Destito: State Grants Available to help make every New Yorker Counted in the 2010 Census

(Utica, NY) Assemblywoman RoAnn M. Destito (D/WF-Rome) is urging municipalities as well as regional and local not-for-profit organizations that are planning activities intended to encourage more participation in the 2010 U.S. Census to consider applying for a special state grant program.

Destito says the New York State Department of State has established “the New York Census Complete Count Grant Program,” which will help fund efforts to improve the response to the 2010 census. Significant undercounts in the census, particularly in urban areas and in sparsely settled rural areas, may have resulted in an undercount of over 200,000 New York State residents for the 2000 Census.

“The Department of State now has $2 Million that it is using to award individual grants to local governments or not-for-profit agencies that are holding activities to promote census awareness and encourage participation and cooperation with Census Bureau employees,” Destito said. “I would urge organizations or local governments here in the Mohawk Valley region working to improve local census participation to consider applying for this grant program.”

Destito says the special grant program has an October 16^th deadline. Anyone interested in obtaining more information on the grant awards may contact Lori Heithoff at the Department of State at (518) 473-3355, or by email at census@dos.state.ny.us. Destito says information is also available online by viewing the Department of State’s website at www.dos.state.ny.us/census/.

Destito: State Grants Available to help make every New Yorker Counted in the 2010 Census

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