LUCA Appeals Plan

Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA) –LUCA Feedback and Appeals Advance Mailing

The Census Bureau requests specific approval for the LUCA Feedback and Appeals Advance Mailing, which is covered under the generic clearance called the Geographic Partnership Programs (GPPs), OMB Control No. 0607-0795.

The LUCA program encompasses a series of Census programs, beginning with LUCA itself, in which participating governments reviewed and updated the Census Address List; followed by Address Canvassing, where the Census Bureau field verifies the Address List; the provision of feedback materials to LUCA participants showing discrepancies between their updates and the results of address canvassing; and finally an appeals opportunity, which allows LUCA participants to appeal Census address list decisions to an independent adjudicator.

The LUCA program was developed by the Census Bureau to meet the requirements of the Census Address List Improvement Act of 1994, P.L. 103-430. The Census Bureau uses the LUCA program to help develop the housing unit address information that it needs to conduct the 2010 Census. Under the voluntary LUCA program, participating governments reviewed the Census Bureau’s confidential list of individual living quarters and/or group quarters addresses and provided to the Census Bureau address additions, corrections, deletions, and/or the identification of corrected address counts for census blocks; street and street attribute updates; and legal boundary updates. The program was available to tribal, state, and local governments (excluded are sparsely settled areas in the states of Alaska and Maine). Title 13 of the United States Code, Section 16 authorizes this information collection. The final LUCA procedures were published as: Final Procedures for Participation in the 2010 Decennial Census Local Update of Census Addresses Program in Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 46, Pages 12369-12373 / Friday, March 7, 2008 / Notices.

The Census Bureau will provide 2010 Census LUCA Feedback materials to governments that took any of the following actions: (1) Submitted updates (i.e., additions, corrections, deletions) to city-style addresses on the 2010 Census LUCA Address List; (2) Challenged the housing unit address count and/or group quarters address count for one or more census blocks on the 2010 Census LUCA Address Count List; (3) Updated the Census Bureau maps; or (4) Certified to the Census Bureau at the end of their LUCA review that the 2010 Census LUCA Address List was correct and needed no update. The 2010 Census LUCA Feedback materials that the Census Bureau will provide to each participating government will document which local address additions and updates the Census Bureau accepted or did not accept.

The Census Bureau will conduct the LUCA Feedback and Appeals Advance Mailing in July 2009. The mailing will go to qualifying governmental jurisdictions, which will start receiving 2010 LUCA Feedback materials on a flow basis starting in October 2009 and ending in December 2009. The proposed procedures for LUCA Appeals were published for comment as: Procedures for Participation in the Appeals Process for the 2010 Decennial Census Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA) Program in Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 60, Pages 14696-14701 / Tuesday, March 31, 2009 / Notices. The notice provides information about the contents of the Detailed Feedback/Final Determination materials. The LUCA participants can appeal the Census Bureau’s decisions regarding their originally submitted address changes. This notice announces the establishment of the 2010 Decennial Census LUCA Appeals Staff outside the Department of Commerce. This temporary Federal office will administer the Appeals process and is responsible for the final appeals decisions.

The 8,482 governments who participated in LUCA will receive LUCA feedback, of which 7,962 are eligible to file appeals (the remainder were Option 3, or submitted only map updates, both of which are excluded from the 2010 Appeals process).

The LUCA Feedback and Appeals Advance Mailing includes the following documents:

A Feedback and Appeals letter from the Director of the U.S. Census Bureau reminding Option 1 and Option 2 LUCA participants of their opportunity to review the Census Bureau’s LUCA feedback products and if necessary, file an appeal with the LUCA Appeals Staff.

A flyer titled the Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA) Program Feedback and Address Appeal Overview that provides an overview of the LUCA Feedback products and the Appeals process.

The LUCA Confidentiality Agreement Form for staff member(s) to complete, sign and return if they have not previously signed.

A Contact Information Update Form showing local contacts presently on file for the qualifying governmental jurisdiction to review and correct, if necessary.

The advance mailing package will be sent to the LUCA Liaison with a c.c. to the Highest Elected/Appointed Official or Tribal Chair. The FY2010 estimate of average burden to perform a review of the LUCA Feedback and Appeals Advance Mailing materials per government, including liaison and c.c., is approximately 39 minutes. The FY2010 estimate of total respondent burden hours is, therefore, 5,219 hours for the 7,962 governments that are eligible to file appeals.

The attachments to this document are in final form.

The contact person for questions regarding the LUCA program, including appeals is:

Linda Franz

Assistant Division Chief, Geographic Partnerships

Geography Division

Washington, DC 20233

(301) 763-9039