Managing the Balancing Act: Administrative Records and the U.S. Census Bureau

Lisa M. Blumerman, U.S. Census Bureau
Ronald C. Prevost, U.S. Census Bureau
Carrie R. Simon, U.S. Census Bureau

Vital to the U.S. Census Bureau's livelihood is the proper management, support, and use of administrative records data. To obtain and use these data, the Census Bureau must adhere to a number of regulatory requirements. In this paper, we describe the legal and policy requirements that relate to the acquisition, use, and protection of administrative records data; as well as discuss the concept of "Data Stewardship" at the Census Bureau. The "Data Stewardship" approach is designed to address the delicate balance between data access and respondent privacy and confidentiality. While the management of administrative records usage is complex, proper management leads to many rewards. Foremost, the Census Bureau's use of these data allows us to redefine the methods we use to develop statistics. Thus, the maintenance of administrative records data is not only our duty as civil servants; it is also in our best interest for excelling in future endeavors.