Coming soon to a location near you

In what the government calls "the largest peacetime mobilization in U.S. history," the 500,000 enumerators of the U.S. Census Bureau are geared up and prepared to conduct the 2010 census.

Mandated by the U.S. Constitution and conducted every 10 years, the census is a count of all U.S. residents, both citizens and non-citizens. The first U.S. census was conducted in 1790.

Data from the census is used to determine the number of representatives for each state (Montana dropped from two to one in 1993) as well as boundaries for state legislative and congressional districts. It's also used by cities for planning purposes and for distributing more than $400 billion a year in federal, state and local funds.

More than 130 million addresses across the U.S. will receive a census questionnaire this year. They will be mailed or delivered to households in February through March. The questionnaires will also be available at selected public sites in March and April for those who didn't receive one. Assistance will be provided for residents with hearing or language difficulties.

April 1 is "Census Day," when all forms must be returned by mail. Participation in the census is required by law. Those who fail to respond can be fined up to $5,000, but the Census Bureau views this approach as a last resort.

Census takers will visit households that did not return a questionnaire by mail in May through July. The Census Bureau estimates it will cost $80 million to $90 million for each percentage point of the population that does not respond to the questionnaires.

This year's census uses the shortest form in history. The 10-question form asks the number, names, gender, age, date of birth, Hispanic origin and race of the people living in a residence, home ownership, and whether anyone in the household also lives in a different location, such as college or military service.

Information on race is 'required for many federal programs and is critical in making policy decisions, particularly for civil rights," the Census Bureau says. Racial categories used in the census form "generally reflect a social definition of race recognized in this country, and are not an attempt to define race biologically, anthropologically or genetically."

A longer form for more detailed socioeconomic information — the American Community Survey — will be used with a small percentage of the population. The American Community Survey measures how people live in terms of education, housing, jobs and other factors, and it's conducted every year to keep census data up to date.

The Census Bureau will deliver population counts to President Obama on Dec. 31. Redistricting data will be sent to the states in March 2011.

The Census Bureau says data on residents is kept confidential and is not shared with other government agencies, including courts, the police, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). After 72 years, individual census records are sent to the National Archives where they are made public primarily for genealogical research.

The Census Bureau, established in 1902, is not working alone in this historic endeavor. More than 140,000 organizations assisted in some way with the 2000 census, including community and faith-based organizations, schools, state, local and tribal governments, media and businesses.

For more information, call the Census Bureau's Denver office at 720-457-3670 or visit online at www.census.gov/2010census.