Cover Letter

Attachment A.7— 2020 N-MHSS Cover Letter (First Mailing)

Substance Abuse and Mental

Health Services Administration

April 30, 2020

Dear Facility Director:

I am writing to request your participation in the 2020 National Mental Health Services Survey (N-MHSS). This annual, voluntary 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 mental health treatment facilities in the United States and its jurisdictions.

If you completed the 2019 N-MHSS, many questions will be prefilled. To save you time, for the 2020 N-MHSS, the following features are available:

• You will have the ability to go back and change answers, if necessary.

• Multiple questions are grouped together on the same web page.

• If you are responsible for completing the N-MHSS for more than one location, you can now complete multiple web surveys in a single session.

Why should I do the N-MHSS today?

• You will be done for the year and won’t be contacted again about completing the N-MHSS until next year’s survey.

• Secure login information is readily accessible on the enclosed green flyer.

The survey should be completed by you or another person knowledgeable about this facility's daily operations. If your facility no longer provides mental health treatment services, has had an address change, or if you have any questions about the survey, please call the N-MHSS helpline at 1-866-778-9752 or send an email to nmhss@mathematica-mpr.com.

We look forward to your participation in the 2020 N-MHSS!

Sincerely,

Herman A. Alvarado

Data Collection Manager

Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality SAMHSA

Note: If your organization offers treatment services at more than one location, you may receive a duplicate letter for another facility at another location. The N-MHSS 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 green flyer. On the web, you will be able to complete the survey for multiple locations at the same time.