For Immediate Release: 9/15/99 Contact: Clark Reid (301) 457-5088 Latino Communities Urged to Prepare for Census 2000 Video Details Proven Methods to Promote a More Accurate Count WASHINGTON – “American Hispanics and Latinos represent one of the fastest growing communities in our society and have much to gain in being fully counted in the 2000 census,” J. Kenneth Blackwell, Co-Chairman of the U.S. Census Monitoring Board said Wednesday. Blackwell’s comments came during a Capitol Hill press conference with Houston City Council Member John Castillo to preview a video produced by the congressionally appointed members of the Census Monitoring Board.  Councilman Castillo hosted a recent visit by members of the Board to Houston to meet with Hispanic and Latino elected officials, civic and community leaders, and residents in some of the hardest-to-count neighborhoods in the nation. Major portions of the video were filmed on location in Houston as well as the colonias, poor neighborhoods near Brownsville, Texas. The video features interviews with Hispanic and Latino elected officials, civic and community leaders and residents in Houston and Brownsville telling of the importance of the Census to their communities and what they are doing to ensure a more accurate count.  The Board will provide copies of the video to Hispanic and Latino leaders and organizations around the country. “Over four million people were missed in the 1990 census,” noted Blackwell.  “A disproportionate number were Hispanic/Latino, African-American, Asian American and Native American.  More than half were children. They often live in hard-to-count areas such as barrios, inner-city neighborhoods, reservations and remote rural areas.” The congressionally appointed members of the Census Monitoring Board, a bipartisan panel created by Congress to oversee the preparation and implementation of the 2000 Census, have been visiting with local leaders and residents of hard-to-count areas around the nation, listening to their concerns and incorporating their suggestions for conducting a better count in the Board’s reports to Congress. “We have found that involving local officials and residents from the beginning is one of the best methods for ensuring a better count in next year’s census,” Blackwell said.  “We are urging local and state officials to form Complete Count Committees such as the one in Houston to work with the Census Bureau to identify the hard-to-count areas and focus the resources necessary to count the residents of those areas.” “The Board extends its appreciation to Councilman Castillo and all the other residents and community officials in Houston and Brownsville that made this video possible,” concluded Blackwell. For further information regarding the Census Monitoring Board or the 2000 Census, please visit our web page at www.cmbc.gov. # # # 9/30/01: CMB Congressional Members Release Final Report...7/30/01: Statement of Board Co-Chair A. Mark Neuman6/7/01: New Report Questions Statistical Adjustment4/18/01: Congressional Board Members Hail Success of Ce...3/30/01: CMB Congressional Members Join Census Bureau P...1/1/01: Congressional Members Recognize Census Bureau P...10/18/00: Report to Congress Details Board`s Observatio...9/11/00: Georgia Leaders Say Local Commitment Increase...6/27/00: Community Programs & Commitment Insure Accurat...6/26/00: Los Angeles Leaders Praise Community-based Pro...6/9/00: Blackwell Promotes Census at Allen AME Church i...3/20/00: Have You Been Counted?2/9/00: Undercount Summit Report Cites Recommendations ...11/5/99: Hispanic Newspaper Executives Hear Count Conce...9/27/99: False Hopes, False Expectations Raised By Stat...9/15/99: Latino Communities Urged to Prepare for Census...7/22/99: Census Bureau to Implement Monitoring Board Re...5/4/99: Blackwell Calls on Census Bureau to Enlist Lo...4/27/99: Census Board Members Advocate Empowering Comm...4/8/99: Census Monitoring Board Issues Joint Report-B...2/1/99: Blackwell Urges Census Bureau to Include Loca...2/1/99: Congressional Members` Release First Report t...