CENSUS: MAKE AN ACCURATE HEAD COUNT

One of the biggest worries facing the arrival on the calendar of the year 2000 is a problem known among computer users as Y2K. It refers to the inability of many computers, particularly huge systems used by the government, to determine with accuracy any dates effective Jan. 1, 2000. That is because many computer programs use six-digit numbers for dates. For example, today's date to a computer is 061798. But on New Year's Day 2000, it will be 010100. Some experts estimate it will cost millions of dollars to upgrade the nation's computers to recognize what year those last two zeros stand for.

Of course, that same day -- Jan. 1, 2000 -- will be the start of a year in which the U.S. Constitution requires a census. And if you think the arguments over how to fix the Y2K problem are intense, just listen to the debate over the next census.

As it turns out, not everyone is counted in the every-10-year census. George Washington complained that the very first census missed some folks. By 1990, an estimated 8.6 million people were missed by census takers, resulting in more than 30 lawsuits.

The census is more than a population count. It is used for many purposes, some of which have significant consequences. For example, the census is the basis of drawing boundaries for congressional districts. And some $180 billion for federally funded programs is divided up based on the latest census figures.

Some people don't have a permanent address. Others are drifters. Others live in areas where census takers are afraid to go. Some refuse to cooperate and don't return census forms. Others can't read the census forms. And on and on.

Following the 1990 census, the Bush administration began looking into the census problem. One idea that seemed to make sense at the time was the use of statistical sampling to account for those hard-to-count folks. In addition to the actual head count, sampling would provide a gauge of how many other Americans there are and some notion of their economic status, family situation and so on, advocates say.

But too much hinges on an accurate census to fiddle with the constitutionally mandated head count. It would be far too easy to adjust statistical information to skew the numbers enough to give one political party an advantage over another in drawing congressional boundaries.

Most of all, it is hard to believe in this day and age that the nation can't pull off a head count, regardless of the difficulties. Instead of looking for an easy way out of a head count, Census Bureau officials and politicians alike should focus on ways to do the job that is required every 10 years -- and do it well.