Counting Persons Once and Only Once at the Right Location in the Census: Techniques and Challenges Unduplicating People Experiencing Homelessness

• Activity Number: 607
• Type: Contributed
• Date/Time: Wednesday, August 7, 2013 : 2:00 PM to 3:50 PM
• Sponsor: Survey Research Methods Section
• Author(s): Diane Barrett*+ and Thomas P. Mc Coy
• Companies: US Census Bureau and US Census Bureau
• Keywords: census ; unduplication ; people experiencing homelessness

Abstract

The 2010 Census Service Based Enumeration operation provided people experiencing homelessness an opportunity to be included in the census by conducting the enumeration over a three-day period at shelters, soup kitchens, regularly scheduled mobile food vans and targeted non-sheltered outdoor locations. Since these locations enumerate a transient population, potential exists for a person to be counted at more than one location. Likewise, persons with "no address" who were enumerated at these locations may have also filled out a Be Counted Form. People who were enumerated at soup kitchens and/or mobile food vans could have also been counted at their permanent residence.In an attempt to count people once and only once at the correct location in the census, the Census Bureau conducted an unduplication process using a rule-based and probabilistic matching methodology based on response data to identify duplicate persons. Based on certain predetermined criteria, these duplicates were removed from the final census population count. This paper will discuss the various data processing techniques,challenges and possible research forunduplicating people experiencing homelessness in the census.