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With the 2010 census count beginning this month, states are launching their efforts to make sure everyone gets counted in the decennial survey of the U.S. population. But with threadbare budgets and fast-changing demographics, many states face huge obstacles to making the census successful.

Fear of a serious undercount in the upcoming US Census has prompted one state agency to take some action. The South Carolina State Housing Finance and Development Authority has launched an effort to make sure that all South Carolinians who benefit from state and federal housing programs are reported in Census 2010.

According to the US Census Monitoring Board, every Southern state was undercounted in the 2000 Census, causing each state to lose millions in federal funding. “We don't want South Carolina to be short-changed,” said Valarie M. Williams, executive director of SC State Housing. “If the state population is undercounted, we’ll have to live with that for ten years.”

Williams said her agency has invited participation of Census officials at public meetings such as the recent statewide Palmetto Affordable Housing Forum – a two-day event that attracted more than 500 attendees. She’s also asking for the cooperation of all owners of affordable rental housing developments to help make sure all residents get counted. “Many of the housing programs we administer are population-based,” she explained, citing Private Activity Bond Cap, which allows SC State Housing to sell Mortgage Revenue Bonds to fund its home buyer programs, as well as the Housing Tax Credit, a valuable incentive for developers of affordable housing. Losses would also be severe for the HOME Program and in the Section 8 Rental Assistance Program, which consistently has waiting lists in most counties.

Census Bureau officials say that only about half of the families who receive a census form through the mail actually return it. In the 2000 Census, South Carolina ranked 49th out of 50 states for completed and returned census forms. The Bureau hires staff to follow up with households that don’t return the form, but they still have trouble reaching large numbers who choose not to cooperate.

The 2010 Census will be especially important to Southern states. Depending on how the census count goes, the region stands to gain as many as eight congressional seats and Electoral College votes.

A recent Stateline.org piece, based on projections by Election Data Services, estimates a pickup of eight seats (and votes) in the South: one each in South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and North Carolina, and four in Texas.

There are problems plaguing this region. Many Southern states have a disproportionate share of the populations that are historically undercounted in the Census: African-Americans, new immigrants, low-income residents and military families.

New immigrants – whose populations are rising fastest in Southern states – pose a real challenge for an accurate census count. Many fear the census data will be used for deportation.

“Census workers don’t ask about the immigration status of residents,” Williams said, “they’re simply trying to get an accurate population count.” The Census Bureau is required by law to protect the data it collects. It can not be accessed by other government agencies.

For more information on the Census, call 1.800.923.8282, or www.2010.census.gov. For more information on SC State Housing and its programs, visit the agency’s website: www.schousing.com. SC State Housing is the state's leading provider of capital for affordable housing and is a self-supporting agency of state government.

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