APPENDIX D. Collection and Processing Procedures CONTENTS Data Collection Procedures-----------D-2 Enumeration and Residence Rules------D-1 Processing Procedures----------------D-4 ENUMERATION AND RESIDENCE RULES In accordance with census practice dating back to the first United States census in 1790, each person was to be enumerated as an inhabitant of his or her "usual residence" in the l990 census. Usual residence is the place where the person lives and sleeps most of the time or considers to be his or her usual residence. This place is not necessarily the same as the person's legal residence or voting residence. In the vast majority of cases, however, the use of these different bases of classification would produce substantially the same statistics, although there might be appreciable differences for a few areas. The implementation of this practice has resulted in the establishment of rules for certain categories of persons whose usual place of residence is not immediately apparent. Furthermore, this practice means that persons were not always counted as residents of the place where they happened to be staying on Census Day (April 1, l990). Enumeration Rules Each person whose usual residence was in Puerto Rico was to be included in the census, without regard to the person's legal status or citizenship. In a departure from earlier censuses, foreign diplomatic personnel participated voluntarily in the census. As in previous censuses, persons in Puerto Rico specifically excluded from the census were foreign travelers who had not established a residence in Puerto Rico. Persons with a usual residence outside Puerto Rico were not enumerated in the l990 census of Puerto Rico. On the other hand, persons temporarily overseas were to be enumerated at their usual residence in Puerto Rico. Residence Rules Each person included in the census was to be counted at his or her usual residence--the place where he or she lives and sleeps most of the time or the place that the person considers to be his or her usual home. If a person had no usual residence, the person was to be counted where he or she happened to be staying on April 1, 1990. Persons temporarily away from their usual residence, whether in Puerto Rico, the United States or overseas, on a vacation or on a business trip, were counted at their usual residence. Persons who occupied more than one residence during the year were counted at the one they considered to be their usual residence. Persons who moved on or near Census Day were counted at the place they considered to be their usual residence. Persons in the U.S. Armed Forces--Members of the U.S. Armed Forces were counted as residents of the area in which the installation was located, either on the installation or in the surrounding community. Family members of U.S. Armed Forces personnel were counted where they were living on Census Day (for example, with the U.S. Armed Forces person or at another location). Each U.S. Navy ship not deployed to the 6th or 7th Fleet was attributed to the municipio in Puerto Rico or the locality in the United States that the Department of the Navy designated as its homeport. If the homeport included more than one municipio in Puerto Rico or more than one locality in the United States, ships berthed there on Census Day were assigned by the U.S. Bureau of the Census to the municipio in Puerto Rico or the locality in the United States in which the land immediately adjacent to the dock or pier was actually located. Ships attributed to the homeport, but not physically present and not deployed to the 6th or 7th Fleet, were assigned to the municipio in Puerto Rico or the locality in the United States named on the Department of the Navy's homeport list. These rules also apply to U.S. Coast Guard vessels. Personnel assigned to each U.S. Navy and Coast Guard ship were given the opportunity to report a residence off the ship. Those who did report an off-ship residence in the communities surrounding the homeport were counted there; those who did not were counted as residents of the ship. Personnel on U.S. Navy ships deployed to the 6th or 7th Fleet on Census Day were considered to be part of the U.S. overseas population. Persons on U.S. Maritime Ships--Persons aboard U.S. maritime ships who reported an off-ship residence were counted at that residence. Those who did not were counted as residents of the ship and were attributed as follows: The port where the ship was docked on Census Day, if that port was in Puerto Rico, the United States, or its other territories. The port of departure if the ship was at sea, provided the port was in Puerto Rico, the United States, or its other territories. The port of destination in Puerto Rico, the United States, or its other territories, if the port of departure of a ship at sea was a foreign port. The overseas population if the ship was docked at a foreign port or was at sea between foreign ports. Persons Away at School--College students were counted as residents of the area in which they were living while attending college, as they have been since the 1950 census. Children in boarding schools below the college level were counted at their parental home. Persons in Institutions--Persons under formally author- ized, supervised care or custody, such as in Commonwealth of Puerto Rico prisons; local jails; juvenile institutions; nursing, convalescent, and rest homes for the aged and dependent; or homes, schools, hospitals, or wards for the physically handicapped, mentally retarded, or mentally ill, were counted at these places. Persons Away From Their Usual Residence on Census Day--In some parts of the island, Hurricane Hugo, which struck in September 1989, displaced significant numbers of households from