Cheikh Tall is a Partnership Specialist with the US Census Bureau, he  joins us to speak on the US Census 2010 and the importance of minority and immigrant community participation and what the Census Bureau is doing to promote and ensure inclusion. This segment was aired on Saturday March 6, 2010 on AfrobeatRadio on WBAI Pacifica Radio 99.5 FM New York.

Cheikh Tall on US Census 2010 from AfrobeatRadio on Vimeo

According to information provided by the US Census Bureau reproduced below:

We (US Census Bureau) depend on your cooperation and trust, and promise to protect the confidentiality of your information. Title 13 of the U.S. Code protects the confidentiality of all your information and violating this law is a crime with severe penalties. In addition, other federal laws, including the Confidential Statistical Efficiency Act and the Privacy Act reinforce these protections.

From the U.S. Census Bureau website:

The census is mandated by the U.S. Constitution.

The next census is in 2010.

Your participation in the census is required by law.

It takes less than 10 minutes to complete.

Federal law protects the personal information you share during the census.

Private information is never published

It is against the law to disclose or publish any of the following information:

Names

Addresses including GPS coordinates

Social Security numbers

Telephone numbers

We collect Information to Produce Statistics

We use your information to produce statistics. Your answers cannot be used against you by any government agency or court.

Sworn for Life to Protect Your Confidentiality

All Census Bureau employees take the oath of nondisclosure and are sworn for life to protect the confidentiality of the data.

Violating the Oath Is a Serious Crime

The penalty for unlawful disclosure is a fine of up to $250,000 or imprisonment of up to 5 years, or both.

According to Jonathan Kraft, in an article culled from his website, a Census worker may ask:

Verification of your address

Your name

Your age

Your race

Your gender

A salary range

A Census worker will not ask:

Your social security number

Bank account information

Credit card information

Donations

Avoid Phishing and Email Scams:

Census workers may contact you in person, by mail or even by phone but Census workers WILL NOT contact anyone by email or through the internet.

Do not click on any links or attachments that are supposedly from the Census Bureau or you’ll be at risks for identity theft or computer malware.

If you receive a phishing e-mail that says it is from the Census Bureau, do not open it but report it here:itso.fraud.reporting@census.gov.

Posted by AfrobeatRadio