Wednesday, February 16, 2011
How to Challenge a Census Count
The 2010 Census Count Question Resolution (CQR) Program
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is the 2010 Census Count Question Resolution Program?
The 2010 Census Count Question Resolution (CQR) Program is the mechanism for state, local and tribal officials of governmental units in the U.S. and Puerto Rico to challenge the 2010 Census counts of housing units and group quarters. The program will begin on June 1, 2011, following the release of the 2010 Census Public Law 94-171 Redistricting data, the Advance Release of Group Quarters Data from Summary File 1, the Demographic Profiles, and Summary File 1 (SF1).
2. What kinds of challenges will the Census Bureau process?
The Count Question Resolution (CQR) Program will address questions about housing unit and group quarters counts for three types of challenges for the 2010 Decennial Census: (1) boundary, (2) geocoding, and (3) coverage.
(1) Boundary—The CQR Program addresses the inaccurate reporting or the inaccurate recording of boundaries legally in effect on January 1, 2010. The Census Bureau requires documentation to ensure that the geographic assignment information provided by governmental units does not, in fact, reflect boundary changes made after January 1, 2010.
(2) Geocoding—These challenges affect the placement of living quarters and associated population within the correct governmental unit boundaries and census tabulation blocks.
(3) Coverage—These challenges, if upheld by the Census Bureau, result in the addition or deletion of specific living quarters and persons associated with them identified during the census process, but erroneously included as duplicates or excluded due to processing errors.
The Census Bureau will research CQR challenges using existing census records, materials, and files in conjunction with the documentation received from the challenging governmental units.
The revised CQR counts that the Census Bureau issues from the CQR Program are based on the 2010 Census geographic boundaries as of January 1, 2010 and the housing unit and population counts as of April 1, 2010.
The Census Bureau will not collect additional data to resolve CQR challenges. The program does not include challenges to overseas counts of persons in the military or the Island Areas.
The Census Bureau will post errata reflecting CQR-based changes to the 2010 Census data on the American Fact Finder on a flow basis after the first CQR challenges are processed and resolved in the fall of 2011.
3. When will the CQR Program start and end?
The CQR Program will accept CQR challenges beginning June 1, 2011 and ending with challenges that are postmarked, faxed, or emailed by June 1, 2013.
4. What types of governmental units can challenge the 2010 Census counts as a part of this program?
The Census Bureau will research and, if necessary, revise the counts for the following geographic areas:
1. States and statistically equivalent entities can submit challenges for their state or equivalent, plus any counties or equivalent entities, functioning minor civil divisions, incorporated places (including consolidated cities), state designated tribal statistical areas, state-recognized American Indian Reservations, Hawaiian Home Lands, and (in Hawaii and Puerto Rico only) for census designated places within their jurisdiction. Puerto Rico may also submit challenges for sub minor civil divisions.
2. Counties and statistically equivalent entities can submit challenges for their county or equivalent entity plus any functioning minor civil divisions, incorporated places, and (in Hawaii and Puerto Rico only) census designated places within their jurisdiction. Municipios in Puerto Rico may also submit challenges for sub-minor civil divisions.
3. Actively functioning minor civil divisions can submit challenges for their minor civil division plus any incorporated place within their jurisdiction.
4. Incorporated places (including consolidated cities) can submit challenges for their place.
5. Federally-recognized American Indian tribes can submit challenges for American Indian reservation or off-reservation trust lands, tribal designated statistical areas, and Oklahoma tribal statistical areas plus any American Indian tribal subdivisions within their jurisdiction.
6. Alaska Native Regional Corporations can submit challenges for their regional corporation and for Alaska Native Village statistical areas (ANVSAs) within their jurisdiction.
7. Alaska Native Village statistical areas can submit challenges for their ANVSA.
5. How will local government/tribal officials learn about the CQR Program?
As required by the Paper Reduction Act, a Federal Register Notice (FRN) about the 2010 Census CQR Program was posted on May 26, 2010 inviting the general public to comment on the proposed information collection. We expect to post the final CQR Program FRN on the CQR Web site in February 2011, after the Office of Management and Budget approves the clearance package for this program. The Census Bureau will send a 2010 Census CQR brochure to the highest elected official and tribal chairs of each government in the United States and Puerto Rico in early 2011.
