Newsroom Archive

The Commerce Department's Census Bureau will use special enumeration procedures called "Service-Based Enumeration" (SBE) to count people without conventional housing in ____________________ (city) during Census 2000. The operation will take place March 27-29.

"We will make every effort to count every person regardless of where they reside," said ___________________ (regional director) of the ______________ (area) Regional Census Center. "People live in traditional and non-traditional dwellings. Service-based enumeration is a technique that will help us fulfill our goal and commitment to all residents so everyone is included in the decennial census."

The operation will take place at emergency shelters; transitional shelters; shelters for children who are runaways, neglected or without housing, hotels and motels that operate under contract to provide shelter to people without housing, soup kitchens; regularly scheduled mobile food vans; and targeted non-sheltered outdoor locations.

During SBE, enumerators first will meet with facility staff, including the designated contact person who will review the enumeration procedures.

On March 27, 2000, at both emergency and transitional shelters, enumerators will record the names of residents, including children, and ask each to fill out an Individual Census Report.

The next day, March 28, teams of enumerators will interview persons at soup kitchens and at regularly scheduled mobile food van stops. Census workers will fill out an Individual Census Questionnaire for each person, including children.

Each targeted, non-sheltered outdoor location, will be visited by a team of enumerators on March 29, between 4 a.m. and 7 a.m. An Individual Census Report will be completed for each individual at these locations.

Note: Reporters may not accompany enumerators or film the enumeration since these actions would violate the provisions of confidentiality mandated by Title 13, U.S.C. The Census Bureau has prepared B-Roll simulating the enumeration for use by broadcast media. Contact the Census Bureau at the telephone number shown above.