The Census Bureau's Preparations for the 1990 Decennial Census

Testimony was given on: (1) the Census Bureau's automation activities and the pretests being conducted in preparation for the 1990 census; (2) proposed residency rules for the 1990 census; and (3) recommendations made by the Department of Commerce's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) on the Bureau's organization and automation plans. GAO stated that limited time is available to plan wisely for the 1990 census since final decisions on the conduct of the census must be made in early 1987. GAO found that the Bureau is actively considering the use of film optical scanning devices, which have been in use since the 1950's. The Bureau is also testing the use of optical mark readers and have found they perform well, although the data must be stored in a climate-controlled environment, and the questionnaires used produce a high nonresponse rate due to respondent confusion. The Bureau will also test the use of manual data entry which is the slowest, most error-prone, and most expensive technology, because it offers support to several aspects of necessary processing. The choice of equipment will be influenced by Bureau decisions on offices, evaluation and adjustment plans, and life-cycle costs. In addition to these technical decisions, the Bureau needs to develop residency rules and alter questionnaires and instructions to accommodate these rules within the next 2 years. Finally, GAO supported OIG recommendations that the Bureau support an ongoing automatic data processing (ADP) future systems design staff and establish a formal ADP planning process to identify systems to be automated by 1990 and set a timetable for automation upgrade. GAO found that, because the Bureau did not start vigorous planning and research early, it has not maximized its opportunities in the pretests; therefore, the Bureau should use special purpose tests to adequately evaluate different types of data entry equipment, questionnaires, and procedures before the planned 1986 pretests.