2000 Census: It's important to be counted (02/13/00)

2000 Census: It's important to be counted

by Dr. Oleh Wolowyna
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - On April 1, the U.S. Bureau of the Census will conduct the year 2000 Census of Housing and Population. This decennial event has special importance for Ukrainians for the following reasons:

The census provides the only reliable source for estimating the total number of self-declared persons of Ukrainian ancestry residing in the United States, and the number of persons speaking Ukrainian at home.
The same questions about ancestry and language will be asked in 2000, as were asked in the 1980 and 1990 censuses, providing the opportunity to analyze trends for the last 20 years in marriage and linguistic assimilation, geographical dispersion, socio-economic status, etc.
The new data will provide an update about the situation of Ukrainians in the United States: number and geographical distribution, assimilation process, socio-economic and housing characteristics, etc.
The 2000 census will offer a unique opportunity for estimating the numbers and characteristics of new immigrants from Ukraine to the United States in the last decade.

In addition, the information is basically free - actually it is paid for by U.S. taxes.

It is important to point out the nature of census data, so that they are interpreted correctly:

The definition of "Ukrainian" is based on the answer provided by each person to the following question: "What is the person's ancestry or ethnic origin"? (We are fortunate that "Ukrainian" is listed under this question among the examples of possible answers). Persons of mixed ancestry can declare two different ancestries (Ukrainian-Polish, Irish-Ukrainian, etc.). Thus, it is up to each respondent to state if he/she (and the other members of the household) are of Ukrainian ancestry or not.

The same applies to the language questions: "Does this person speak a language other than English at home?" If the answer is Yes, the respondent is then asked: "What is this language?" Here again only those persons who write in "Ukrainian" are counted as speaking Ukrainian.

Both the ancestry and language questions are in the so called "long" form, which will be mailed to about one in every six households. The other households will receive the "short" form, which does not have these questions. Thus, every incorrect answer - persons of Ukrainian ancestry and/or those who speak Ukrainian at home, but who do not state this on the census form - will be equivalent to six incorrect answers.

The concept of Ukrainian ancestry does not tell us anything about the person's involvement (or lack of) in Ukrainian activities. However, it can serve as a useful benchmark, i.e., indicating a potential maximum of members for different organizations and churches. Comparing that number for a city with the combined memberships of all the organizations and churches in the city can be a sobering experience.

Within these qualifications, census data are extremely valuable. They are the only fairly objective data for estimating the total number of persons of Ukrainian ancestry residing in the United States, their demographic, social, cultural, economic and housing characteristics. They provide the only statistically defensible means for measuring important trends like intermarriage and language assimilation. A national survey to gather similar information would be prohibitively costly.

It is very important for every city and community - as well as for every social or ethnic group - to make sure that the census count is as accurate as possible. The federal government uses census numbers to allocate over $100 billion in federal funds annually for community development, health care services for the elderly, job training and more. Cities lose millions of dollars yearly due to undercounts of their population.

In the case of an ethnic group, for example, an accurate estimate of Ukrainian senior citizens in a city with a large Ukrainian population could be used in applications for special welfare funds.

Census counts are used to determine the number of representatives in Congress, and to define voting districts. An accurate count of potential Ukrainian voters could be used for political lobbying.

Profiles of neighborhoods based on census data are used by planners to estimate a neighborhood's needs, and by businesses to make investment decisions and target marketing campaigns. Ukrainian organizations should take advantage of these data for better planning and for setting more realistic goals.

The accuracy of census data has been a hotly debated issue in Congress, and the Bureau of the Census has gone to great lengths to assure as accurate a count as possible. Many cities, as well as some ethnic groups, have organized special committees to make sure that all their members are counted. Both census questionnaires, short and long, are available in many languages - Ukrainian included - for persons who do not understand English.

Many organizations of all types (businesses, unions, churches, ethnic organizations, etc.) have become "Census Partners," working in collaboration with the Bureau of the Census to make sure that their members are counted accurately. Among these Census Partners are ethnic organizations like American Polish Congress, the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, American Jewish Committee, Council of Jewish Federations, Japanese American Citizens League, National Italian-American Foundation, etc. No Ukrainian organization or church is on the list.

Currently the Bureau of the Census is hiring census interviewers and supervisors, and is specially interested in persons of various ethnic backgrounds who speak the language and know the community. The goal is to minimize non-response and to increase the quality of the data. Ukrainians should take advantage of this opportunity, and the time to act is now.

Of special interest to our community is the so-called "Fourth Wave" of immigrants from Ukraine. The 2000 census provides us with a unique opportunity to obtain national, regional and local estimates of their numbers and characteristics. However, the accuracy of this information will depend on how many of them will fill out the census forms and provide accurate information.

It is important to start as soon as possible an aggressive educational campaign to inform members of the Fourth Wave that: a) there are strict confidentiality laws about census data, and there is no danger that their individual information will become public or used for any other purpose than to produce aggregated tabulations; b) the census is not interested in the immigration status of a person - its mandate is to count all persons living in the United States, independently of their immigration status.

For obvious reasons it will not be easy to convince new immigrants of these facts. But an educational campaign in churches and among their networks would go a long way towards producing a reasonable count of this important segment of our community. If this is not accomplished, we will have to continue to rely on speculations and impressions of dubious accuracy, at least at the national level.

To find out more about the census, readers may contact the local offices set up specially for the 2000 census. They are listed on the Bureau of the Census website: www.bucen.gov, or may be obtained by contacting the Public Information Office at telephone, (301) 457-3691; fax, (301) 457-3620.

Oleh Wolowyna is owner and president of the counsulting firm Informed Decisions, Inc., in Chapel Hill, N.C. He has worked as a consultant in the international development field (population and health). He has also done extensive demographic and sociological analysis of Ukrainians in the United States and Canada, as well as demographic analysis of the situation in Ukraine.

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