Special Census Program - Response to public comment

OMB #0607-0368 Special Census

Response to public comment:

"Please consider combining the "biological" and "adopted" child into just "child" on your census form.  My children are my children and this distinction is not necessary. "

The Census Bureau published a Federal Register notice inviting comment about the Special Census Program on September 2, 2015 in pages 53102 and 53103. After the 60 day review ended we received one question asking the Census Bureau why biological and adoptive children were collected as two separate categories and not combined into one category of 'child'.

The forms, procedures and methods used in the Special Census Program are essentially those that were used in the 2010 Census Update Enumerate operation.  The 2010 Census forms underwent extensive pretest, cognitive testing and expert review prior to implementation in 2010.  Additionally, the enumeration procedures being used for this decade’s Special Census Program are those of the 2010 Census Update Enumerate Operation.  All 2010 Census procedures and methods were the subject of an extensive and intensive evaluation and assessment program.  Thus, the Special Census Program has been able to incorporate into this decade’s forms, methods and procedures, the lessons learned as a result of all of the Census Bureau’s tests of 2010 procedures and methods leading up to the 2010 decennial as well as the results of the 2010 Census research and evaluation program.

Adoptive and step relationships are an important part of American families, and we do our best to reflect these family forms just as we do for many other family types. Our most recent report on this population is available on the website: http://www.census.gov/prod/2014pubs/p20-572.pdf  The previous time we released this report, some 10 years ago, we provided several thousand copies for use by the National Coalition for Adoption, which had requested them. They wanted information available to distribute within the adoption community since there are so few data sets large enough to accurately reflect the characteristics of these children and their families.  Information about these subpopulations of children is useful for service providers as they seek to serve these families. In addition, we have also heard from members of these families who appreciate seeing their own family type acknowledged and described in our reports. It provides them with information about the larger context of American families into which their own family fits.