About N-SUMHSS

Details  

The N-SUMHSS is an annual survey of substance use disorder and mental health treatment facilities in the United States. This information is of interest to federal, state, and local governments, as well as the behavioral health research community.  

The objectives of the N-SUMHSS are to:  

• Collect data that assists in understanding the current services provided.  
• Collect data that assists in forecasting treatment resources.  
• Update SAMHSA’s Inventory of Substance Use and Mental Health Treatment Facilities (I-TF).  
• Generate the information in:  
  • FindTreatment.gov  
  • National Directory of Drug and Alcohol Use Treatment Facilities
  • National Directory of Mental Health Treatment Facilities  

The N-SUMHSS collects three types of information from facilities:  

1. Characteristics of individual facilities, such as:  
   • Types of treatment and services offered include assessment, counseling, pharmacotherapies used, testing, transitional, and ancillary services  
   • Operation of the facility and if it is public or private  
   • Special programs or groups provided for specific client types, client outreach, and payment options  
2. Client count information, such as:  
   • Counts of clients served by service type and number of beds designated for treatment  
3. General information such as:  
   • Licensure, certification, or accreditation and facility website availability  

This annual survey is crucial because the services data gathered on facilities is the information used for SAMHSA’s FindTreatment.gov website. This website is our nation’s most comprehensive source of national data on substance use disorder and mental health treatment facilities.

Behavioral Health Services Information System (BHSIS)  

The N-SUMHSS is a component of SAMHSA’s Behavioral Health Services Information System (BHSIS). Another core component of BHSIS is the I-TF, a continuously updated, comprehensive listing of all known substance use disorder treatment facilities and mental health treatment facilities. The I-TF is the list frame for the N-SUMHSS. All active and eligible facilities listed in I-TF are contacted to complete the annual N-SUMHSS. The I-TF contains basic information about each facility, such as name, address, telephone number, director name, and general services offered.

Selected information collected from the N-SUMHSS is published and disseminated through the National Directory of Drug and Alcohol Use Treatment Facilities, the National Directory of Mental Health Treatment Facilities, and FindTreatment.gov. The National Directories list information about each facility, including name, address, telephone number, types of services offered, type of payment, and other features of the facility. FindTreatment.gov is a publicly available and searchable online resource for persons seeking treatment services in the United States and its territories. To be eligible for being listed on the FindTreatment.gov, facilities are required to complete the N-SUMHSS annually. 

Where Does the Data Come From?

The N-SUMHSS collects data on the location, characteristics, and use of substance and mental health treatment facilities  throughout the United States and its territories.  

The Inventory of Substance Use and Mental Health Treatment Facilities (I-TF) is the list for the N-SUMHSS. The following types of substance use disorder and mental health treatment facilities are included in the N-SUMHSS:  

• Psychiatric, general, and state hospitals  
• Veteran Affairs medical centers  
• Certified community behavioral health clinics  
• Partial hospitalization/day treatment facilities  
• Outpatient facilities  
• Residential treatment centers for both children and adults  
• Multi-setting mental health facilities  
• Community mental health centers  
• Other types of residential treatment  
  • These may provide individual planned programs of mental health treatment services in a residential care setting.  

Trend Comparability  

Data cannot be compared before 2021. That is the year the N-SUMHSS was established. Before this date, similar questions were split into two different surveys:  

• The National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS)
• The National Mental Health Services Survey (N-MHSS)  

History  

In 2021, SAMHSA combined the N-SSATS and the N-MHSS into the N-SUMHSS. This makes it the most comprehensive source of data on treatment services from substance use disorder and mental health facilities in the United States and its territories.  

The N-SSATS and N-MHSS were combined to:  

• reduce the burden on the facilities  
• optimize government resources to collect data  
• enhance the quality of data collected  

For more information on the N-SUMHSS, please visit: https://info.nsumhss.samhsa.gov.  

The legacy N-SSATS and N-MHSS data and reports can be found on the SAMHSA website here: https://www.samhsa.gov/data/data-we-collect.