Census Officials in Florida Are Trying to Locate Those Uprooted by Foreclosures

It is a tough task to find people who are constantly on the move like shifting sands But Census officials in Florida are trying hard to do just that – locate those who have been uprooted by foreclosures.

South Florida has been badly mauled by foreclosures – it being one of the worst affected pockets in the state. Thousands have been thrown out of their homes. It is a challenge to the census authorities to find them and then count the heads of the mobile families. The stakes are high – federal assistance. By 1st April 2009, each household will have to complete forms for the census that is held every ten years.

Senior census expert Pam Page Bellis said, “Our job is to count every person. We count at homeless shelters, we go to soup kitchens. We are working with agencies to identify people who don’t live in traditional residences.”

The issues at stake are very important. The census figures will determine the amount of federal aid that the community will get for education and highways among a host of other things. On its findings will also depend the number of House representatives sent to Washington.

The operation will kick off from April 2009. Hundreds will be engaged in South Florida to verify the addresses. Plans are afoot by the Census authorities to hire 2,000 personnel in Broward and Palm Beach Counties to help with connected works. At open reo house events the details of the plan will be unveiled.

In 2000 the Census noted 196,000 Floridians. The majority of them belonged to minority groups and was poor with children. There were many immigrants. In 2001 the USA Census Monitoring Board reported that the findings would involve the granting of federal aid of 491.6 million stretched out over a period of 11 years.

The Census Project is a non-profit body comprising of civil rights activists, users of census data as well as private firms. Its co-director Phil Sparks said, “If I were in a place where sub-prime mortgages have caused a lot of people to move out of a locality, I’d be concerned For the next 10 years, it could mean less federal aid for the very programs people there need.”

In 2008 Broward County ranked sixth in the nation as regards foreclosure rate. South Regional Planning Council’s demographer Dick Ogburn commented, “For the next 10 years, it could mean less federal aid for the very programs people there need.”