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Monday 19 SepteMber 2022
Report: Some census takers who fudged data didn't get fired
By MIKE SCHNEIDER
Associated Press
Some census takers who
falsified information dur-
ing the 2020 count didn't
have their work redone ful-
ly, weren't fired in a timely
manner and in some cas-
es even received bonus-
es, according to the U.S.
Commerce Department's
watchdog group.
The findings released Friday
by the Office of Inspec-
tor General raise concerns
about possible damage to
the quality of the once-a-
decade head count that
determines political power
and federal funding, of a residence Aug. 11, 2020, in Winter Park, Fla.
Off-campus students at
colleges and universities
were likely undercounted stop the spread of CO-
since the census started VID-19 in March 2020, the mented cases of census an interview in just a few the written response.
around the same time stu- review found.
dents were sent home to During the 2020 census, by their supervisors to en- trol check, others census college and university stu-
ter false information into precedented challenges
a computer system about including the pandemic,
homes they had not visited natural disasters and po-
so they could close cases litical interference from the
during the waning days of Trump administration.
the census. In response to the Inspector
Supervisors were able to General's report, the Cen-
track their census takers' sus Bureau said it appre-
work in real time through ciated the concerns that
mobile devices that the were raised but disagreed
census takers used to re- with the conclusions that
cord information about data quality may have
households' numbers, de- been damaged since the
mographic characteristics report cited only a small
and members' relationships number of cases out of the
to one another. As a result, overall workload.
supervisors would get alerts "As a result, we asserted
when actions raised red that the findings could not
A briefcase of a census taker is seen as she knocks on the door flags about accuracy, such and should not be pre-
as a census taker recording sented as a conclusive as-
Associated Press data on a home while far sessment of overall census
away from the address or quality," Census Bureau Di-
The Associated Press docu- a census taker conducting rector Robert Santos said in
takers who were pressured minutes. As a quality con- Under Census Bureau rules,
takers were sent back to dents should have been
homes to re-interview resi- counted where they spent
dents. the most time, either at
The Inspector General's on-campus housing or off-
probe concluded that campus apartments, even
some alerts weren't being if they were sent home be-
properly resolved, some re- cause of the pandemic.
interviews weren't properly Most schools didn't provide
conducted and that the the Census Bureau with off-
work of some census tak- campus student data, and
ers whose work had been the bureau had to use a
flagged for falsifying data last-resort, less-accurate
had not been reworked statistical tool to fill in the
to fix its accuracy. In fact, information gaps on more
some census takers whose than 10% of the off-campus
work was flagged for falsi- student population when
fications were given more they were given the infor-
cases, weren't fired and mation, the Inspector Gen-
were reassigned to other eral's report said.
operations, the report said. Schools often didn't pro-
Of the 1,400 census tak- vide the data because
ers who were designated they didn't information on
"hard fails" because ques- off-campus students or be-
tions about the accuracy cause of privacy concerns.
of their work, only 300 were The Inspector General rec-
fired for misconduct or un- ommends passage of leg-
satisfactory performance. islation that would require
Of the 1,400 "hard fail" cen- schools to provide needed
sus takers, 1,300 of them information in future head
received bonuses ranging counts.
from $50 to $1,600 each, "Although difficult to quan-
the report said. tify, the fiscal implication of
The census is the largest specifically undercounting
nonmilitary mobilization in off-campus students at the
the U.S. Data gathered dur- correct location for states
ing the census determines and localities is potentially
how many congressional far-reaching," the report
seats each state gets. The said.
numbers also are used for The city of Boston, which
redrawing political districts is home to Northeastern
and distributing $1.5 trillion University, Boston Uni-
in federal spending each versity and several other
year. Because of that, un- schools, said in a chal-
dercounts can cost com- lenge to its census figures
munities funding. that the count missed 6,000
The 2020 census faced un- students.q