FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AAJC Contact: Nicole Duran 202-296-2300 ext. 144
ICAN Contact: Quyen Vuong 408-509-8788
ALA Contact: Jacquelyn K. Maruhashi 408-287-9710
WASHINGTON — Asian American groups are pleased with Census Bureau Director Robert Groves’ decision to swiftly address their concerns regarding the troublesome Vietnamese translation of the words “census” and “enumerator” in the bureau’s literature and forms for the upcoming Census.
Earlier this month, leaders from the Asian American Justice Center (AAJC), the International Children Assistance Network (ICAN) and the Asian Law Alliance (ALA) told the Census Bureau that some of its translations were inaccurate and even culturally inappropriate. They feared the bad translations would discourage Census participation within the Vietnamese American community. The bureau immediately replaced all inappropriate translations from its Web sites. Unfortunately, with fewer than three months left before April 1, Census Day, the bureau cannot reprint the Vietnamese Census 2010 questionnaire or language assistance guides, which have already been printed and delivered.
“This is another example of Director Groves’ and the Census Bureau’s commitment to counting everyone, no matter how challenging that may be,” said Terry M. Ao, director of census and voting programs for AAJC. “We look forward to continuing to work with the Census Bureau to ensure Census 2010’s success and an accurate count of Asian Americans.”
Last year, AAJC and other groups asked the bureau to include in-language messages directing recipients to the Census Bureau’s Web site, which provides in-language materials, in the advance letters it will mail to every household.
The bureau and director should also be commended for agreeing to proactively update the language reference dictionary, which provides translations for commonly used census terms, even though the poor translation of the word “enumerator” did not originate from the Census Bureau.
“We are particularly excited that the Census Bureau might further edit the dictionary with changes suggested by the committee,” said Quyen N. Vuong, executive director of ICAN, a member of the Santa Clara County Immigrant and Vietnamese Complete County Committees. “As both governmental and non-governmental organizations use the dictionary, we believe that it is one of the most effective ways to ensure culturally appropriate translations for terms related to Census 2010 and future census counts.”
Jackie Maruhashi, ALA managing attorney, added: “We believe these decisions will help ensure participation in the Vietnamese American community by providing information and education to the people in a culturally sensitive manner that effectively encourages rather than discourages action.”
Both Vuong and Maruhashi and many groups in Santa Clara County hope that the Census Bureau continues to engage community leaders in the planning for Census 2020, which will help to ensure that translation and other culturally sensitive issues are resolved upfront and not when it is too late to make all the necessary changes.
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The Asian American Justice Center (www.advancingequality.org) is a national organization dedicated to defending and advancing the civil and human rights of Asian Americans. It works closely with three affiliates – the Asian American Institute in Chicago (www.aaichicago.org), the Asian Law Caucus (www.asianlawcaucus.org) in San Francisco and the Asian Pacific American Legal Center (www.apalc.org) in Los Angeles – and nearly 100 community partners 44 cities in 24 states and the District of Columbia.
International Children Assistance Network (ICAN) is a community-based organization in the Bay area with the mission to help children realize their potential and become compassionate leaders. Our programs aim to provide children with Opportunities, Skills, and Confidence to succeed in life by engaging them in healthy community service and building strong family and community support networks for the children. We provide culturally sensitive public education programs designed to help Vietnamese parents and grandparents bridge the cultural gap, gain more knowledge on child development and adopt more positive parenting skills so they can better support their children to be ready to succeed in school and in life.
Over the past 32 years as a nonprofit corporation, the Asian Law Alliance has helped tens of thousands of people in obtaining decent housing, justice in the immigration process, and access to basic human and legal rights. Today, Asian/Pacific Islanders continue to be denied fundamental rights. ALA continues to keep its doors open for those individuals who are limited in English, who do not understand the legal system, who cannot afford legal fees and who face the reality of discrimination.
The NRFU phase, which stands for “Non-Response Follow-Up,” is the last in the Census process and represents the final push to collect Census information. The NRFU campaign encourages households who have not returned their Census form to welcome and cooperate with the Census taker that may knock on their door. Messaging for the NRFU campaign assures all that Census takers are sworn to secrecy and that they are there to help.
The NRFU phase, which stands for “Non-Response Follow-Up,” is the last in the Census process and represents the final push to collect Census information. The NRFU campaign encourages households who have not returned their Census form to welcome and cooperate with the Census taker that may knock on their door. Messaging for the NRFU campaign assures all that Census takers are sworn to secrecy and that they are there to help.
The NRFU phase, which stands for “Non-Response Follow-Up,” is the last in the Census process and represents the final push to collect Census information. The NRFU campaign encourages households who have not returned their Census form to welcome and cooperate with the Census taker that may knock on their door. Messaging for the NRFU campaign assures all that Census takers are sworn to secrecy and that they are there to help.
The NRFU phase, which stands for “Non-Response Follow-Up,” is the last in the Census process and represents the final push to collect Census information. The NRFU campaign encourages households who have not returned their Census form to welcome and cooperate with the Census taker that may knock on their door. Messaging for the NRFU campaign assures all that Census takers are sworn to secrecy and that they are there to help.
The NRFU phase, which stands for “Non-Response Follow-Up,” is the last in the Census process and represents the final push to collect Census information. The NRFU campaign encourages households who have not returned their Census form to welcome and cooperate with the Census taker that may knock on their door. Messaging for the NRFU campaign assures all that Census takers are sworn to secrecy and that they are there to help.
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