During the 2010 Census, the U.S. Census Bureau was responsible for providing telephone support to callers who needed assistance in completing their questionnaires through a program called Telephone Questionnaire Assistance. The program provided support in the form of answers to frequently asked questions and census questionnaire help, providing the ability to request census materials, and capturing census responses with the assistance of a telephone representative. Unique toll-free telephone numbers provided dedicated support for callers in various languages, including English, Spanish, Chinese (initially Mandarin, then Cantonese was later added), Korean, Vietnamese, Russian, as well as for callers originating in Puerto Rico (English and Spanish), callers receiving experimental questionnaires as part of the 2010 Census Program for Evaluations and Experiments (English and Spanish), and callers to the Telephone Device for the Deaf. Calls to the stateside English and Spanish language telephone numbers connected to a front-end Interactive Voice Response system where a caller could obtain information by selecting from a series of menu options before transferring to a representative, if needed. These numbers were available to the public from February 25 through July 30, 2010.

The purpose of this assessment is to document aspects of the Telephone Questionnaire Assistance operation related to the performance of the program, as well as to provide recommendations to consider in the next planning cycle in support of the 2020 Census.