6. Who can initiate the challenge process?
The Census Bureau will only accept challenges from the highest elected or appointed official of state, local, and tribal area governmental units, or those designated in writing to represent them or act on their behalf for the specific purpose of preparing and submitting a CQR challenge. The highest elected or appointed official must submit a CQR designation on government letterhead to the CQR Office, or submit the designation via an email message to dmd.cqr@census.gov, from the highest elected, appointed official, or tribal chair’s email address.
7. How can state, local, and tribal area government officials submit a challenge?
State, local, and tribal area government officials must submit their challenge documentation to Census Bureau headquarters directly via email, fax, or mail to initiate the challenge process.
US Mail: Count Question Resolution Program
Decennial Management Division
U.S. Census Bureau
Washington, DC 20233
Telephone: 301-763-9329
FAX: 301-763-9321
E-mail: dmd.cqr@census.gov
8. Will the U.S. Census Bureau accept a challenge and supporting documentation submitted electronically?
Yes. The Census Bureau is providing templates on the CQR Web site <http://2010census.gov/about/cqr> that we request challengers use to provide address lists to support their challenge. We are also including a link on the Census Bureau CQR Web site to maps that challengers can download to insert map spots to support their challenge. Challenging GUs can submit these documents through email by sending them
to dmd.cqr@census.gov. The address templates and maps will be available on the Census Bureau CQR Web site at
http://2010census.gov/about/cqr in January 2011.
9. What type of evidence does a state, local or tribal government need to initiate a challenge to the completeness or accuracy of the 2010 Census housing unit and group quarters counts?
The Census Bureau requires specific documentation before committing resources to investigate a challenge. The submitted challenges must specify whether the challenge disputes 1) the location of a governmental unit boundary in the 2010 Census results that indicate a housing unit or GQ count discrepancy, 2) the location of/or number of housing units and/or group quarters counts in one or more 2010 census tabulation blocks, or 3) both a combination of errors listed in 1 and 2.
Maps must identify the state, county, 2010 census tract(s) and 2010 census tabulation blocks associated with the challenge. If a challenge involves an American Indian Reservation or off-reservation trust land, the maps must identify the American Indian area, census tribal tract, and 2010 census tabulation block boundary. The following is a list of acceptable maps:
• 2010 Census Public Law 94-171 County Block Maps
• 2010 Census County Block Maps
• Maps derived from 2010 TIGER/Line shapefiles
• Other maps or GIS data showing Census Bureau 2010 tabulation block numbers and boundaries
Address lists of housing units and/or group quarters located in the challenged blocks are also required. Acceptable address lists include:
• City-Style Address Lists
• Non-City-Style Address Lists
• Group Quarters Address Lists
The Census Bureau requests that challengers use one or more of the address list templates provided on the Census Bureau CQR Web site, as appropriate, when submitting challenge documentation. In addition, mark the exact location of each challenged address on a map containing 2010 census tract and tabulation block(s). Maps are also available to download or print from the CQR Web site.
10. What happens if a challenge results in a change to the 2010 Census counts?
Revisions to the population and housing unit counts by this program will result in the issuance of new, certified 2010 Census counts to officials of all affected governmental units. These corrections may be used by the governmental units for future programs requiring official 2010 Census data. The 2010 Census CQR Program will not revise the population counts sent to the President by December 31, 2010, which are used to apportion the U.S. House of Representatives. The Census Bureau will not make any changes to the apportionment, redistricting counts, or official 2010 Census data products. The governmental units may use these revised counts for all programs requiring official 2010 Census data. The Census Bureau will send a letter with a re-certification of the population and housing counts to all jurisdictions affected by the results of a CQR challenge. The Census Bureau will use the revised data to modify the decennial census file for annual postcensal population estimates beginning in December 2012. The CQR data will be available as errata on the American FactFinder <
http://factfinder2.census.gov >beginning in the fall of 2011.
11. What happens if the Census Bureau cannot verify a challenge?
If the Census Bureau’s research concludes that all of the 2010 Census boundary information, geocoding, and processing were correctly implemented, the Census Bureau will respond by sending a letter to the official and/or his/her representative stating that the Census Bureau will retain the CQR challenge documentation for consideration in the context of address list updating activities over the decade.
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More information can be found here.
# posted by Cal Skinner : 12:00 PM
