All those who mailed back a census form, you&#8217re fine &#8212 your duty is done for

another 10 years.

But for those who haven&#8217t returned a form by today,Friday there&#8217s a good chance

someone will be knocking on your door. &#8220A very good chance,&#8221 said Robert A. Coffey,

manager of the Buffalo census office.

The mail phase of the 2010 census is winding down, and on May 1 the Census Bureau will

unleash a small army of workers to count those households that didn&#8217t respond to the 10-

question form by mail.

Right now, that&#8217s about 3 out of 10 households in Erie County.

The local participation rate has been better than at the state and national levels.

But census takers are still going to have their work cut out for them, particularly in

Buffalo.

A decade ago, 65 percent of households in the city that received a census form mailed it

back. As of Thursday, only 56 percent had. &#8220I certainly anticipated that,&#8221 Coffey

said.

The mail participation rate is 62 percent in New York State and 67 percent across the

United States, according to the Census Bureau.

In Erie County, 71 percent of households that received a census form mailed it back. In

Niagara County, it was 73 percent.

Participation has been even higher in some suburban communities, including Marilla, 84

percent; Clarence and Elma, 83 percent; and Alden and Orchard Park, 82 percent.

&#8220Things are going pretty good,&#8221 said Frank Yavicoli, manager of the census office

in Amherst.

Check out http://2010.census.gov/2010census/take10map to see where your community stands.

Buffalo, like other cities, is home to many demographic groups who historically have been

hard to count, including immigrants, minorities, homebound senior citizens and the homeless,

Coffey said.

Others have speculated that distrust of the government has reached greater heights,

contributing to poor returns.

&#8220I think it&#8217s just that continual theme of government mistrust,&#8221 said Kenya

K. Hobbs, chairman of the Buffalo Complete Count Committee. &#8220That&#8217s the continuing

battle we&#8217re trying to overcome.&#8221

The local census office has been working with the city and local community groups to help

people understand that census results determine the number of congressional seats the state

will have and steer a large portion of federal aid, particularly for programs that benefit the

poor.

The Census Bureau has opened temporary assistance centers, such as the one at the

International Institute on Delaware Avenue, where immigrants have been going for help to fill

out the census form.

Last weekend, Mayor Byron W. Brown toured some of the city&#8217s hard-to-count

neighborhoods, encouraging people to participate in the census.

Coffey recently met with a group of pastors in the Hispanic community. &#8220We&#8217re

reaching out every way we can,&#8221 he said. &#8220The key is getting to trusted voices in

the community who are known and can get the message out.&#8221

&#8220The ironic thing is,&#8221 Hobbs added, &#8220those who would likely benefit the most

are those who aren&#8217t filling out their forms.&#8221

But mail returns are expected to go up.

Census forms are still coming in and haven&#8217t been processed, so a more accurate

picture of the mail response won&#8217t be known for a couple more weeks, explained Malkia D.

McLeod, a Census Bureau spokeswoman.

Coffey and Yavicoli said they will have plenty of workers to knock on doors.

The Buffalo office &#8212 which covers Buffalo, Lackawanna, West Seneca, Cheektowaga, the

Town and City of Tonawanda, Kenmore, Grand Island, Niagara Falls and the Town of Niagara

&#8212 will employ more than 1,800 workers for several weeks, Coffey said.

Many already have been hired and are now counting people in group locations such as nursing

homes and college campuses.

By the end of the month, the census office in Amherst &#8212 which covers the rest of Erie

County, as well as Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties, a portion of Genesee County and a

slice of Wyoming County &#8212 will have hired and trained about 1,000 temporary workers,

Yavicoli said.

Yavicoli said his staffing is based on 65 percent of households returning the form by mail,

and most of his coverage area has exceeded that threshold.