CHARTING YOUR COMMUNITY'S CHANGES...

Have you ever thought much about how or why new roads, schools, after-school programs, or hospitals are placed in your community? How long it takes fellow commuters to get to work? Why it took so long for your favorite restaurant to get to your neighborhood? Where you would go if disaster struck nearby? How your community has changed over the years? What evidence exists to prove it? What makes your community attractive to new businesses or tourists? Why there isn't an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) or video store on your corner?

The answers lie in the numbers...numbers that reflect who we are, what our communities look like, how our communities have changed, how those changes impact our daily lives, and most important, how our communities are meeting the needs those changes created...numbers like those collected during the census every 10 years. Those same numbers play a critical role for states and local communities in determining their share of federal money for schools, roads, senior citizen centers, and other services.

Until now, those numbers were provided by what is known as the census long form, which goes to certain households during the 10-year census. Long form results provided population and housing characteristics such as our education levels, whether we are working and how long it takes us to get to work, what languages we speak at home, and how much our homes are worth.

TRACKING TRENDS THROUGH THE YEARS...

But wait! What about the changes that occur in the other 9 years?

The face of our communities can change radically in a matter of minutes. But how can we understand the impact if we can't accurately gauge what changes actually occurred? The U.S. Census Bureau is moving rapidly toward a whole new way of census-taking to help answer those questions.

The American Community Survey is a new nationwide survey designed to provide communities a fresh look at how communities are changing. It is a critical element in the Census Bureau's new approach to future censuses.

• Short form only: The American Community Survey replaces the long form in future censuses, returning the 10-year census to its original purpose of counting the population.
• Updated information every year: The American Community Survey provides current, up-to- date numbers every year.
• More efficient uses of taxpayers' dollars: The American Community Survey helps improve the census process and provides communities nearly ten times the information.

American Community Survey doesn't count the population, but it does provide the numbers that reflect what the population looks like and how it lives.

That's where YOU enter the picture. Your community's ability to provide the goods and services you need is only as good as the information at its disposal and federal tax dollars can only be allocated to communities where they are most needed if current information is available. That is why community support for the American Community Survey is vital.