Trying to count every person in the United States is a pretty challenging task, especially when not everyone is particularly easy, or eager, to be counted.

That is where the U.S. Census Bureau would like the assistance of community groups to lend their support.

Mark Bouscaren, a partnership assistant with the Census Bureau, gave a public presentation in Lompoc City Hall Monday night.

The presentation was part of a meeting of the Lompoc Human Services Commission, assuring many community group organizers were present.

"If we get an accurate count in Lompoc, we'll get our fair share of government representation, and our fair share of government funding," Bouscaren said.

Counting in the 2010 Census will begin April 1, 2010, with mailed questionnaires to every household in the country.

The survey will be 10 questions, and should take about

10 minutes to complete.

By law, the individual data gathered by the census cannot be used by other federal agencies or law enforcement, only to be used for infrastructure, social programs, and political representation purposes.

Bouscaren said the Census Bureau was well aware that the "hard to count" population: recent immigrants, illegal immigrants, non-English speakers, those distrustful of the government, transitory and homeless.

"We're looking for your help to make sure everyone is counted," Bouscaren said to the commission and the crowd.

For households that do not return the first questionnaire, a second will be sent. For households where the second is not returned, the Census Bureau has to go by person, door to door.

By promoting the census through different community groups and programs, Bouscaren said he hoped to speed up the census process, and cut down on the expense.

Lompoc Community Development Program Manager Dinah Lockhart said the city is planning on organizing an informative public workshop in February 2010 to help answer more public questions about the census process. She said the amount of state and federal program money Lompoc receives is tied directly to the results of the census.

"Thousands of dollars are lost every year, over the next

10 years when people aren't counted," Lockhart said.

Human Services Commission Chairwoman Barbara Holt agreed.

"This is directly related to the amount of money we can give out to you agencies."

More information about Census 2010 is available at 2010.census.gov/.