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Like many counties nationwide, the Prince George's County Planning Department is forming a volunteer outreach team to increase resident participation in the 2010 census. Officials are still accepting applications for the team, the Complete Count Committee, which they expect to introduce at a ceremony Monday.

Although the group will plan events throughout the region, volunteers will pay special attention to historically undercounted areas, such as south county, said committee organizer and county planning department official Cheryl Harrington.

"Folks in those areas realize they were undercounted," Harrington said. "In order not to have a repeat of that, they are energized."

In the 2000 census, participation in some parts of south county fell more than 10 percent below the countywide participation rate of 68 percent. In certain parts of Suitland, for instance, the U.S. Census Bureau listed participation at 53 percent in 2000.

Undercounted areas are less likely to get the government money they need, said Tamara Davis Brown, president of the Surratts-Clinton Democratic Club and a volunteer on the Complete Count Committee.

"If they don't know you're there, funds can't be allocated," Brown said.

Census data is used at nearly every level of government to determine where resources go, added Bill Robinson, president of the Greater Accokeek Civic Association and a volunteer on the Complete Count Committee.

"One of the worst-case scenarios would be for people to not take it seriously," Robinson said. "Our schools, our roads and many other things depend on an honest reporting of our households."

Residents also might not realize that their political representation at the county, state and federal levels is based on census results, Brown said.

To raise awareness of the political stakes, Brown said she will work with the committee to organize town hall-style meetings with local politicians, as well as encourage church and civic groups to educate members about the census.

Harrington said she did not know why parts of south county were undercounted in 2000, but that, in general, young people, black men between the ages of 18 and 30 and immigrants have had historically lower rates of participation in past counts.

Due to these factors and undercounting in the 2000 census, pockets of south county, including Temple Hills, Morningside, Suitland and Oxon Hill, have been designed as "hard-to-count" areas by the Maryland Department of Planning.

County officials are counting on residents who are "plugged into their community" to convince their neighbors to participate, Harrington said.

"If you're passionate, we can use all the help we can get," she said.

E-mail Zoe Tillman at ztillman@gazette.net.

Anyone interested in serving on the Prince George's County Complete Count Committee can call Cheryl Harrington at 301-952-4502.