The woman in Pekin, in Washington County, said that Daniel Miller (pictured), 39, had come to the family's home last week asking for census information.

The woman told police that Miller then came back early Saturday morning and assaulted her daughter.

"I know he gave her a black eye and he tried to strangle her, and there are marks around her neck where he had his hand," said Washington County Sheriff Claude Combs.

Police said Miller left his wallet, including his driver's license, on the 21-year-old woman's bedroom floor.

Census officials said Miller started working for the agency two weeks ago.

The U.S. Census Bureau does stringent FBI background checks and turns away anyone who doesn't check out OK, officials said.

A census worker should never ask to come inside the home and should show an official identification badge with a Department of Commerce watermark. The workers should also carry a black census bag with titling and a seal.

"I would think the federal government would have trained them, and I would just feel safe," said Indianapolis resident Dave Kubley.

Jim Accurso, of the Chicago Regional Census Center, said the screening process for prospective employees is more rigorous than ever.

An applicant's name, birth date and Social Security Number goes through an FBI criminal records check and other background checks.

"This is new for this year -- fingerprints of prospective employees are submitted to the FBI and checked against the FBI's fingerprint database," Accurso said.

Officials want anyone who suspects a census worker of inappropriate behavior to call their office.

"Take the census worker's name down, anything you can do to make yourself safe and make them know that they're being watched," Kubley said.

Accurso said that a worker may visit homes from which census forms were returned to clarify partial answers, if handwriting couldn't be read or if multiple forms were sent from the same address.

More Information: Census Workers Background Check Information