Lacking State Funding, Census Response Rates Lag

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) – State and local governments hammered by the recession have cut spending on outreach for the 2010 U.S. Census, leaving hard-to-reach neighborhoods with response rates that may fall behind the count a decade ago, officials said.

The funding cutbacks have come at all levels, and at a cost.

California, for example, dedicated $24.7 million to the Census 2000 campaign. Although an undercount could cost the state billions in federal funding and a Congressional seat, this year’s outreach budget is only $2 million.

Two weeks into the count, the state’s census form return rates are about 10 percent behind the 2000 total, officials said, adding that the numerical disparity would be worse without the efforts of philanthropic and community-based organizations.

“We need to make a push to make sure we at least stay even,” said Louis Stewart, deputy director of California’s census outreach. “There is a lot riding on this count.”

More than $435 billion a year is distributed by the federal government to states based on census-driven funding formulas. California could lose about $3,000 a year for each resident not counted in the 2010 census…