The census survey reflects the hits the state has taken from the recession, the loss of manufacturing jobs and other factors. Census officials report that 15.3 percent of Ohioans are in poverty, which translates to a family of four living on less than $22,300 a year. The share of Ohioans living in poverty has never been higher since record-keeping began in 1980.

Also, the state’s inflation-adjusted median household income last year was about $46,100, the lowest in records going back to 1984.

The county’s Hispanic/Latino population more than doubled during the past ten years, from about 24,000 to nearly 56,000. And Census figures indicate, during the same period, the African American community increased 27 percent.

The Ohio Hispanic Coalition’s executive director Josue Vicente said the new figures will help secure services and benefits for immigrants.

“Helping the states and local agencies, in this case Franklin County, to develop health care and other services, to the language and cultural diversity of immigrants,” Vincente said.

Vicente added the new Census numbers also will help school districts get educational funds for students with limited English proficiency.

As minority communities grow, the number of Caucasians living in Franklin County declined slightly, 1.5 percent.

While the 2010 Census did not survey ancestry, it conducted an American Communities Survey the year before. It found the number of Somalis living in Franklin County more than doubled from 2000.

Census spokeswoman Carol Hector-Harris is counting on a final push of print, television and radio ads to edge up Columbus’ numbers. She says the added publicity has no impact on the Census budget.

“The budget was set last year. Where the ads were going to be placed had everything to do with what the participation would be.”

Hector-Harris says there is no shortage of Census workers -called enumerators – to make house calls. The recruiting process for the local Census office has been under way since last December.

“The supervisory level folks are in training now, and then the enumerators will be in training the following week, and as I said, they’ll be going out – going door-to-door – the first of May,” says Hector-Harris

To avoid a visit from Census workers, Columbus residents should mail back their forms by this Friday, says Hector-Harris.

62 year-old Donald Langston says he already returned his Census questionnaire. Langston says he thinks it’s important for maintaining services like education and street repairs.

“The amount of people in the city, that means the amount of money that the government will send to the city. So people who don’t register, that means they’re not counted, and that means less money for the area.”

30-year-old Patrick Jones of Columbus says his household has not filled out his form yet, but he intends to. Jones says he has a friend who is refusing to mail it back.

“He just denied it all the way, so, I thought that was ridiculous, but he did. People be leery about filling it out, it’s just their own personal preference,” says Jones.

Hector Harris says privacy concerns are often one of the top reasons people do not fill out a census form.

“But, they don’t need to worry about the Census information, because it’s all kept strictly confidential,” says Hector-Harris.

Census data is used to determine the number of congressional seats allocated to states, as well as to distribute more than $400 billion in federal funds.

Sadie Taylor, WOSU News

Ohio State students walking past the Wexner Center for the Arts were handed canvas tote bags with “Census 2010″ in large blue lettering on the side. Some students signed up to take the census worker test.

The outreach is part of the 2010 Census Portrait of America Road Tour – one of 13 buses that travel the country educating the public about the benefits of the census.

Parents of college students may wonder whether they should count their child at their hometown address. Columbus census spokesperson Carol Hector-Harris clarified,”They’re going to be counted on campus because they live in a dorm. And so they’re not to be counted in the questionnaire at home.”

Hector-Harris said Ohio State officials will take a count of dorm students.

Students not living in dorms should fill out the census form they receive at their off campus residence.

OSU Junior Sarah Miller said it was clear to her that she would be the one to count herself in the census, not her parents. Miller, who lives off campus, said she and her roommate received two census forms.

“We were a little late in sending it back in so we actually got two census forms. But we did actually fill it out and send it back in,” Miller said.

Hector-Harris said it’s still not too late to mail back the census questionnaire. So far, she said, the Ohio participation rate is roughly 70 percent.

At the entrance of the offices at 2210 Morse Road a large Census poster is difficult to miss. Once you’re inside, down the hallway and around the corner to the Somali Women and Children’s Alliance there are several more of the big census posters.

Hawa Siad heads up the alliance which serves the local Somali immigrant and refugee community. She does not think the local census bureau has done enough to inform the community about the census, and she’s afraid many Somalis will not be counted.

“The effort that was supposed to be made by the census has not reached the Somali community,” she said.

