Sending untrained people out to help residents fill out census forms, and then to collect them, will destroy the reliability, integrity, and the usefulness of the forms, not to mention violate the confidentiality of the information offered and recorded in the forms.
Census takers who underwent training took an oath to keep the information confidential. They were also schooled to accept whatever information was given them, and not to “help” people by explaining or defining terms used in the form. Only in this way could the results be uniform across the entire country.
Untrained census takers may not be so conscientious.
How can integrity be retained? Residents should NOT turn in their census forms to census takers who do not have a photo identification, who did not undergo the three weeks of training, who did not take the confidentiality oath.
How can you tell? Ask them, and see what they say!
The census determines the amount of federal aid given to the CNMI in millions of dollars in formula grants each year. If the figures are wrong, the CNMI suffers. (And if those figures are illegally increased, the CNMI will suffer even more.)
Protect the integrity of the census! Make sure your census taker is fully qualified!
RUTH L. TIGHE
Tanapag, Saipan
