Census slowdown no problem
- By Judi Hasson
- Mar 08, 2000
The Census Bureau found that the data capture process required for many
write-in items took longer than expected during the bureau's last test-run
of the system two weeks ago, Census Director Kenneth Prewitt said Wednesday.
In testimony before the House Government Reform Committee's Census Subcommittee,
Prewitt said the Census Bureau had to change part of the data capture system
to speed up the process. But he assured lawmakers that the change will have
no impact on processing census data.
"At this point, 24 days from Census Day, I am aware of no serious problems
that would put the census at risk," he said. Census Day refers to the official
date people are counted at their usual residence.
To address the data capture problem, Prewitt said, the Census Bureau has
implemented a two-pass system. In the first pass, the scanning system will
capture all of the data on both long and short census forms. In the second
pass, the process will capture data from the long forms.
Most recipients will receive the short form, which includes about a dozen
questions, but one out of every six households will receive the long form,
which includes 52 questions.