This paper was written to help local level advocates in the human services understand and use statistical data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census. Because of budget cuts, difficult times are ahead for human services delivery. Advocates need to strengthen their technical skills. In the first section of the paper, two new programs of published data for small-area data users are described: the Neighborhood Statistics Program and the Summary Characteristics for Governmental Units. For readers interested in obtaining more data than is provided by these two programs, the second section outlines the content of the 1980 census questionnaire, defines the geographical areas for which data are published, and describes the basic publications that the Bureau will be producing. Computer tapes containing census data are also briefly described. In the third section, two technical issues are discussed. The first issue discusses threats to the quality of data, with emphasis on how a person can investigate the adequacy of coverage procedures that were used for the 1980 census in local areas. The second issue focuses on discussion of error associated with population estimates based on sampled data. The fourth section presents guidelines for using data in advocacy work. How to link data to the issues, and how to display data are examples of topics discussed. The last section cites three sources of information for further assistance: printed materials, technical assistance resources, and local resources. (Author/RM)