Ginnie,
Thanks for stopping by.
You should report this incident by e-mailing the Census Bureau at itso.fraud.reporting@census.gov.
I found the following information on the Census Bureau Website at http://www.census.gov/epct/mso/related_information/013440.html and I'd appreciate it if regular FGI readers would share this info with others:
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And besides all that, what we need is a decentralized, distributed system of depositing electronic files to local libraries willing to host them." -- Daniel Cornwall, tipping his hat to Cato the Elder for the original quote.
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