N-SSATS 2013 Cover letter on-line instructions FAQ sheet

Attachment B6 (N-SSATS 2013 cover letter; on-line questionnaire access instructions; and frequently asked questions sheet)

March 2013

Dear Facility Director:

I am writing to request your participation in the 2013 National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS). This annual survey, sponsored by the Federal government’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and conducted by Mathematica Policy Research, collects data from all known substance abuse treatment facilities in the United States and its jurisdictions.

Your participation in N-SSATS is important. The information you provide will add significantly to the knowledge that SAMHSA and other Federal agencies have about the types of treatment and services available in the U.S. This knowledge will help SAMHSA assess the scope of services currently provided and identify ways in which SAMHSA might address unmet facility and client needs. Facilities that complete the 2013 N-SSATS and are approved by their state can choose to be listed in SAMHSA’s next publication of the National Directory of Drug and Alcohol Abuse Treatment Programs and the online Treatment Facility Locator (http://findtreatment.samhsa.gov).

We have also enclosed an N-SSATS State Profile Report to show one of the important ways we disseminate the data which you provide. This publication can also be found on the SAMHSA website (http://wwwdasis.samhsa.gov/webt/newmapv1.htm).

The survey is designed for easy and efficient completion on the Internet. If you completed the 2012 N-SSATS, you will find that your responses to questions that typically do not change from year to year have already been pre-filled in the 2013 online questionnaire. To complete the questionnaire online, simply follow the instructions on the pink flyer enclosed with this packet. The flyer provides the Internet address to access the questionnaire as well as your facility's unique user ID and password. A paper copy of the survey can be requested by contacting the N-SSATS Helpline if you are unable to complete the survey online.

The survey should be completed by you or another person knowledgeable about this facility's daily operations. If you have any questions about the survey, please feel free to call the helpline at
1-888-324-8337 or send an email to nssatsweb@mathematica-mpr.com.

Thank you for participating in this important survey.

Sincerely,

Peter J. Delany, Ph.D., LCSW-C

RADM, U.S. Public Health Service

Assistant Surgeon General

Director

Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality

Enclosures

NOTE: The N-SSATS questionnaire is designed to collect information about a single facility at a single location, that is, the facility whose name and address is printed on the enclosed pink flyer. Even if your organization offers treatment services at more than one location, please complete this on-line questionnaire for this location only.

Complete the 2013 N-SSATS online!

Completing the 2013 N-SSATS questionnaire online is the quickest

and easiest way to participate in the survey.

To Respond on the Internet:

1) Log on at: https://survey.nssats.com (this is a secure site.)

2) Enter your facility’s unique USER ID and PASSWORD:

User ID: [Field 2]

(all numbers)

Password: [Field 3]

(all numbers)

S

Questions? Would you like a paper questionnaire?

Telephone Helpline: (888) 324-8337 (8 a.m. – 8 p.m. EDT)

E-mail: nssatsweb@mathematica-mpr.com

https://survey.nssats.com

tate ID: [Field 1]

[FAC NAME1]: [FAC NAME 2]

[LOCATION ADDRESS 1]

[LOCATION ADDRESS 2]

[CITY], [STATE] [ZIP]

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1. This facility is privately owned. We don’t get any Federal, State, or local funds. Should we participate in the survey? Yes, it is very important to have information about all substance abuse treatment providers so that we can properly describe our national substance abuse treatment network, including service availability.

2. Is it mandatory that I complete this survey? Your participation is very important. Because the N-SSATS is the most comprehensive source of data on alcohol and drug abuse treatment facilities in the nation, policymakers at local, State, and Federal levels use information from the N-SSATS to determine the extent of services available and what new or expanded services may be needed. Facilities that respond to the survey and are approved for inclusion by their State substance abuse agency are listed in SAMHSA’s National Directory of Drug and Alcohol Abuse Treatment Programs and the online Treatment Facility Locator. The Locator can be found at: http://findtreatment.samhsa.gov.

3. Another facility in our organization will report our information in their questionnaire. Do we need to do anything? Yes, we do need to hear from you! Sections A and C of the 2013 N‑SSATS questionnaire are designed to collect information about the services offered at each individual facility. Even if another facility is providing information on the number of clients in treatment at this facility, every facility should answer Sections A and C of the questionnaire for themselves.

4. My facility’s information is the same as last year; why can’t you use that information? Here is some good news! If you completed the 2012 N-SSATS, your responses to questions that typically do not change from year to year will be pre-filled in the online questionnaire. Enclosed in the packet you received in the mail is a pink flyer that provides the Internet address and your facility’s unique user ID and password which are required to access your facility’s questionnaire on the Internet.

5. Is alcohol treatment considered substance abuse treatment for the N‑SSATS survey? Yes.

6. Our facility offers treatment to clients in their homes. It doesn’t seem to fit into any of the categories listed in the N-SSATS—hospital inpatient, residential, or outpatient. What should I do? Home-based programs such as yours are becoming more common. Although you may not consider home-based treatment to be traditional outpatient treatment, please count it as such for the purpose of the survey. When reporting client counts, include them on the line for “regular outpatient treatment” clients.

7. How should our facility report admissions for a 12‑month period if we have been open less than one year? Please report for the period of time the facility has been open.

8. Where can I find more information about terms used in the N-SSATS? Definitions for some of the terms used in the N-SSATS can be found at http://info.nssats.com. You can also call the N-SSATS helpline at 1-888-324-8337.

9. We do not provide substance abuse treatment services at this location. Do we still need to complete the questionnaire? We still need to hear from you. However, since your facility does not provide substance abuse treatment services, the number of questions you will be asked to answer is greatly reduced.

10. If I report client counts for multiple facilities on the paper questionnaire, how do I report which facilities I am including? There are two ways that you can report your additional facilities in the paper questionnaire: (1) complete the form titled “Additional Facilities Included in Client Counts” on page 13 of the questionnaire; or, (2) attach a sheet of paper to the questionnaire listing the names and location addresses of the additional facilities.