Siad said she and other community leaders have been working with the census office since last September to try to educate Somalis about the importance of the count. While she said the census has done some outreach in the community – several presentations, some events and information packets – she said it’s not enough.

“Unfortunately we have been trying to inform the census about the need of the Somali community to learn about how to fill out their forms, how to hire Somalis internally, in the offices, but the census has not been responsive about our plight,” Siad said.

Mussa Farah is the local census partnership specialist for the Somali community. And he was surprised by Siad’s claims.

“We have done a lot. We have been going to the mosque. We have putting up fliers. We have been helping them with the complete count. Any question they had. From today, yesterday up to now,” Farah said.

While most Somalis, Siad said, are in the U.S. legally, many have large families – up to nine in a household. And she said lots of them are concerned the personal information they report in the census will be released to landlords. And Siad worries many Somalis either will undercount the number of people living with them or simply not return the form. That’s why Siad wants Somalis hired for census jobs.

“They have more confidence on the Somalis. Rather than someone knocking on your door you have to report how many people live in your house. It’s a word of mouth. It’s not about events and fliers,” Siad said.

Siad claims local census offices have not hired Somalis who passed the required basic skills test and background check.

Kevin Conners is a local census office manager. He said there have been numerous Somalis hired for both internal and recruiting jobs. And Conners said just this week one of ten field supervisors hired was Somali.

Door-to-door canvassing does not begin until late April or early May. And census spokesperson Carol Hector-Harris said those jobs are just being filled.

“We’re just getting to the point now where we’re calling to see if people are still interested, people who qualified. And we’re about to hire and train them. That’s just now happening. Those calls began this week,” Hector-Harris said.

Connors said about 60 Somali-speaking people were hired as field workers for the 2000 census. And he expects they’ll need at least that many to help with this count. Hector-Harris said there definitely will be a need.

“If there were any members of the Somali community who do not return their form, then quite naturally we’ll need to send a Somali-speaking individual out to that community so that they can be counted. We’re trying to count everyone here. That’s the entire purpose of the census,” she said.

Hector-Harris said there has been a great sense of urgency for this census campaign. And she said that urgency likely led to what she calls confusion in the Somali community about when people would be called back for work.

“We seek cooperation rather than prosecution,” Carol Hector-Harris, who speaks for the U.S. Census Bureau, said.

Hector-Harris said it’s a Constitutional requirement to take part in the census – and that’s clearly stated on the census packet. She said the bureau could prosecute someone for not filling out and returning their census form.

“But I don’t think I’ve ever heard of the Census Bureau ever prosecuting anyone,” she said.

Because population determines many federal spending programs, Ohio relies on the census. The state gets from Washington about $400 million a year for roads, schools and health care. The census also will determine how many representatives Ohio will have in Congress.

Hector-Harris says part of Census workers’ focus lies in dispelling myths and reassuring concerns people may have that would cause them to be skeptical about the Census.

“The Census Bureau does not share the information that we collect with any other agency. So people you mentioned who are immigrants and may be fearful that we would share the information with INS, that doesn’t happen. Other people are fearful that maybe their identity may be stolen. We don’t share that information. It’s highly protected,” Hector-Harris said.

Fear of the INS – or Immigration and Naturalization Service – could affect the count. There are about 50,000 Hispanics living in Columbus. And there’s a big push from some government officials to count everyone including those who may be residing in the U.S. illegally. Joe Mas, who chairs the Ohio Hispanic Coalition estimates 40 percent of Hispanics living in Columbus have what he calls unresolved immigration issues. Mas said Latino radio stations and newspapers have done a better job educating the community than they did in 2000. But he said many still worry.

“They are reluctant to have any kind of interface with the authorities for the simple reason that they don’t know if they’re going to be turned in as a consequence of giving information of who they are, where they’re living, how many people are in their household and any other personal information,” Mas said.

Hector-Harris said they’ve hired Spanish speaking workers in an effort to reach immigrant communities.

Ten years ago, Ohio’s Census return rate was about 70 percent. This year, Hector-she said the goal is 100 percent participation. “We may not reach 100 percent on the first try.But we’re pushing,” she said.

Hector-Harris, who said Columbus has hired hundreds of Census workers, could not give an exact figure. She said workers are hired at different times for various tasks and come and go.

