TUPELO - Ten years ago, Mississippi had one of the nation's lowest participation rates in the decennial census count.

Northeast Mississippi placed even lower.

Now, as the country readies for the 2010 Census, officials urge residents to participate at the risk of losing federal dollars.

The census "helps with the allocation of $400 billion a year," said Kat Smith, the U.S. Census Bureau's media specialist for Mississippi. "If you want roads repaired, schools built, hospitals and senior-citizens programs, free-lunch programs, playgrounds - that's where the money comes from."

Every decade, the U.S. Census Bureau launches a massive population count that also gathers statistical information like race, gender and age. The data is broken down into states, counties and cities.

In addition to helping allocate federal dollars, the census population estimates also determine how many congressional seats each state gets. Mississippi lost one of those seats - going from five to four - after the 2000 Census revealed population growth here couldn't sustain five congressional districts.

It's unlikely that a better response rate would have saved Mississippi's congressional seat, but it might have boosted its federal funding by more than $12 million.

During the 2000 Census effort, 63 percent of Mississippi households returned their questionnaires compared to 67 percent nationwide.

Northeast Mississippi was even lower at only 60 percent - Itawamba County had the highest rate in the region with 69 percent; Chickasaw had the lowest with 53 percent.

Households that didn't mail back questionnaires got targeted for on-site visits by census takers. But even that effort sometimes failed because residents were hard to find, or they intentionally hid.

"For Mississippi, the rural areas are harder to count because people are harder to reach," Smith said. And in some cases people "don't understand why it's important to get counted, have never done it before and don't trust the government. They think we're going to share the info with other agencies and find them - child support, for example. Fear is basically it."

Statewide, an estimated 35,717 people went uncounted in the previous census and cost Mississippi nearly $12.5 million in lost federal funds, according to the U.S. Census Monitoring Board.

Those funds would have gone toward Medicaid, foster care and adoption services, rehabilitation services, and a host of educational and block grants.

"It's in the constitution that everyone should be counted," Smith said. "It serves the community."

This year the census will mail what's touted as the simplest questionnaire since the decennial effort began in 1790. It's a 10-question survey that's supposed to take only 10 minutes to complete.

Information collected will be used solely for the census count and won't be shared with other agencies, Smith said.

The questionnaires will be mailed in March and should be returned in April. In May, census workers will start visiting households that didn't return the forms.

The official 2010 Census population count will be released in December.

Contact Emily Le Coz at (662) 678-1588 or emily.lecoz@djournal.com.

The Numbers

Nationwide, 67 percent of households returned their Census 2000 questionnaire. Mississippi fell slightly below that with a 63 percent response rate, and Northeast Mississippi was even lower at 60 percent. Here's a county-by-county breakdown for the region:

County Response (%)

Alcorn 58

Benton 58

Calhoun 67

Chickasaw 53

Clay 63

Itawamba 69

Lafayette 56

Lee 62

Marshall 57

Monroe 60

Oktibbeha 60

Pontotoc 63

Prentiss 65

Tippah 58

Tishomingo 58

Union 63

SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau

Protect yourself from identity theft

The upcoming 2010 Census is important in many respects, but it also creates an opportunity for identity thieves to misrepresent themselves and gain personal information.

"Most people will be out doing that they are supposed to be doing and gathering information for this year's census," said Tupelo Police Chief Tony Carleton. "We just want people to really be careful about who they give information to. Make sure that you are protecting yourselves."

According to the Better Business Bureau, here is what to look for in a legitimate census worker:

* A U.S. Census worker will have a badge, a handheld device, a Census Bureau canvas bag and a confidentiality notice. Ask to see identification and the badge before answering questions. However, you should never invite anyone you don't know into your home.

* Do not give your Social Security number, credit card or banking information to anyone, even if you're told it's needed for the U.S. Census.

* While the Census Bureau might ask for basic financial information, such as a salary range, it will not ask for Social Security, bank account or credit card numbers. Neither will employees solicit donations. Any one asking for that information is not with the Census Bureau.

* Eventually, Census workers may contact you by telephone, mail or in person at home. However, the Census Bureau will not contact you by e-mail, so be on the lookout for e-mail scams impersonating the Census.

* Never click on a link or open any attachments in an e-mail that are supposedly from the U.S. Census Bureau.

- Danza Johnson

State growth

2008 estimate 2000 Census Pct. growth

Mississippi 2,938,618 2,844,666 3.3%

U.S. 304,059,724 281,424,602 8.0%