2010 TSAP Plan

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2010 Tribal Statistical Areas Program (TSAP)

The U.S. Census Bureau plans to conduct the Tribal Statistical Areas Program (TSAP), a decennial program to delineate boundaries for American Indian and Alaska Native specific statistical areas for the reporting of Census Bureau data under the generic clearance for the Geographic Partnership Programs (GPP) OMB number 0607-0795.

TSAP was developed to give tribes the opportunity to review and update, if necessary, statistical tribal entities for use in tabulating and publishing data from the 2010 Census, the American Community Survey, and other surveys. Under the voluntary TSAP program participants are tribes who will review, update, and delineate boundaries for American Indian and Alaska Native specific statistical areas for the reporting of Census Bureau data. Specifically, the program provides for review and delineation of Alaska Native village statistical areas (ANVSAs), Oklahoma tribal statistical areas (OTSAs), OTSA tribal subdivisions, tribal designated statistical areas (TDSAs), State designated tribal statistical areas (SDTSAs), tribal census tracts (on federally recognized American Indian reservations (AIRs) and off-reservation trust lands (ORTLs) only), tribal block groups (on AIRs and ORTLs only), and Census designated places (CDPs). Tribes are also encouraged to work with the Census Bureau’s Participant Statistical Areas Program (PSAP) participants for their area of interest to help ensure that tribal data needs are met through the statistical geographic entities defined through the PSAP as well as through TSAP.

The Census Bureau extended program invitations to approximately 230 Alaska Native villages, 318 federally recognized tribes with an AIR and/or ORTL, 14 federally recognized tribes without an AIR or ORTL, 30 federally recognized tribes in Oklahoma with a former AIR reservation in Oklahoma, 11 state recognized tribes with a state American Indian reservation (SAIR), and 22 state-recognized tribes without an AIR or ORTL. The Census Bureau will work with state-recognized tribes through a liaison appointed by the respective state’s governor, to review and delineate SAIRs and SDTSAs.

The participants will have the opportunity to review their current tribal statistical areas, as depicted in the Census Bureau’s MAF/TIGER Database (MTdb). A participant may choose to review this information through a paper map, or through the TSAP ESRI Extension, an extension to the ESRI ArcGIS software package. The extension was developed solely for the purpose of reviewing, updating, and submitting Census Bureau geographic areas, and will be supplied at no cost to interested tribes along with boundary data (shapefiles) for use in the extension. The estimated average required time spent to complete and submit a proposal through either a paper based submission or a computer-based submission is approximately 48 hours.

Once complete, participants return the proposals to the Census Bureau Regional Census Center (RCC) geographic staff that will verify the submitted statistical areas according to established criteria and requirements. The Census Bureau will reject any computer-based statistical area proposals that are not based on the Census Bureau-supplied shapefiles. In some cases the Census Bureau will return the proposal to the participant for reworking and resubmission.

After the Census Bureau determines that the statistical area proposals meet all requirements, staff will insert the areas into the MTdb. The Census Bureau will notify the participant once the review and approval of the TSAP proposal is completed. Subject to budget constraints, the Census Bureau plans to provide TSAP participants an opportunity to verify the accuracy of their tribal statistical areas boundaries, codes, and names as they appear in the MTdb before their use in 2010 Census tabulations.

The Census Bureau is responsible for ensuring nationwide consistency for statistical areas and reserves the right to require, or to make, adjustments to tribal statistical area boundaries, names, and identifiers that do not meet the 2010 Census criteria. The Census Bureau may modify, and if necessary reject, proposed tribal statistical areas that do not comply with the 2010 Census criteria.

The information collection for TSAP will occur from January 12, 2008, through July 1, 2009. The Census Bureau Regional Offices will review the information collected from February 1, 2008, through August 14, 2009. Participants will verify the boundary changes from January 2010 through March 2010.

The 2009 estimate of average hours per respondent is approximately 48 hours. The estimated number of respondents is 650. The Fiscal Year 2009 estimate of respondent burden hours is 31,200 hours.

TSAP information is used to provide an appropriate record for reporting the results of the decennial census and the American Community Survey. Title 13 of the United States Code, Section 16 authorizes this information collection.

The contact person for questions regarding the Tribal Statistical Areas Program (TSAP) is:

Linda Franz

Assistant Division Chief, Geographic Partnerships

Geography Division

Washington, DC 20233

(301) 763-9061