Census workshop held on Coast

Census workshop browses Web

By LEIGH COLEMAN - Sun Herald

LONG BEACH — The 2010 census is only a few weeks away. In March, forms will be delivered to every residence in the United States.

To prepare for the census, local government agencies gathered for a workshop Wednesday to learn how to navigate the Census Bureau’s new Web site.

The workshop was held at the University of Southern Mississippi’s Gulf Coast campus. It was hosted by the Gulf Coast Regional Planning Commission and the Census Bureau.

“The new Web site will be similar to a Google search with images and will be simple and easy to maneuver through. Everybody can use this information,” said the commission’s transportation planner, Martha Faures.

“The Web site is a fountain of information and the data is used by libraries, planners, governments, non-profits and developers. Getting an accurate count of all Coast residents is critical to our future funding, and our information will be on this site for all to see.”

The new site, www.2010census.gov, includes an animated marquee and images, downloadable language guides, blogs and an interactive census form.

Census officials said the form is one of the shortest in history and takes less than 10 minutes to complete.

Faures said the population loss after Hurricane Katrina has prompted a strong awareness push for the census on the Coast.

“People do not understand how much we depend on census data. It even affects the roads we travel on,” she said.

The workshop also focused on training Coast officials and organizations in the use of census data.

Attendees learned how to use data for grant-writing for emergency services, housing, education and economic development.