Many Census workers are hired to go door-to-door after the return deadline passes to encourage people who have not filled out their forms to do so. They won’t have to visit Columbus resident John Ward. While Ward plans to complete his Census, he’s concerned about how much it costs to count everyone. “Just the overall cost of what it’s going to be, from what you gather from it, especially with the way the economy is right now,” Ward said.

Another Columbus resident is concerned about the Census, but not about its costs. Rebecca Kahamis is Sudanese and sought asylum in the U.S. four years. She said she’ll fill out a form, if she gets one.

“I don’t know if they’re going to count us. And we have documents so we don’t know if they’re going to count us as U.S. citizens or not,” Kahamis said.

Officials estimate that the city of Columbus stands to lose $20,000 to $30,000 in federal funding for every person who fails to answer the Census.

La Plaza Tapatia on the West side attracted close to 100 people from both the Latino and Somali communities in Central Ohio.

Community leaders like Lilly Cavanaugh encouraged the group to fill out the census forms which will be sent out in March.

“Using this information for the Latino grass roots organization is important when they’re applying for grants and for funding resources from different organizations because they always want to have information as to how many Latinos are there in the different communities and who are they.” Cavanaugh says.

Cavanaugh admits some Latinos are fearful of what the census count means.

“They may fear that the information will not be kept confidential so you know some people may fear is this going to be reported to immigration. They may fear the number of people that are living in the homes.” Cavanaugh says.

28 year old Jessenia Catalan is a waitress. She came from El Salvador 3 years ago to work. Her two children are back home with her mom and dad. Catalan says she wants to know more about the census. As she spoke to us, census worker Josue Vicente interpreted.

“In Spanish .At this moment she doesn’t have enough information about the census. She knows it’s important but she would like to have more information on what is the census about and how that will be affecting her and the community.” Vicente says.

Vicente and others say every year 400 billion dollars of federal money is put back into community programs. The census count determines funding for schools, roads, hospitals, job training, child care and senior citizens centers.

“I think our task is not for those of us to make sure they fill out the form, but make sure you advocate and make sure that everybody knows about the census.”

U.S. Census partnership specialist, Mussa Farrah says the Somali community was left out of previous efforts.

“There have not been not many outreach I think within the Somali community. They never knew the value how why it is important that people are being counted.” Farrah says.

21 year old Kamal Osman from Somalia is a college student who also works part time. 2010 will be his first census. He says he is not here to just get government help.

“When I talk about myself first year I wasn’t working, but the second year I was working. I don’t take anything from the government as far as that. I don’t even get any financial aid from the government for my college right now. So, there are the people who work hard and there are the people who doesn’t know the language.” Osman says.

Columbus is said to have the country’s second largest population of Somali immigrants, but exactly how many people that includes is not known. The census count should help both Somali and Latino communities.

The 2010 census road tour continues to spread the word.

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With flags and patriotic music federal, state, and local leaders helped open a new census office in West Columbus and urged full participation in next year’s headcount. Deputy Census Director Elaine Wagner says neighborhood canvassing will start in Columbus in April, almost a year before the formal census begins. Wagner says an accurate list of addresses is critical.

“We send you the form, we hope you’ll fill it out and send it back in, to do that we have to make sure that address list is up to date and the biggest operation that is involved in that is sending people out to walk or drive the streets and identify every address.” Says Wagner.

Wagner estimates more than one million addresses will have to be verified in the Columbus region. She says the bureau also wants to find transient and homeless populations whether people “live in caves, tents, or tree-houses.” Franklin County commissioner Paula Brooks used her time at the podium to allay individual fears.

“I think alot of people when they hear the government is coming, and they want you to sign a form, they’re afraid. This isn’t that sort of thing at all, it is exactly the opposite.” Says Brooks.

Deputy Director Wagner adds that while some census information is used immediately to determine congressional districts and budget allocations, federal law prohibits use of any personal information for 72 years.

“So if people are worried about there personal data, yes that is absolutely protected, we only produce statistical reports. Those statistical reports are widely distributed and are available to any one to use.” Says Wagner.

County commissioner Brooks and Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman say an accurate and full head count is critical to the region’s economic health in the coming decade.

“For every person that is not counted in the city of Columbus we will lose $2,263.00 dollars.” Coleman says.

Information from the 2010 census will be available on January 1st, 2011.

Tom Borgerding WOSU News

Click the above player to hear Tom Borgerding’s report.