N-SUMHSS Data Files
N-SUMHSS releases yearly public-use files (PUFs). These are full datasets treated with confidentiality protections. The PUFs contain facility data on mental health and substance use treatment services. This includes location, characteristics, service provision and utilization of substance use and mental health treatment facilities. Note, the codebooks may not contain all variables.
Dataset Documentation
Scope and Methodology Notes
GEOGRAPHIC COVERAGE: United States and Jurisdictions
DATA TYPES: Survey Data
UNIVERSE: Facilities across the United States and its territories, including all active treatment facilities on SAMHSA’s Inventory of Substance Use and Mental Health Treatment Facilities (I-TF) and additional facilities provided by state substance use agencies
The N-SUMHSS is a component of SAMHSA’s Behavioral Health Services Information System (BHSIS). The core of BHSIS is the I-TF, a continuously updated, comprehensive listing of all known substance use treatment facilities and mental health treatment facilities.
Facilities in the I-TF fall into two categories:
- Treatment facilities approved by state substance use and/or mental health agencies: Most facilities in the I-TF are licensed, certified, or otherwise approved by the state substance use and/or mental health agencies to provide substance use and/or mental health treatment.
- Treatment facilities not approved by state substance use and/or mental health agencies: Since the mid-1990s, SAMHSA has worked to make the I-TF as comprehensive as possible by including treatment facilities that state substance use and/or mental health agencies, for a variety of reasons, do not fund, license, or certify.
As with any data collection effort, limitations must be taken into account when interpreting data from the N-SUMHSS.
- The N-SUMHSS is a voluntary survey, and while it attempts to obtain responses from all known treatment facilities, some facilities do not respond. The data are not adjusted for facility nonresponse.
- The N-SUMHSS is a point-prevalence survey. Client counts reported do not represent annual totals. Rather, the N-SUMHSS provides a “snapshot” of substance use and mental health treatment facilities and clients on an average day.
- Multiple responses are allowed for certain variables (e.g., services provided and specialized programs). Tabulations of these variables include the total number of facilities reporting each response.
For methodological information for a particular year or date range, please check the codebook for a specific data set above.