American Notes THE CENSUS

In the belief that a bad estimate is better than none, the Census Bureau last week dispatched 15,000 head counters on a 14-hour manhunt. Clipboards in hand, maps at the ready, the enumerators peered under bridges, down subway platforms, through alleys to figure out whether there are 600,000 homeless people, as some researchers estimate, or 3 million, as advocacy groups maintain.

The resultant "snapshot" of the homeless, critics warn, may not be of much use in identifying either their numbers or their needs. Too few counters had too little time to cover too much territory. Among places they skipped: subway tunnels, rooftops, and the many dangerous corners where the homeless may hide. Their caution was well advised. Shots rang out as census takers approached one building in Brooklyn, and two counters were robbed at knife-point in Florida.

Since the count determines who gets federal and state aid, and how much, some advocates of the homeless fear that an underestimate could give officials an excuse to cut programs that already suffer from a lack of funds.