Plan for Additional ALMI Software Testing

The U.S. Census Bureau plans to conduct testing of the Automated Listing and Mapping Instrument (ALMI) software for potential use during the Decennial Census. This request is made under the generic clearance for the Master Address File (MAF) and Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (TIGER) update activities (OMB number 0607 - 0809, expiration date 04/30/2010). Testing will occur in Cumberland and Mecklenburg Counties in North Carolina during the period October 29 – December 6, 2008.

Census Bureau Field Representatives (FRs) will canvass selected Census tabulation blocks to improve the address list in areas where there are substantial concentrations of addresses in order to test the software’s performance with large workloads. FRs will update existing address information, and when necessary, contact individuals, to collect accurate location and mailing address information. In general, contact will occur only when the FR is adding to the address list, and the individual's address is not posted or visible to the FR. There is no pre-determined or scripted list of questions asked as part of this listing operation. If an address is not posted or visible to the FR, the FR will ask about the address of the structure as well as the occupant’s mailing address, which may be different depending on how mail is delivered in that area. If the occupants of these households are not at home, the FR may attempt to contact a neighbor to determine the best time to find the occupants at home and/or to obtain the correct address information.

We expect to list in approximately twenty Census tabulation blocks and make contact with approximately 500 households and approximately 60 property managers for large apartment complexes. The estimated time for a household contact is 3 minutes and the estimated time for each large apartment complex manager is 15 minutes, for a total of approximately 40 hours of respondent burden.

All information that identifies individuals will be held in strict confidence according to the provisions of Title 13, United States Code, Section 9. When contact is made, the FR will provide a document that provides information on the confidential nature of Census Bureau data. This notice explains that any information given to the Census Bureau will be held in strict confidence. None of the questions asked during the listing are of a sensitive nature and there is no cost to respondents other than that of their time to respond.

The contact person for questions regarding this operation is:

Frank McPhillips

Geographic Programs Branch

Decennial Management Division

Washington, DC 20233

(301) 763-8781