The massive project to determine just who lives in your community, and nationwide, is already under way in Whatcom County.

Officials from the federal government have been working with local governments for some time to help coordinate the 2010 Census, the process to figure out the demographics of America that also partially helps Congress allocate $400 billion in various funding to cities, counties and states.

The constitutionally mandated census takes place once every decade and has happened since 1790, according to U.S. Census Bureau information. At the time, the census counted a little more than 3.92 million people in America.

Doing the count every 10 years serves a variety of functions, including helping to redraw Congressional districts and voting precincts, allocating federal funding for roads and schools and simply getting a picture of what the U.S. looks like.

The census is not only in the constitution but in federal law, and everyone older than 18 must participate and be truthful.

Both Whatcom County Executive Pete Kremen and Bellingham Mayor Dan Pike have issued proclamations in support of the work, and local governments are starting to coordinate through LaVerne Lamoureaux, a partnership specialist for the U.S. Census Bureau who was a volunteer in 2000.

In 2009, the bureau hired 300 local workers to canvass addresses around the county during May and June, Lamoureaux said. It was important to do that to ensure that when census forms are mailed in March 2010 that they go to actual places and not just empty lots, she said.

Lamoureaux and other workers are now finding places for question-and-answer centers that will be set up for the public as well as kiosks for those who believe they may not have received their forms and need to get one.

The question centers will be private, Lamoureaux said, so people can know their concerns are secure.

She also acknowledged that the census can be controversial. Some in national media have raised concerns about who is doing the counting and who will or won't be counted. But the census bureau and volunteers are here to help answer concerns, Lamoureaux said.

"It's an ongoing education process. The census is really data gathered to ... help communities know about their growth, know about their needs and to help the country know about who lives in the country."

LEARN MORE

To get more information on the 2010 Census, visit 2010.census.gov online.