Census forms in the mail

Those who live in Yuma County and get mail will start receiving their 2010 Census questionnaires on Monday.

"They need to fill it out and mail it back," said Rosie Cordova, local census office manager, who added the postage is prepaid.

Cordova said the census form asks the names of the people in the household, their dates of birth, their gender, ethnicity, origin of their race and their relationship to the head of household.

Census employees are already hand-delivering the questionnaire to residences that do not receive mail, she said.

Cordova said census workers will never ask for personal information such as bank account or Social Security numbers. She said anyone who asks for such information is most likely a fraud and people should contact their local police department.

"Every employee has an ID badge. It does not have a picture, but has their handwritten name."

To verify the legitimacy of a census worker who comes to your house, call 1-866-872-6868.

Cordova said it is important for people to mail the questionnaire after filling it out completely as soon as they are able.

"First of all we need to remember it is the law. We are required by the Constitution to complete the count for everyone in the U.S. Aside from that, it is our duty and obligation to answer the questionnaire. A lot of money gets allocated to the states and cities based on the count from the census. These dollars are not only good for one year, but for the next 10 years."

Those who do not send in the questionnaires will be contacted by phone or in person.

"If people return the questionnaires and fill them out completely, we will have no reason to contact them, and it will save taxpayer money. It is a very simple questionnaire with 10 questions which will take 10 minutes or less to fill out. It is very safe and our census employees have taken an oath for life not to divulge any of the information they gather, and we do not share the information we gather with any other government agency."

For those needing assistance with the census, there will be 44 questionnaire assistance centers throughout Yuma County and Parker, some of which are already open.

The Yuma Sun office, 2055 S. Arizona Ave. in Yuma, will also be a questionnaire assistance center from 9 a.m. to noon, Mondays through Fridays, March 19-April 19. Visit the U.S. Census site at www.census2010.gov or call 1-866-872-6868 to find a location.

The 2010 census will be the 22nd that has been conducted since the founding of the United States. The first was held in 1790 under the direction of Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson.