Posted: 1/11/2010By: Mark Nolan
Census takers in Houston, Texas will use promotional products to help encourage participation in the 2010 census, according to an article published Tuesday.
The new promotional products campaign will come in conjunction with the opening of the new Houston Central Census Office, Houston Business Journal reported. The main goal of the office will be to improve on the city's 61 percent response rate during the 2000 census.
"Increasing Houston's response rate increases the accuracy of our count and reduces the chance for undercounting," said census representatives in a statement posted to the city's website.
The city has a considerable financial incentive to encourage full participation in this year's census. Local agencies will lose approximately $1,400 in federal funds for every person not counted, the business journal noted. These funds could be used for government services such as health and education.
Houston is not the only U.S. city to announce that it will use promotional products to encourage census participation in recent days. Earlier this week, the city of Cape Girardeau, Missouri also announced its intention to make promotional products a part of this year's census campaign.
