Bureau of the Census' Development of the Mail List, Personnel Policies and Promotion for the 1980 Census

Problems which the Bureau of the Census' encountered in its development of the 1980 census mailing list and the test census were presented. In its review of the development of the census mailing list, GAO discovered that the Bureau of the Census used two procedures to update and refine the mailing list developed from the purchase of addresses and the prelist operation. The Bureau physically canvassed those areas covered by the commercial mailing list, and contracted with the U.S. Postal Service to review the list for accuracy and completeness. The Bureau also developed some post-census-day operations to identify missed addresses. However, several problems delayed operations, including: (1) the delayed preparation of prelist area maps; (2) the poor quality of the maps; (3) heavy listing workloads for many prelist geographic areas; and (4) high enumerator turnover. Although the Bureau took several actions to compensate for these problems, the actions were not taken quickly enough to prevent a delay in the listing operations. GAO also discussed its report on problems that occurred in the 1980 test censuses. In its review, GAO found that the principal problems experienced included: (1) low mail response; (2) difficulties in recruiting and retaining personnel; and (3) lower than expected productivity. To improve mail response rates during the 1980 census, the Bureau used a full scale promotion, including: advertising, public information, communications with national organizations, and a grassroots program. Additionally, to correct its personnel problems, the Bureau expanded enumerator recruiting and training programs and obtained an exemption from the minimum wage provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. However, the Bureau was still unable to fully meet its staffing goals for the 1980 census.