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With just five days left to mail back the 2010 Census, the Census Bureau announced today that the national Mail Participation Rate is now at 66 percent. There are just five days left to mail back your 2010 Census form, so if the form is still sitting on your kitchen counter, open it up and mail it back today — before the Friday, April 16, cut-off.

Those who are missing their form or have lost it can pick up a questionnaire at one of 39,000 community locations nationwide and mail it back in the attached postage paid envelope. You can also call one of the Census Bureau's toll-free Telephone Questionnaire Assistance lines to provide your answers over the phone, but there is no guarantee that either of these methods can be processed in time to prevent a visit from a census worker in May. Households that normally pick up their mail from a post office box are already slated for follow-up by census workers in May.

"Our first priority is to have as many people as possible meet our Friday deadline to mail back the form they received in the mail. Please look around your home to see if you still have the form, then fill it out and mail it back — that is the cheapest, fastest way to respond," U.S. Census Bureau Director Robert Groves said.

Be Counted forms, available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and Russian, can be picked up in nearly 39,000 community locations nationwide and mailed back in the attached postage-paid envelope.

"I urge people across America to help us increase our participation rate, which currently is 66 percent nationally. Time is running out and we want to do all that we can to include your response to the census," Groves said.

To find a Questionnaire Assistance Center near you, go to 2010census.gov (see "Need Help with Your Form") or click here http://2010.census.gov/2010census/take10map. Be Counted forms are available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and Russian.

If you would like to respond to the questionnaire by phone, please contact Telephone Questionnaire Assistance at one of the following numbers:

• ENGLISH - 1-866-872-6868
• Chinese: 1-866-935-2010
• Korean: 1-866-955-2010
• Russian: 1-866-965-2010
• Spanish: 1-866-928-2010
• Vietnamese: 1-866-945-2010
• TDD (Telephone Display Device for the hearing impaired): -866-783-2010
• Puerto Rico (in English): 1-866-939-2010
• Puerto Rico (in Spanish): 1-866-929-2010

ABOUT THE 2010 CENSUS

The 2010 Census is a count of everyone living in the United States and is mandated by the U.S. Constitution. Census data are used to apportion congressional seats to states, to distribute more than $400 billion in federal funds to tribal, state and local governments each year and to make decisions about what community services to provide. The 2010 Census form is one of the shortest in U.S. history, consisting of 10 questions, taking about 10 minutes to complete. Strict confidentiality laws protect the respondents and the information they provide.