their usual place of residence. If these persons reported a destroyed or damaged residence as their usual residence, they were counted at that location. Persons away from their usual residence were counted by means of interviews with other members of their families, resident managers, or neighbors. DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURES The 1990 Census of Puerto Rico was conducted through a combination of self-enumeration and personal interview. This method, formerly known as conventional or door-to-door enumeration, is called list/enumerate. Spanish-language short-form questionnaires were delivered to residences by the United States Postal Service (USPS) 1 week before Census Day (April 1, 1990) in an unaddressed packet. The questionnaire packet also included general information about the 1990 census and instructions to the respondents explaining how to complete the questionnaire. English-language questionnaires were available on request. During the enumeration of housing units in Puerto Rico, enumerators used one of the following questionnaires: A short-form questionnaire that contained a limited number of basic population and housing questions; these questions were asked of all persons and housing units and are often referred to as the 100-percent questions. (This questionnaire contained the same items as the questionnaire delivered by the USPS 1 week before Census Day, but was designed to be administered by the enumerator during personal interviews.) A long-form questionnaire that contained the 100- percent items and a number of additional questions; a sampling procedure was used to determine those housing units that were to answer the long-form questionnaire. This form was used by enumerators during personal interviews; thus, there were no respondent instructions. These forms were keyable documents similar in content to the stateside forms. The Puerto Rico forms, however, included a number of questions specifically designed to meet Puerto Rico's data needs. The sampling rate used in the 1990 Census of Puerto Rico required that one in every six housing units (about 17 percent) answer the long-form or sample questionnaire. Enumeration of Housing Units Starting a week before Census Day, enumerators canvassed their assigned areas, created a list of all housing units, completed long-form questionnaires as required, picked up the completed short-form questionnaires delivered by the USPS, or completed a short-form questionnaire as necessary. Field Followup Followup enumerators visited those housing units for which questionnaires were missing and those initially identified as vacant to obtain a completed questionnaire or to verify the vacancy status of the unit as of Census Day. Coverage and Edit-Failure Followup--The enumerators conducted an initial check of the questionnaires for completeness and consistency. The census office staff performed additional coverage and edit checks. Those households whose questionnaires did not meet specific quality standards because of incomplete or inconsistent information were contacted by telephone or by personal visit during the Field Followup operation to obtain the missing information or rectify the inconsistencies. Special Enumeration Procedures Special procedures and questionnaires were used for the enumeration of persons in group quarters such as college dormitories, nursing homes, prisons, military barracks, and ships. The questionnaires (Individual Census Reports, Military Census Reports, and Shipboard Census Reports) included the 100-percent population questions but did not include any housing questions. In all group quarters, all persons were asked the basic population questions; in most group quarters, additional questions were asked of a sample (one-in-six) of persons. Shelter and Street Night (S-Night) The Census Bureau collected data for various components of the homeless population at different stages in the 1990 census. "Shelter and Street Night" (S-Night) was a special census operation to count the population in four types of locations where homeless people are found. On the evening of March 20, 1990, and during the early morning hours of March 21, 1990, enumerators counted persons in pre-identified locations: Emergency shelters for homeless persons, with sleeping facilities (public and private; permanent and temporary). Shelters with temporary lodging for runaway, neglected, and homeless children. Shelters for abused women and their children. Open locations in streets or other places not intended for habitation. Emergency shelters include all hotels and motels (regardless of cost) used entirely to shelter homeless persons, and pre-identified rooms in hotels and motels used for homeless persons and families, and similar places known to have persons who have no usual home elsewhere staying overnight. Enumeration in shelters usually occurred from 6 p.m. to midnight; street enumeration, from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m.; abandoned and boarded-up buildings from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m.; and shelters for abused women, from 6 p.m. on March 20 to noon on March 21. Other components, which some consider as part of the homeless population, were enumerated as part of regular census operations. These include persons doubled up with other families, as well as persons with no other usual home living in transient sites, such as commercial campgrounds, maternity homes for unwed mothers, and drug/alcohol abuse detoxification centers. In institutions, such as local jails and mental hospitals, the Census Bureau does not know who has a usual home elsewhere; therefore, even though some are literally homeless, these persons cannot be identified separately