Worcester, MA. – Family Health Center of Worcester, Inc. has been improving the health and well-being of underserved and culturally diverse Worcester area residents by providing high quality health care, dental, behavioral health and social services for 37 years. Over the next 11 months, Family Health Center will not only work to ensure that their patrons are healthy, but also are counted in the 2010 Census.
«Ensuring that all people are counted in the Decennial Census is critical to the appropriate distribution of political power and federal funding,» said Frances M. Anthes, president and CEO of Family Health Care of Worcester. «Partnering with the Census was a natural choice because our patrons include low-income families, refugees, and minority and college populations. These are the same people who have been traditionally hard to count in the Census.»
In 2000, the Census mail-back response rate in Worcester was 65 percent. By partnering with trusted community organizations like Family Health Center of Worcester to disseminate the message that the 2010 Census is safe, easy, and important, the U.S. Census Bureau hopes to increase the mail-back rate. According to the Bureau, for every one percent of the U.S. population that mails back a survey, the government saves approximately $90 million in follow-up enumeration costs.
Family Health Center of Worcester will assist with Census outreach efforts by including Census information in print and online publications, promoting Census job opportunities, and distributing educational material at facilities and to their 250 employees. «We will also serve as a Census Be Counted site,» added Anthes. «This means we will provide Census questionnaires (in up to five languages) to residents who believe they did not receive a 2010 Census questionnaire in the mail. Residents can complete the questionnaire and return it in a postage-paid envelope.»
«The Census Bureau has put together a comprehensive plan to ensure that people understand why the 2010 Census is important and how it affects their lives. Family Health Center of Worcester serves an estimated 31,000 patrons annually and are pleased to support this critical campaign,» said Anthes.
