2013 CPS ASEC Content Test

(01-2013)

FROM THE DIRECTOR

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

Thank you for your past cooperation in the U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Survey (CPS). Your participation in this study continues to play a major role in the development of the employment and unemployment data, which are so important to understanding our Nation's economic situation.

You have been selected for this survey again because of your past experience as a CPS participant. Because you participated in the CPS before, we save time and money because we don’t have to ask all of the same questions over again.

One of our field representatives or telephone center interviewers will call on your household soon to update the regular labor force information. He or she also will ask questions about other subjects that will provide government and private organizations the information needed to understand the economic situation of our population. These questions will concern work experience and income from various sources during the year 2012, as well as health coverage. The estimated time for each interview is 41 minutes.

We are conducting this survey under the authority of Title 13, United States Code, Section 182. Section 9 of this law requires us to keep all information about you and your household strictly confidential. We may use this information only for statistical purposes. Any Census Bureau employee who violates these provisions is subject to a fine up to $250,000 or a prison sentence up to five years or both. Although there are no penalties for not answering any questions, each unanswered item lessens the accuracy and usefulness of the final statistics. The Office of Management and Budget control number for the CPS is 0607-XXXX, and the expiration date is December 31, 2013. Without this number, we would not be able to conduct this survey.

Some income sources, and medical out-of-pocket expenditures, that the field representative will be asking about appear on the back of this letter. Space is provided for you to enter the income amounts received, and medical expenditures paid, by members of your household who are 15 years old or over. Although the income sources mentioned are not all-inclusive and some may not have been received by anyone in your household, we request that you look up the 2012 income records for yourself and the rest of your household before the representative calls on you. This will ensure the accuracy of the statistics collected and will also serve to minimize the time required for the interview.

Send comments regarding the time estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to: Paperwork Project 0607-XXXX, U.S. Census Bureau, 4600 Silver Hill Road, AMSD-3K138, Washington, D.C. 20233. You may e-mail comments to Paperwork@census.gov; use Paperwork Project 0607-XXXX as the subject. Please note that e-mail correspondence is not secure.

Thank you for your continued cooperation. Sincerely,

A message from the Director

Further information

may be obtained from:

REGIONAL DIRECTOR

US CENSUS BUREAU

PO BOX 9108

BOSTON MA 02217-9108

TELEPHONE: 617-424-4501

HOLD FOR REFERENCE
A Census Bureau field representative or telephone center interviewer will be calling on your household soon to ask you about income received and medical expenditures paid, that members of this household 15 years of age and over from sources such as those listed below. Consult your records and enter the amounts received or spent during 2012, as applicable, in the columns provided for each person 15+ in your household. Then, when the field representative calls on you, you can refer to this form. This form should not be delivered or mailed in lieu of an actual interview.
	Name	Name	Name	Name
	Amount	Amount	Amount	Amount
Income	$	$	$	$
Wages or salary before deductions
Income from his/her own nonfarm business, partnership, or professional practice after expenses
Income from his/her own farm after expenses
Social Security or Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
Unemployment Compensation
Interest on savings, bonds, and so on
Pensions
Alimony or child support
Public assistance or welfare
Estates or trusts
Medical Expenditures
Premium expenditures for health insurance policies including total spending on all policies except Medicare Part B. premiums; assign premium payments to policyholder.
Over-the-counter expenses on health-related products, not reimbursed – e.g., aspirin, cold remedies, etc.
Medical care and equipment expenses, not reimbursed – e.g., copayments for Dr. visits, prescription medication, hearing/vision aids, etc.

Occasionally, we may combine data from the CPS with data we obtain from other government agencies to provide a comprehensive set of summary information about employment, income, and participation in various government programs. The same confidentiality laws that protect your survey answers also protect any additional information we collect (Title 13, United States Code, Section 9). To ensure your protection, the laptops used for the data collection are password protected and all survey responses are encrypted. If you wish to request that your information not be combined with information we obtain from other agencies, we ask that you notify the Field Representative at the time of the interview.