Young Children are the Group Most Often Missed in the U.S. Census

A 2009 study by the Annie E. Casey Foundation shows that more than 1 million young children under age 10 were missed in the 2000 Census and over three-quarters of a million children under age five were missed (nearly 4 percent of this population group). There are a number of trends suggesting that it will be more difficult to get an accurate count of young children in 2010 Census than in 2000, including:

• Minority children have higher undercount rates, and the share of children age 0 to 4 that are from a racial or Hispanic minority population rose from 41 percent in 2000 to 47 percent in 2008
• More children live in families with one or more undocumented immigrants. Nearly half (47 percent) of unauthorized-immigrant households are couples with
  children. The number of children with at least one unauthorized-immigrant parent increased from 3.9 million in 2003 to 5.5 million in 2008.
• The housing crisis will cause more families to double up in one housing unit or live in other temporary and unusual housing situations. An estimated 2 million children will be affected by the housing crisis, which will make it more difficult to get an accurate population count.

The full report can be found at:   www.kidscount.org