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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2001

In a move that could prove costly to states and local governments -- and in turn, American Indians and Alaska Natives -- the Census Bureau on Wednesday decided against using sampled data to distribute $185 billion in federal funds.

Having already declared the Census 2000 the most accurate in history, the government has since readjusted an assesment of its accuracy, said Census Bureau acting director William Baron at a press conference. Previously, the government said as many as 3.2 million Americans -- a substantial portion of them American Indian and Alaska Native -- were missed by census takers.

But due to a "substantial error" in how the government checks the Census, that number has now been reduced, said Baron. Instead of missing 1.2 percent, less than 1 percent of the nation's 281 million people were undercounted, he said.

"The effect of this new evidence is that the Accuracy and Coverage Evaluation (A.C.E.) survey overstated the net undercount by at least 3 million people," said Baron, referring to a survey the Census previously released in February.

"This finding of substantial error, in conjunction with remaining uncertainties, necessitates that revisions, based on additional review and analysis, be made . . . before any potential uses of these data can be considered," he added.

Baron gave no indication of when those adjustments might come, nor has the Bureau released an updated accuracy survey. But when it was first released, the survey showed as many as 6.71 percent of American Indians and Alaska Natives living on reservations were missed last year.

For Native Americans living off reservations, the figure was just as bad, with as many as 5.47 percent of urban Indians being missed. Yet despite the improvement over the 1990 Census -- which missed a whopping 12.2 percent of Indian Country -- Native Americans had the largest "net undercount" of any racial or ethnic group in the country last year.

The effect, say local and tribal planners, is that federal funding can never meet the need of Indian communities. And due to the high undercount of reservation and non-reservation Native Americans, Indian Country is hit twice -- both from state and local funding and through the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Service.

For major Indian urban areas like Albuquerque, New Mexico, the undercount proves costly to Native people, say researchers. According to Ted Jojola, a University of New Mexico researcher who also chairs the American Indian / Alaska Native Census 2000 Advisory Committee, Native Americans will not receive adequate education, health and social services due to the Census inaccuracies.

In its final report to Congress, the U.S. Census Monitoring Board, a bipartisan group which watches over the Census, a number of Native-heavy states stand to lose the most in federal funds. Alaska had the highest state undercount, said the board, followed by Hawaii and then New Mexico.

Alaska, with an estimated 16 percent Native population, would stand to lose out on $108 million over the next 10 years, according to the board. New Mexico, where about 9 percent is Native, will lose $109 million, said the board.

The Census Bureau has previously decided to use raw data for political redistricting purposes. A number of lawsuits in Alaska and New Mexico are challenging the voting power of Natives.

To arrive at yesterday's decision, Baron relied on the recommendation of the Executive Steering Committee for Accuracy and Coverage and Evaluation Policy (ESCAP).

Ed. Note: Due to a typographical error, $185 billion was misstated as $185 million.

Get Census Statement:
Statement of Acting Census Bureau Director William Barron Regarding the Adjustment Decision (10/17)

Get Undercount Estimates, from the U.S. Census Monitoring Board:
Population: State | Population: County | Federal Funding: State | Federal Funding: County

Get Indian Undercount Report:
Profiling the Native American Community in Albuquerque: Assessing the Impacts of Census Undercounts and Adjustments (US Census Monitoring Board February 2001)

Relevant Links:
US Census Monitoring Bureau - http://www.cmpb.gov
US Census Bureau - http://www.census.gov

Related Stories:
Redistricting to be based on raw Census data (3/7)
Census recommends no adjustment (3/2)
Fight over Census data continues (2/21)
Census estimates show improvement (2/15)
Report warns of Census undercount (2/12)