So we’re doing worse than last time.

Only 37 percent of San Juan County has returned its census forms. That’s far behind the 2000 return rate of 43 percent.

Washington state is at 55 percent, while the national participation rate is 56 percent. The top states are Wisconsin (69 percent), Iowa (67 percent), Minnesota (66 percent), South Dakota (65 percent), and Indiana (64 percent).

Please, mail in your form. It only takes a few moments. We’d like to remind everyone of the benefits, the most important one being money.

Each year federal funds are allocated to states, counties and towns for programs such as schools, libraries, roads, food banks, family resource centers, EMS, senior services and more. In the 2000 census, San Juan County was under-counted. By not sending in those forms, we gave away federal dollars for each year over the next decade.

Another financial factor: The U.S. Constitution requires a count of every person living in the U.S. Every household that does not send back its census form will be visited by a census taker starting in May, at a labor cost to the government of about $57 per household. If every household across the nation mailed back its form, taxpayers could reduce the cost of administering the census by about $1.5 billion.

The census also determines distribution of congressional seats. Washington state is expected to gain an additional seat in the U.S. House of Representatives (Oregon could lose one) if population estimates are borne out by the census.

The census defines state legislative districts and it helps elected officials decide what community services to provide, such as where to provide services for seniors, where to build new roads and schools, and where to locate job training centers.

And it’s entirely confidential. We know that concern stops some people from returning the forms, but that should not be a factor. Legally, the census bureau cannot share that information with any other governmental agency.

A 2010 Census Questionnaire Assistance Center is at the Orcas Library. It is staffed by Loretta Poschman five days a week from now until April 19, with the following schedule. Sunday: 12 to 2 p.m.; Monday: 12 to 3 p.m.; Tuesday: 3 to 6 p.m.; Wednesday: 2 to 5 p.m.; and Thursday: 2 to 6 p.m.

To track the national and local participation rates, visit http://2010.census.gov/2010census/take10map.