BY ELIZABETH LLORENTE
NorthJersey.com
STAFF WRITER

Dominican-Americans are independently counting up their ethnic community in New Jersey to address what they say is longtime undercounting of their population by the U.S. Census Bureau.

In Paterson, the first city where sampling is nearly complete, those involved in the project say they have counted at least 40,000 residents of Dominican Republic origin. That is almost the same number of Dominicans the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2007 American Community Survey found in Passaic County. The census counted 23,800 in Paterson.

“We’re taking matters into our own hands,” said Jacelyn Santos-Allen, director of the Institute for Latino Studies, Research & Development, the Paterson-based non-profit organization conducting the independent census. “We need to know where we stand demographically, academically, economically and culturally.”

Dominican-Americans say the stakes are simply too high to ignore, particularly in New Jersey, which is home to five of the 10 U.S. cities with the largest Dominican-American populations. Passaic County has the most in North Jersey, according to the census, followed by more than 36,000 in Hudson County and almost 19,000 in Bergen County.

“An accurate count is important because it determines the resources that get allocated and the attention you get from political leaders. Two things matter most to politicians: the number of voters and money,” said Santos-Allen.

Those involved in the Dominican census said they are conducting their sampling in a variety of ways – including going through their own voter registration rolls, membership information provided by the numerous Dominican organizations in the state, leaving questionnaires in businesses in predominantly Dominican neighborhoods and going door to door in Dominican enclaves.

Demographers and scholars will help analyze their findings, surveyors said. They hope to conclude their research by year’s end.

Dominicans have a lot of political clout and spending power. They have been growing in number, becoming the largest Hispanic group in many areas such as Paterson. The U.S. census shows that in New Jersey, Dominicans are the third-largest Hispanic group, at 166,670, behind Puerto Ricans, who number 394,098, and Mexicans, with 177,762. But those conducting the Dominican census – and leaders in the community – say they believe the state population is at least 250,000.

Dominican-Americans have mobilized for elections at both local and state levels, and they turn out at polls here to vote for elections in the Dominican Republic. In a nod to their political involvement, New Jersey’s most prominent elected officials, including Governor Corzine, often make sure to attend important events. And last year, both candidates for the presidency of the Dominican Republic visited Dominican communities in North Jersey and New York City to court voters and raise campaign funds.

On the economic side, Dominicans account for nearly 20 percent of New Jersey’s 70,000 Hispanic-owned businesses.

Dominican-Americans attribute an undercount to various factors: census takers who, because of cultural and linguistic barriers, do not inspire many in the community to participate; a suspicion in the community of government inquiries about personal information; and undocumented people who fear being deported if they cooperate with the census.

In addition, they say, the 2000 census listed only Mexican, Cuban and Puerto Rican when asking about Hispanic ethnic origin. Hispanics who did not belong to those three groups were instructed to choose “other” and then write in their ethnic group. Surveyors said many Dominicans told them they simply checked “other” and did not understand that they also should have written “Dominican.”

“We want them to list Dominicans and have a box that they can check off,” Santos-Alen said.

Census administrators said they do not plan to add “Dominican” in the 2010 census. But one way they say they are aiming to get a more accurate Dominican count is to list “Dominican” as an example on the part of the 2010 census form that asks Hispanics who check off “other” to specify their ethnic origin.

“In the 2000 form, ‘Dominican’ was not listed as an example, and some Dominicans we met with felt that may have confused some people,” said Stephen Buckner, a U.S. Census Bureau spokesman in Maryland.

Buckner said Census Bureau administrators are aware of the concerns of the Dominican-American community regarding undercounts and are trying to work with all groups in the hope of attaining more accurate counts in the 2010 census.

Among the new steps they’ll be taking is to provide forms in both English and Spanish to residents living in areas where there are large numbers of Spanish speakers, Buckner said. In the past, foreign-language forms were sent only upon request.

E-mail: llorente@northjersey.com