About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

GAO-01-208R 1 (2001-01-05)

handle is hein.gao/gaocrptamxl0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Accountability * Integrity* Reliability United States General Accounting Office Washington, DC 20548 January 5, 2001 The Honorable Henry A. Waxman The Honorable Carolyn B. Maloney House of Representatives Subject: Decennial Censuses: Historical Data on Enumerator Productivity Are Limited This letter responds to your request for data on enumerator productivity levels from the 1940 through the 2000 Censuses. In your respective capacities as the Ranking Minority Member, Committee on Government Reform, and the Ranking Minority Member, Subcommittee on the Census, you asked us to develop this information to better clarify the relationship between the Bureau of the Census' field data collection workload, and the time and labor force needed to complete it. These factors-used to calculate productivity-are some of the largest drivers of census costs, and the Bureau developed its budget for the 2000 Census using a model that contained key assumptions about expected workload and enumerator productivity.1 We reviewed historical data to obtain information for the 1940 through 1990 Censuses; and, for the 2000 Census, we examined preliminary data contained in the Bureau's Cost and Progress database, a management information system the Bureau uses to track the status of the census. We also interviewed officials from the Bureau's 2000 Decennial Management Division and history office to obtain information on (1) how the data were developed, (2) their limitations, and (3) the extent of their comparability. On December 11, 2000, we requested comments on a draft of this letter from the Secretary of Commerce. However, comments were not provided in time to be included in this letter. We performed our work between June and December 2000, in Washington, D.C., and Bureau headquarters in Suitland, MD, in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. Results in Brief We could not calculate productivity levels for the 2000 Census and most of the earlier censuses included in our review because data were largely unavailable, incomplete, or not comparable. With respect to enumerator productivity for the 2000 Census, 1 2000 Census: Analysis of Fiscal Year 2000 Amended Budget Request (GAO/GGD-99-291, Sept. 22, 1999). GAO-01-208R Enumerator Productivity

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most