Published on: Wednesday, May 05, 2010

Maryland’s participation rate in the 2010 Census was 74 percent, which matched the state’s rate in the 2000 count of population, according to the U. S. Census Bureau’s report last week. Maryland’s rate is higher than the national rate of 72 percent and tied for 15th place among U.S. states. The participation rate is the percentage of the census forms, or questionnaires, sent to households that have been mailed back to the Census Bureau. Prince George’s County had a mail-back rate of 71 percent, which is the same as 2000. Baltimore City exceeded its 2000 rate of 60 percent, achieving 66 percent. That was the largest improvement recorded in the country compared to the 2000 Census by a city with more than 500,000 residents. Baltimore City is joined by 15 Maryland counties that matched or exceeded their 2000 participation rate, including Garrett County which had the highest improvement of 11 percentage points. The Baltimore Data Capture Center in Essex, processed about 40 percent of the nation’s questionnaires as one of three facilities that processed census forms in the U.S. “Hearing that Maryland has exceeded its 2000 mail back in this first phase of Census 2010 is great news but comes as no surprise to me,” said Gov. Martin O’Malley. “We have been stressing all year that an undercount could cost us federal revenue over the next decade. Folks from all of Maryland’s communities rolled up their sleeves and worked together to tell their neighbors how important this census was. Our partners all across the state, the local complete count committees and my Census 2010 State Outreach Team all did their part to make this our best count ever.” O’Malley launched a yearlong comprehensive outreach campaign over a year ago, with the theme “The Success of the Census—It’s In Our Hands, Maryland,” to capture the grassroots energy of numerous local and statewide organizations and committees. Dr. Benjamin Carson, the renowned John Hopkins neurosurgeon, served as honorary spokesman for the state effort. The objective of this effort was to inform all Marylanders of the importance of the census and encourage everyone to fill out and return their forms. Importance was placed on areas that are traditionally undercounted, such as Baltimore City and other urban areas. “This successful Maryland census equals investment in services and programs like job training, education, health care and transit and infrastructure improvements for our families and our communities for years to come,” said Planning Secretary Richard Hall. “I join the governor in congratulating the local complete count committees for their tireless work letting their fellow Marylanders know how important this count is to our state.” The Governor’s Census 2010 Outreach Team spent less than 1 percent of the Census 2000 budget in matching the 2000 mail-back rate. Led by Planning Secretary Richard Hall, Secretary of State John McDonough and Izzy Patoka, Director of the Governor’s Office on Community Initiatives, the Governor’s Census 2010 Outreach Team leveraged every state agency to take its message to the people of Maryland—that the Census is safe, important and easy. Working with 19 counties, seven municipalities—and the Baltimore City Complete Count Committees and numerous interfaith and community groups— Census 2010 in Maryland was a partnership effort. Maryland state agencies reached out to their constituents and many went beyond. Examples include: the Maryland Department of Human Resources prepared a Census video message and developed a census window display; the Maryland State Department of Education advocated for teaching children about the importance of the census in the schools; the Maryland Departments of Transportation, Aging and Health and Mental Hygiene offered MVA branches, senior centers and health clinics to serve as centers for census assistance; the Maryland Transit Administration placed census banners and signs at metro and light rail stops and on buses as well as assisting with recruiting; the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services made certain that the Census Bureau had access to all state correctional facilities. The mail back phase of the 2010 Census was completed on Friday, April 16. The next phase, which started Saturday, May 1, involves census “enumerators,” deputized employees of the U. S. Census Bureau, visiting those households that have not returned a census form, as determined by the bureau, and completing their forms. This is the most costly part of the process, estimated to be up to $57 per household visited. The Census is a 10-year count of every individual residing in the United States. Congressional representation and certain federal and state formula-based funding depends on a clear, accurate count of every individual who lives in Maryland. It is estimated that an undercount of as little as 1,000 of Maryland’s roughly 5.8 million residents could translate to as much as $10 million dollars in lost federal funding over the next decade. For more information and updates, visit http://Census.Maryland.gov.

PARTICIPATION RATES BY COUNTY

Prince George’s County: 71%

Montgomery County: 78%

Howard County: 79%

Anne Arundel County: 76%

Charles County: 76%

Calvert County: 78%