as a component of the homeless population. There is no generally agreed-upon definition of "the homeless," and there are limitations in the census count that prevent obtaining a total count of the homeless population under any definition. As such, the Census Bureau does not have a definition and will not provide a total count of the "homeless." Rather, the Census Bureau will provide counts and characteristics of persons found at the time of the census in selected types of living arrangements. These selected components can be used as building blocks to construct a count of homeless persons appropriate to particular purposes as long as the data limitations are taken into account. In preparation for "Shelter-and-Street-Night" enumeration, the New York Regional Census Center (RCC) mailed a certified letter (Form D-33(L) PR(S)) to the mayor of each municipio requesting that he/she identify: All shelters with sleeping facilities (permanent and temporary, such as churches, armories, public buildings, and so forth, that could be open on March 20). Hotels and motels used to house homeless persons and families. A list of outdoor locations where homeless persons tend to be at night. Places such as bus stations, airports, hospital emergency rooms, and so forth, where homeless persons seek shelter at night. The specific addresses of abandoned or boarded-up buildings where homeless persons were thought to stay at night. The letter from the RCC to the municipios emphasized the importance of listing night-time congregating sites. The list of shelters was expanded using information from other informed local sources. The street sites were limited to the list provided by the municipios. All municipios were eligible for "Shelter and Street Night." The Census Bureau encouraged persons familiar with homeless persons and the homeless themselves to apply as enumerators. For shelters, both long- and short-form Individual Census Reports (ICR's) were distributed. For street enumeration, only short-form ICR's were used. Persons in shelters and at street locations were asked the basic population questions. Additional questions about social and economic characteristics were asked of a sample of persons in shelters only. Enumerators were instructed not to ask who was homeless; rather, they were told to count all persons (including children) staying overnight at the shelters, and everyone they saw on the street except the police, other persons in uniform, and persons engaged in employment or obvious money-making activities other than begging and panhandling. At both shelter and street sites, persons found sleeping were not awakened to answer questions. Rather, the enumerator answered the sex question by observation and estimated the person's age to the best of his or her ability. In shelters, administrative records and information from the shelter operator were used, when available, for persons who were already asleep. The "street" count was restricted to persons who were visible when the enumerator came to the open, public locations that had been identified by each municipio. Homeless persons who were well hidden, moving about, or in locations other than those identified were likely missed. The number missed will never be known and there is no basis to make an estimate of the number missed from census data. The count of persons in open, public places was affected by many factors, including the extra efforts made to encourage people to go to shelters for "Shelter and Street Night," the presence of the media, and distrust of the census. Expectations of the number of homeless persons on the street cannot be based on the number seen during the day because the night-time situation is normally very different as more homeless persons are in shelters or very well hidden. For both "Shelter-and-Street-Night" locations, the Census Bureau assumed that the usual home of those enumerated was in the block where they were found (shelter or street). The "Shelter-and-Street-Night" operation replaced and expanded the 1980 Mission Night (M-Night). This operation was aimed at counting the population who reported having no usual residence. M-Night was conducted a week after Census Day, in April 1980. Enumerators visited hotels, motels and similar places costing $4 or less each night; missions, flophouses, local jails and similar places at which the average length of stay was 30 days or less; and nonshelter locations, such as bus stations. Questions were asked of everyone, regardless of age. Enumerators conducted M-Night up to midnight on April 8, 1980, and returned the next morning to collect any forms completed after midnight. PROCESSING PROCEDURES The Puerto Rico questionnaires were processed in a section of the Census Bureau Processing Office in Jacksonville, Florida specifically set up for the processing of keyable documents. For most items on the questionnaire, the information supplied by the respondent or obtained by the enumerator had been indicated by marking the answers in predesignated boxes. The data processing was performed in several stages. All questionnaires passed through a check-in procedure upon their arrival at the processing office. Selected written entries on both the short and long forms were coded clerically. The coded information included written entries for industry and occupation, migration, place of birth, and household relationship. All responses to the questions on Individual Census Reports (ICRs), Military Census Reports (MCRs), and Shipboard Census Reports (SCRs) were keyed. After all coding operations were completed, the short and long forms were keyed. The resulting file was sent to the Census Bureau headquarters for computer editing, weighting, and tabulating operations.