United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office General Government Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1997-07-14 monographic deposited born digital 96 p. GA 1.13:GGD-97-142 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GGD-97-142 P0b002ee18039fb6b f:gg97142 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GGD-97-142 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GGD-97-142 GGD-97-142 Census Data collection Population statistics Statistical methods Projections Surveys Data integrity Interagency relations Cost control Planning 2000 Decennial Census Census Bureau Post Enumeration Survey Census Bureau Outreach and Promotion Initiative Letter Report GGD

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO updated the information provided in its October 25, 1995 testimony on the Census Bureau's plans for the 2000 Decennial Census, focusing on: (1) the Bureau's progress on its plans concerning the initiatives discussed in GAO's 1997 testimony; and (2) whether the Bureau has demonstrated the feasibility of its plans for carrying out the 2000 Decennial Census.<p/>GAO noted that: (1) since GAO's October 1995 testimony, the Census Bureau has continued with the planning of the new design initiatives that GAO and others have suggested, which are aimed at increasing the mail response rate; (2) this is important because it will reduce the need for follow-up visits by enumerators, the most costly, difficult to manage, and error-prone operation in the census; (3) the Bureau has continued to develop its plan for dealing with those who do not respond by mail and for checking the quality of the results it gets from mail responses and from visits by enumerators; (4) its current plan, which was put forth in March 1997, is to statistically sample those who do not respond to its mail survey; (5) the Bureau believes that this approach offers the best combination of reduced costs, improved accuracy expected at various geographic levels and operational feasibility; (6) the Bureau developed accuracy estimates by simulating what the results of the census would likely be under various design options; (7) after the Bureau made several modifications, GAO concluded that, if the Bureau's methods and assumptions were properly applied, the final data produced in June 1997 should be generally reasonable for use in projecting the likely effects of the Bureau's proposed sampling and statistical estimation initiatives; (8) because of concerns about the potential effects of sampling at the local level, GAO requested that the Bureau provide more detailed data on error rates at the census tract level; (9) the Bureau's simulations showed that the March 1977 sampling design plan would likely produce more accurate population estimates in two-thirds of the census tracts than using a conventional design once again; (10) as of July 1, 1997, the Bureau had not shared the detailed results of its analysis with Congress, nor had it yet fully demonstrated the operational feasibility of its current plan to Congress; (11) the Bureau is planning a dress rehearsal for the 2000 Census in 1998 to demonstrate and test its design features; and (12) it is important for Congress and the administration to reach agreement on the design as soon as possible before the dress rehearsal so that: (a) the Bureau can test what it plans to implement in 2000; (b) Congress and the Bureau can discuss the operational feasibility of the plan in terms of the dress rehearsal results; and (c) Congress and the Bureau can determine whether the dres* https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GGD-97-142/html/GAOREPORTS-GGD-97-142.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GGD-97-142/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GGD-97-142.pdf GAO/GGD-97-142 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GGD-97-142 Letter Report GAO/GGD-97-142; 2000 Census: Progress Made on Design, but Risks Remain; Census Data collection Population statistics Statistical methods Projections Surveys Data integrity Interagency relations Cost control Planning 2000 Decennial Census Census Bureau Post Enumeration Survey Census Bureau Outreach and Promotion Initiative Title 13 Section 141(a) Title 13 Section 195 13 U.S.C. 141(a) 13 U.S.C. 195 Public Law 105-18