A number of St. Tammany Parish officials, business leaders and representatives from a variety of organizations are starting to spread the word about the 2010 Census.

The census is a head count of every person residing in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and island territories, and takes place every 10 years. Though census packets will not go out until next March, parish officials have formed the Complete Count Committee, aimed at creating awareness of the project.

“We’re asking organizations to partner on this, to come up with easy ways to let the people they work with know how important the census is,” said parish spokesperson Suzanne Parsons-Stymiest. “Not only does census data affect public safety, health care and the arts, it has a direct impact on our representation.” Census data determines the distribution of about $300 billion in federal funding, but also how many federal, state and local legislators are chosen. It can also have an impact on municipal boundaries, as higher or lower constituent counts can result in redistricting.

The 2000 Census figures put the population of St. Tammany at just over 191,000, although parish officials have not always agreed with interim survey figures post-Katrina.

The census was mandated by the U.S. Constitution in 1787, and the first census was conducted three years later by U.S. marshals on horseback throughout the 13 states and the districts of Maine, Vermont, Kentucky and the Southwest Territory. Just over three million people were counted, compared to over 281 million counted in 2000.

Information recorded in the census is protected by federal law, and therefore remains confidential.

According to Census.gov, a number of changes have been implemented for the 2010 Census. Gone are the complicated long forms requesting detailed socioeconomic information. Instead, the form contains just 10 questions, and takes minutes to complete.

In addition, the massive canvassing operation to verify addresses will be conducted using handheld GPS devices, an especially important development for southeast Louisiana.

“This is our first census since Katrina and Rita,” said Parsons-Stymiest. “There has been so much population movement here, we need things to be as accurate as possible.”

The St. Tammany Parish School Board also has plans to implement census curriculum in the schools this fall. The Census Bureau is working on lesson plans, maps, teaching guides and other materials to help teachers as well as students learn about the census. Some material, such as interactive counting games and quizzes on state facts, is already available on the Website.

School board spokesperson Meredith Mendez said school officials are currently in the process of tailoring the curriculum for local students.

“We know how important it is that as many people as possible have this information,” said Mendez. “We’ll be looking at the materials from the Census Bureau over the summer to determine a curriculum.”

The census questionnaire is available in many languages. Rev. Luis Henao of St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church in Slidell met with the committee, and may be involved in addressing the needs of the Spanish-speaking community.

Parsons-Stymiest said it was also important that any undocumented workers in the parish be counted as well.

“They should not feel they will be threatened with legal action,” said Parsons-Stymiest. “If they are here living in our parish and using our services then we need to count them.”