UNDERCOUNT COULD COST STATE $275 MILLION

PERRYVILLE -- Missouri stands to lose an estimated $275 million in federal funding over the next decade if the state's population is undercounted as much as it was in the 1990 census, state demographer Ryan Burson said Wednesday.

Burson said the 1990 census missed an estimated 33,000 Missourians.

Census figures are vital to states and local governments. Census data are used to distribute $185 billion a year in federal funds.

It is estimated Missouri lost about $685 annually in federal funding for each person not counted in 1990.

Burson and U.S. Census officials stressed the importance of getting an accurate count at a meeting in Perryville with representatives of local governments in Southeast Missouri. About 25 people attended the meeting at the American Legion post. The Southeast Missouri Regional Planning and Economic Development Commission sponsored the meeting.

The Census Bureau is mounting a $160 million national advertising campaign to promote the census. The message: "Census 2000. This is your future. Don't leave it blank."

Some of the ads are targeted to blacks and other minorities in an effort to encourage them to fill out and return the census forms.

Even so, Burson said, it will be a challenge to get an accurate count this year. The minority population is growing faster than the rest of the population. Minorities are less likely to fill out census forms and return them.

Renters also are less likely to fill out the forms than homeowners, Census Bureau officials said.

The public's attitude toward government also makes it harder and harder to convince Americans they should fill out the forms, said Burson, who is working with the state's Complete Count Committee to ensure a more accurate count in Missouri.

It's a tough task. Missouri has about 5.5 million people, Burson said.

John Groth of the Census Bureau office in St. Louis said his agency has updated maps and addresses to improve counting for the 2000 census.

Efforts of local governments and communities hold the key to an accurate count, he said, adding: "The census in your community is a local call."

Most Americans will be asked to fill out a short form. Nationwide, only one of every six people will be asked to fill out the long form, he said, but in rural areas, the number could be as high as one out of every two.

The Census Bureau wants to collect enough long forms in a given geographic area to provide accurate information for demographic purposes.

The 2000 census short form will be the shortest in 180 years, Groth said. The Census Bureau said the form can be filled out in 10 minutes. It covers seven subjects, everything from name, age and race to whether the home is owned or rented.

"We don't ask about dogs and cats," he said.

Five subjects that were on the 1990 short form have been moved to the long form for this census. Those subjects involve marital status, units in a structure, the number of rooms, the value of the home and monthly rent.

In all, the long form will cover 38 topics. The Census Bureau said the questionnaire can be completed in 38 minutes, on average.

From the Census Bureau's Cape Girardeau office, Ellen Brandom coordinates the counting effort in 31 counties of Southeast Missouri.

Brandom and her staff number 60. Next month, that number is expected to climb to around 1,000.

By early March, census workers will be sent out to deliver the questionnaires to rural residents. Brandom said her office will deliver 219,000 questionnaires to rural residents in Southeast Missouri.

Later in March, city residents will receive questionnaires in the mail.

Questionnaires mailed to Washington will be tabulated until April 11. In late April, census workers will begin visiting the homes of those Americans who didn't respond in an effort to get the census forms filled out.

Brandom said that will leave census workers in her office with only a few weeks to track down Southeast Missouri State University students who didn't respond to the census.

Across the country, many college students don't fill out the census questionnaires. Brandom said college students who live off campus are particularly hard to track down.

Groth said college students simply don't see the census as a high priority.

Census 2000 in a flash

The United States Constitution requires a census every 10 years to determine how many seats each state will have in the U.S. House of Representatives.

HOW BIG IS IT?

* 275 million U.S. residents

* 188 million housing units in U.S. alone

* 1.5 million housing units in Puerto Rico and the U.S. island areas

* 2.7 million applicants recruited

* 285,000 jobs at peak

* 500 local census offices, 12 regional census centers and 4 data processing centers

* 500 local area networks, 6,000 personal computers and 1,500 printers (Set up, used and dismantled in one year.)

* 8 million maps needed for field work

* 79 million questionnaires returned within a two-week period

* 8 to 9 million blocks covered

TIME TABLE

* March - May 2000

Census takers visit housing units in rural and remote areas to drop off and/or pick up forms.

* April - June 2000

Census takers visit housing units that did not return census forms.

* October - November 2000

All field work completed.

* December 31, 2000

Apportionment counts delivered to the president.

* April 1, 2001

All states receive redistricting counts.