Implementation
The ACS sends surveys to approximately 3 million housing units and group quarters in the U.S., in every county, American Indian and Alaska Native area, and Hawaiian Homeland, and in Puerto Rico annually (250,000/month). Data are collected primarily by mail, with Census Bureau telephone and personal visit follow-up. A fraction of those who do not respond to the survey are randomly selected for intensive follow-up, and the final response rate for that group was 98 percent in 2009. Because most nonrespondents are not selected for intensive follow-up, the ACS only includes approximately 2 million final interviews per year. In 2009, completed ACS interviews represented 66.2 percent of the housing units initially selected for inclusion in the sample.
The Department of Commerce has stated that those who receive a survey form are required to provide answers to a list of questions about themselves and their households, including their profession, how much money they earn, their source of health insurance, their preferred mode of transportation to and from work, and the amount of money they pay for housing and utilities. Those who decline to answer these questions may receive follow-up phone calls and/or visits to their homes from Census Bureau personnel. The Census Bureau prefers to gain cooperation by convincing respondents of the importance of participation, therefore, if you don't respond they follow-up with phone calls and/or visits. However, Section 221 of Title 13 U.S.C., makes it a misdemeanor to refuse or willfully neglect to complete the questionnaire or answer questions posed by census takers and imposes a fine of not more than $100. This fine is changed by the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 from $100 to not more than $5,000. To date, no person has ever been charged with a crime for refusing to answer the ACS survey, which several U.S. Representatives have challenged as unauthorized by the census act and violative of the Right to Financial Privacy Act. The Department of Commerce states that it is "not an enforcement agency."[2]
The processed information provides annual estimates for all states, as well as all cities, counties, metropolitan areas, and population groups of 65,000 people or more. For smaller areas, it is necessary to combine multiple survey years to obtain reliable estimates: three survey years in areas with 20,000 to 65,000 people, and five survey years in areas with fewer than 20,000 people. The quality of these samples was originally intended to match that of the decennial census long form, but because the sample size of the ACS is smaller than originally expected, ACS estimates are less precise than the comparable estimates from Census 2000 and prior decennial census years.
Survey methods:
- Mail: Self-enumeration
- Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI), approximately 3 weeks after the mailout
- Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) by Census Bureau field representatives.
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