Furthermore, the census offers us the opportunity to demonstrate pride in our culture and in our contributions to this society. Too few people respond We all can be certain that the information we provide is held in the strictest confidence. Federal law protects the confidentiality of the information collected by the U.S. Census Bureau. Individual responses cannot be shared with any other agencies or organizations and are held confidential for 72 years. High-level security measures and the requirement that every employee swear an oath to keep information confidential also protect the privacy of census data.
Employees face harsh penalties for violating the law or their oaths.
Despite the importance of the census and the protections afforded the data, during the past few decades, the number of people who have completed and mailed back their census forms has been declining steadily. The national mail response rate has dropped from 78 percent in 1970 to 75 percent in 1980 to 65 percent in 1990. In fact, only 58 percent of Wilmington's residents mailed back their forms in 1990. As a result, the Census Bureau estimates that 2.87 percent of our population was not counted in 1990. Reverse the trend This lack of participation adversely affects our community.