Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request

In compliance with Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 concerning opportunity for public comment on proposed collections of information, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) will publish periodic summaries of proposed projects. To request more information on the proposed projects or to obtain a copy of the information collection plans, call the SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer on (240) 276-1112.

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collections of information are necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Proposed Project: National Mental Health Services Survey (N-MHSS) (OMB No. 0930-0119)—Revision

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality (CBHSQ) is requesting a revision to the National Mental Health Services Survey (N-MHSS) (OMB No. 0930-0119), which expires on January 31, 2020. The N-MHSS provides annual national and state-level data on the number and characteristics of mental health treatment facilities in the United States and biennial national and state-level data on the number and characteristics of persons treated in these facilities. The information in the N-MHSS is needed to assess the nature and extent of these resources, to identify gaps in services, and to provide a database for treatment referrals.

The request for OMB approval will include a request to conduct the N-MHSS and the between-survey updates in 2020, 2021, and 2022. This update is a procedure for collecting services data from newly identified facilities between main cycles of the survey and will be used to improve the listing of treatment facilities in the online Behavioral Health Treatment Services Locator.

The N-MHSS will provide updated information about facilities for SAMHSA's online Behavioral Health Treatment Services Locator (see: https://findtreatment.samhsa.gov ), which was last updated with information from the N-MHSS in 2018. A full-scale N-MHSS will be conducted in 2020 and 2022 to collect (1) information about facilities needed for updating the online Locator, such as the facility name and address, specific services offered, and special client groups served and (2) additional information about client counts and the demographics of persons treated in these facilities. An abbreviated N-MHSS (N-MHSS-Locator Survey) will be conducted in 2021 only to update the information about facilities in the online Locator. Three small surveys are proposed for adding new facilities to the online Locator as they become known to SAMHSA. Both the 2021 N-MHSS-Locator Survey and the addition of new facilities to the online Locator will use the same N-MHSS-Locator Survey instrument.

This request for a revision seeks to change the content of the currently approved abbreviated N-MHSS (i.e., N-MHSS-Locator) survey instrument, and the previously approved 2018 full-scale N-MHSS (OMB No. 0930-0119) to accommodate two related N-MHSS activities:

(1) Collection of information from the total N-MHSS universe of mental health treatment facilities during 2020, 2021, and 2022; and

(2) collection of information on newly identified facilities throughout the year as they are identified so that new facilities can quickly be added to the online Locator.

The survey mode for both data collection activities will be web with telephone follow-up. A paper questionnaire will also be available to facilities who request one.

The database resulting from the N-MHSS will be used to update SAMHSA's online Behavioral Health Treatment Services Locator and to produce an electronic version of a national directory of mental health facilities, for use by the general public, behavioral health professionals, and treatment service providers. In addition, a data file derived from the survey will be used to produce a summary report providing national and state-level outcomes. The summary report and a public-use data file will be used by researchers, mental health professionals, State governments, the U.S. Congress, and the general public.

The request for OMB approval will include a request to conduct a full-scale N-MHSS in 2020 and 2022, and an abbreviated N-MHSS-Locator survey in 2021.

The following table summarizes the estimated annual response burden for the I-BHS and the N-MHSS:

To stay current with the field and to collect policy relevant information, SAMHSA will add a series of questions about facilities offering pharmacotherapy for the treatment of serious mental illness (SMI), in particular information on the first- and second-generation antipsychotics used by these facilities. Also, a series of questions on crisis services were added to the survey. The N-MHSS will also be collecting information on facilities providing services to persons experiencing first episode psychosis (FEP), which was not asked in previous versions of the survey. In consultation with experts in the field, some categories and wording were updated to reflect current terminology in the field.

Send comments to Summer King, SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer, 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 15E21-B, Rockville, MD 20857 OR email a copy at summer.king@samhsa.hhs.gov. Written comments should be received by November 29, 2019.