As Census officials prepare for 2010’s constitutionally-mandated count of every person in America, a coalition of Colorado local governments and non-profits is preparing its own strategy to minimize undercounting in the state:

Community stakeholders are implementing several strategies they hope will produce a more accurate numerical representation of Denver. For one, the city has set a goal to have 80-percent of Denverites mail in their census form by April 1. Doing so ensures people won’t have anyone come to their door to collect the data.

Mi Familia Vota and CPC [Colorado Progressive Coalition] are in the midst of getting people, many of them bilingual, from minority and low-income groups to become census counters. The groups hope the counters and messengers will be able to emphasize to people that any information in the census will remain confidential.

We highlighted a similar outreach effort in New York back in May. Like in New York, Colorado’s effort could have significant consequences for the state over the next ten years, and it comes on the heels of severe undercounting of minorities and inner-city areas during the 2000 Census:

In the 2000 census, approximately 3 percent of the nation’s Latino community was undercounted, according to Jessie Ulibarri of Mi Familia Vota. Because the census information is used to distribute congressional seats to states, make decisions about what community services are provided and as the basis for the distribution of around $300 billion in federal funds, the undercount count resulted in fewer resources for communities that needed them, according to Ulibarri.

“When we’re undercounted, it’s something that hurts all of us,” he said.

Carlos Valverde of Colorado Progressive Coalition (CPC) said underrepresented communities are often undercounted in the census, which then leads to more under-representation. Valverde pointed to the fact that Latinos make up around 25 percent of Colorado but only 3 percent of the state Legislature as evidence that change is needed.

By encouraging Census participation, Colorado and other states can help secure their fair share of federal funding and make sure their residents receive fair representation. With its rapid growth and demographic changes, this Census will likely reveal a very different Colorado than we saw in 2000; hopefully, with the help of grassroots efforts, the coming Census snapshot of Colorado will be more accurate than it was in 2000.