At a time when many people are eager to share the most intimate and arcane details of their lives with perfect strangers through Facebook, Twitter, and other social media, government officials just hope to get the basics as part of the 2010 U.S. Census.

Most households won't receive a census form in the mail until March, but census workers already are working to ensure that as many people as possible are counted.

Yesterday, officials from the regional office that covers southern New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and the District of Columbia unveiled some of their strategies to promote census awareness.

The census is a "unique opportunity for us as a country to have a good assessment of what we are and who we represent," Fernando Armstrong, the director for the regional office, said during a news conference at Rutgers University-Camden.

The Constitution requires a census to be taken every 10 years. All residents, including citizens and noncitizens, are to be counted, with results used to determine congressional representation and the distribution of more than $400 billion in federal, state, and local funding.

That is why the Census Bureau surveys residents about the number of people living in a household, their genders, races, and dates of birth.

Historically, certain populations, including young African American men, recent immigrants, the elderly, students, and the disabled, have participated in lower-than-average numbers, leading to an undercount, Armstrong said.

New undocumented immigrants sometimes fear that information they share could be used to deport them. But federal law prohibits census information from being shared with law enforcement or other federal agencies, Armstrong said.

To encourage as much participation as possible, the 2010 census will include only 10 questions. An extended survey that was sent to one in 10 households in 2000 no longer will be used.

And for the first time, a bilingual form - in English and Spanish - will be mailed next year to regions with high Latino populations. Forms also will be available in Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Russian.

At least one group is urging undocumented immigrants to boycott the census. The Rev. Miguel Rivera, a Christian evangelical leader, is leading the effort by the National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders, a network of 16,000 churches in 32 states. He hopes a boycott will push Congress to create ways for people to become legal residents.

Rivera said yesterday that President Obama's remarks this week placing immigration reform behind other pressing issues, such as health-care reform, did not change his plans.

"The truth is that there is no reason why undocumented immigrants should continue complying with a broken system and with a Congress who is taking advantage of them for political purposes," said Rivera, who acknowledged that he was taking a "radical approach."

Some advocates for immigrants vehemently disagree with the tactic.

"The more immigrants are willing to be counted . . . the more it strengthens the moral imperative for a path to citizenship," said Shai Goldstein, executive director of New Jersey Immigration Policy Network.

"Immigrants not cooperating will be hurting their cause," he said.

The Rev. Luis Cortes Jr., president and founder of Esperanza, a national association of more than 12,000 church and community organizations based in Philadelphia, said the census would help determine, for example, how much money would be available for schools and what kind of health care would be available for the uninsured.

"It really is a way for our country to keep tabs on what's going on, how are we growing, what are the populations, and where money and the political power of this nation will go," said Cortes, whose group is urging people to participate. "Participation for us is very important - if our folks don't participate, much-needed funds will go elsewhere."

Armstrong said the leaders of the boycott movement "want to push their agenda on immigration reform using the census as their tool, and that's really wrong."

Contact staff writer Adrienne Lu at 609-989-8990 or alu@phillynews.com