Workforce Language Services

Every penny counts in this down economy, and every person does, too—the 2010 U.S. census will determine where money is allocated (from a pot of $400 billion in federal aid) based on community population counts. Undocumented immigrants and other hard-to-reach populations in the Chicago area and elsewhere have become the target of some creative census awareness outreach measures.

Telemundo, for example, has written in a main character on the Spanish-language soap “Mas sabe el diablo” (”The Devil Knows Best”) who’s a census worker.

Federal authorities have stepped up arrests of illegal immigrants, leading to worries that those residents will remain underground rather than report their presence to a federal census worker. Hence, the soap plot line, in which an unwed mother takes a census job and in the process educates her family — and immigrant viewers — about the government count.

“We’re going wherever the viewers are, even though you’re combining something that’s a little different with the steamy telenovela,” network spokeswoman Michelle Alban said.

Cook County, IL has already seen the hit from undercounting in the 2000 census: a consulting firm estimated that the county will have lost $200 million by the end of this decade. Researchers estimate that the states will lose about $12,000 in federal funds per uncounted person over the next decade.

Local community groups and churches are brainstorming about to reach out to underrepresented groups. At Rogers Park Community Council, members suggested census awareness T-shirts, street murals and multilingual mailers.

“This is not a joke,” Elizabeth Vitell, the council’s executive director, told fellow participants. “This is a chance to do something where we will see results in our communities for years to come.”

Read the full article in the Chicago Tribune here.