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Senate Memorial

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A memorial to the Congress of the United States, urging

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Congress to make forms for the United States Decennial

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Census of 2010 available in the Creole language for the

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Haitian population of Florida.

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     WHEREAS, results from the United States Decennial Census of

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2000 show that there were 419,317 foreign-born persons from Haiti

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in the United States when the census was taken, and

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     WHEREAS, the state with the largest population of foreign-

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born persons from Haiti in 2000 was Florida with 182,224, which

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represented 6.8 percent of Florida's total foreign-born

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population of 2.7 million, and

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     WHEREAS, in conducting the federal decennial statewide

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census in 2000, the United States Census Bureau used a variety of

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methods to communicate with people who could not speak English,

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and

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     WHEREAS, households that received the census form in the

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mail had the option of requesting the form in Spanish, Chinese,

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Tagalog, Vietnamese, or Korean, and

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     WHEREAS, individuals who believed that they were not

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included on a form or did not receive a form could use the "Be

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Counted" questionnaires that were available in public areas and

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printed in English, Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese, and Korean, and

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     WHEREAS, the Census Bureau also published a short-form and a

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long-form language assistance guide in 49 different languages,

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one of which was Creole, to assist respondents, and

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     WHEREAS, however, given the considerable size of Florida's

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Haitian population, in the interest of equity and obtaining the

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most accurate information possible from the next federal

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decennial statewide census, the United States Census Bureau

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should make forms for the United States Decennial Census of 2010

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more accessible to the Haitian population of Florida by making

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the census forms available in the Creole language, and

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     WHEREAS, in addition, the census forms for the United States

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Decennial Census of 2010 should be prepared in a manner that will

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allow a respondent to indicate whether he or she is a Haitian

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national or of Haitian descent, NOW, THEREFORE,

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Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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     That the Congress of the United States is urged to require

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the United States Census Bureau to make census forms for the

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United States Decennial Census of 2010 available in the Creole

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language to provide for optimal accessibility by the Haitian

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population of Florida and to prepare the census forms in a manner

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that will allow a respondent to indicate whether he or she is a

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Haitian national or of Haitian descent.

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     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be

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dispatched to the President of the United States, to the

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President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the

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United States House of Representatives, and to each member of the

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Florida delegation to the United States Congress.