Richmond among ‘hard-to-count’

For the first time in the history of the census, the number of people living in Contra Costa County is estimated to exceed one million. History also indicates that many residents do not respond to the decennial survey, however, county officials say.

"Richmond is actually considered one of the highest hard-to-count populations not only in Contra Costa County, but in the entire state," said Nathan Rapp, district representative from the office of Sen. Loni Hancock (D-Oakland). "We really need to alleviate some of the fears that people have about the census."

Communities with high levels of poverty, vacant housing units and unemployment, such as North Richmond, tend to have as low as a 50 percent response rate, Senior Planner of the Department of Conservation and Development Kristine Solseng said.

Though the exact reasons are unknown, studies have found that metropolitan cities and their surrounding regions are typically undercounted because of a variety of barriers that lead residents to disregard the survey's importance.

It is possible that people are reluctant to participate because they do not understand the census' intentions, or they fear the government because of experiences in their country of origin, Rapp said.

Also, immigrant households, or those with low literacy levels, may not understand the language, he said.

When people do not know how to fill out the survey, there is a huge chance that they will not complete it, Rapp said.

But by ignoring the census, the fact that lower-income areas like Richmond need additional resources for health centers and education cannot be recognized.

"It's a catch-22," Solseng said. "That's why it's important for us to get a complete count — for each person we miss, we can lose up to $12,000 in federal funds for state and local agencies."

According to the U.S. Census Bureau's official Web site, there were 948,816 residents reported in the county in the year 2000. Of the American Community Survey's (ACS) estimates from 2006-08, which measures average characteristics within a three-year time period, the total was 1,016,696.

The July 1 projection by the ACS reached 1,068,759 people, Solseng said, and it is possible that the actual figures of 2010 may be higher.

One reason for the population increases in the county could be the considerable amount of previous unused land in 2000 that was developed for housing purposes throughout the decade, she said, such as the local city of Hercules.

But due to the ongoing nationwide economic recession and the numbers of home foreclosures and relocated residents, counting might prove to be more difficult than expected, Solseng said.

"The standard vacancy rate has been thrown out the window," she said. "We have people moving in with friends and family, and there are lots of vacant homes."

Among other changes include potential increases in educational attainment.

Though the recently adapted short-form census no longer asks about schooling directly, the educational attainment rate of county residents over the age of 25 has steadily increased.

In the census year 2000, 42.7 percent of the population held an associate degree or higher. Based on the ACS's three-year estimate of 2006-2008, there was a 3.4 percent increase.

Whether this increase is due to the population growth or more people pursuing a degree is not certain, but Solseng said that as a general rule, each county wants to see its population become more educated.

Solseng, also part of the Contra Costa County Complete Count Committee, one of several nationwide organizations dedicated to increasing census responses in hard-to-count communities, said that the bulk of outreach in the county has been at the hands of volunteers.

The money that the county can afford to promote the survey this year does not come close to the amount of money spent for the same purposes in 2000, she said, which makes volunteerism efforts of extreme importance.

Through events, they hope to reach faith-based organizations, and in turn positively influence members of the congregations and their neighbors to spread the word about completing the form.

"The focus at this point in time is really making sure that everyone gets counted," Rapp said.

Contact Holly Pablo at hpablo.advocate@gmail.com