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 Release Information CB12-256 **Contact:**  Public Information Office
301-763-3030
 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  THURSDAY, DEC. 27, 2012 Census Bureau to Complete Regional Office Realignment The U.S Census Bureau's 18-month agenda to  realign its field offices across the nation for the first time in 50 years will  be completed by January 2013. The restructuring, announced on June 29, 2011, closes regional offices in Boston, Charlotte,  Dallas, Detroit, Kansas City and Seattle. The field realignment is part of the digital  transformation of the Census Bureau, moving from a bricks-and-mortar model of  regional offices to a virtual management structure, and leverages modern survey  practices, such as telework, and better tools for field interviews. The new  alignment creates an increase of timely information and a more efficient data  collection process, while reducing the cost of surveys by an estimated $15  million to $18 million annually. The new structure redistributes  responsibilities to the remaining  offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, New York and Philadelphia.  This new six-region design allows about 630 supervisory  staff to work out of their homes, providing more efficient data collection in  more locations. The supervisory field staff  has the benefit of working directly with local teams of field representatives  managing all data collection for specific areas of geography. "We undertook this alignment to take  advantage of the technology available to us while preserving the quality of our  data collection activity in the field," said Thomas Mesenbourg, the Census  Bureau's acting director. "In the current era of modern technology we are able  to do more with less." Staff at the Census  Bureau's regional offices collect data for surveys, update geographic features  important to the Bureau, disseminate statistics created from the data  collection and serve as contacts for local media and local organizations to  improve participation in censuses and surveys. Approximately 270 permanent positions were cut as a result of the closing of six regional  offices. About 88 of the permanent affected employees have been placed  into positions at Census Bureau headquarters or in one of the six remaining  regional offices, while others have taken advantage of a buyout and early  retirement options approved by the Office of Personnel Management. "The Census  Bureau has been committed to finding the best possible outcome for each  affected employee in a closing office," Mesenbourg said. "We have  been offering job counseling, resume writing courses and other types of  assistance since the announcement to close six regional offices was made in  2011." The realignment increases efficiency, enhances  data quality and reduces costs beginning in fiscal year 2014. To learn more about the new  regional office realignment and to view the states serviced by each office,  visit <https://www.census.gov/regions/>.
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