Frequently Asked Questions
(FAQs) 2014
National Mental Health Services Survey (N-MHSS)
General Questions
What is SAMHSA?
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is a Federal agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Its mission is to reduce the impact of substance abuse and mental illness on America’s communities by improving the quality and availability of prevention, treatment, and rehabilitative services.
SAMHSA was established in 1992 and directed by Congress to target effective substance abuse and mental health services to the people most in need, and to translate research in these areas more rapidly and effectively into the general health care system.
SAMHSA provides information about mental health via a toll-free telephone number 877-SAMHSA-7 (877-726-4727), a website, and more than 200 publications. For more information about SAMHSA, please go to SAMHSA’s website at: http://www.samhsa.gov.
Who is the person contacting this facility about the 2014 N-MHSS and for whom do they work?
The survey interviewer who is in contact with your facility regarding the 2014 N-MHSS works for Mathematica, a social policy research firm located in Princeton, New Jersey. Mathematica is the government contractor responsible for conducting the 2014 N-MHSS for SAMHSA.
What is this survey about?
The N-MHSS is a national survey that collects data from all specialty mental health treatment facilities in the United States, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories. These data include information about facility characteristics, the types of services offered, and the number and characteristics of clients who received mental health services at the facility as of a specific date; this year, that date is April 30, 2014. Data collected will provide mental health researchers, health care providers, and program decision-makers with a current picture of what services are available, and where resources could be allocated to meet the needs of persons with mental illness. Information collected will also be used to update SAMHSA’s online Behavioral Health Treatment Services Locator which can be found at http://findtreatment.samhsa.gov.
Questions Related To Participation In The Survey
How was this facility selected?
The goal of the N-MHSS is to contact all eligible facilities in the nation and U.S. territories that provide mental health treatment services as their primary focus. Some of the facility contact information comes from the previous N-MHSS-Locator Survey conducted in 2012. Additional contact information may have been provided by state agencies and national professional associations.
What did the 2014 N-MHSS package that was mailed to this facility look like?
Included in your 2014 N-MHSS packet you will find a flyer with you unique User ID and Password to login to the secure N-MHSS website at https://survey.nmhss.org. The web survey allows you to take the survey at your convenience and will automatically navigate you through the survey ensuring you answer all the necessary questions. The web survey also allows you to stop if necessary with the ability to log back into the survey where you left off and complete the survey at a later date.
What time is it best to call to talk with someone about the N-MHSS?
Normal business hours for the N-MHSS helpline are Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM (Eastern Time). The helpline number is: 1-866-778-9752. Voicemail is available on the helpline 24 hours a day, 7 days per week. If you call after hours, or when all operators are busy, leave your name, your facility’s name, and a telephone number where you can be reached, and a helpline operator will return your call no later than the next business day.
What is the e-mail address where I can write to leave a message about the N-MHSS?
You can write to [email protected].
Additional Definitions Not On The Survey Questionnaire
What does “mental health intake” mean in question A1?
Mental health intake includes services designed to briefly assess the type and degree of a person’s mental health condition to determine whether services are needed and to link him or her to the most appropriate and available service.
What does “mental health diagnostic evaluation” mean in question A1?
The aims of a general psychiatric evaluation are: 1) to establish a psychiatric diagnosis; 2) to collect data sufficient to permit a case formulation; and 3) to develop an initial treatment plan with particular considerations of any immediate interventions that may be needed to ensure the patient’s safety, or, if the evaluation is a re-assessment of a person in long-term treatment to revise the plan of treatment in accord with new perspectives gained from the evaluation. Services may include interviews, psychological testing, physical examinations including speech/hearing, and lab studies.
What does “administrative services” mean in question A1?
Services related to the provision of administrative and operational functions of a mental health treatment facility or facilities; services that do not include the direct provision of mental health treatment.
What do “seclusion” and “restraint” mean in question A20?
Seclusion: The involuntary confinement of a client/patient alone in a room or area from which the client/patient is physically prevented from leaving.
Restraint: Any manual method or physical or mechanical device, material or equipment, that immobilizes or reduces the ability of a client/patient to move his or her arms, legs, body, or head freely, attached or adjacent to the client/patient’s body, that he or she cannot easily remove that restricts freedom of movement or normal access to one’s body. Also, a restraint is a drug or medication when it is used as a restriction to manage the client/patient’s behavior or restrict the client/patient’s freedom of movement and is not a standard treatment or dosage for the client/patient’s condition.
What are the ethnicity and race categories included in questions B3b, B4b, B5b, and B6b?
Hispanic or Latino: A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Central or South American, or other Spanish culture or origin.
American Indian or Alaska Native: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America), and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment.
Asian: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Black or African American: A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.
White: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.
What are the types of “legal status” included in questions B3b, B4b, B5b, and B6b?
Voluntary: A person who is not committed to a program through a civil or criminal proceeding as defined below.
Involuntary, non-forensic (civil): A person committed to a program either by a physician’s certificate, determination by a designated mental health examiner, a civil court proceeding, or by the police or associated agencies for purposes of observation, assessment, or treatment. Designations may include: emergency observation; conservatorship/guardianship; outpatient commitment; conditional release/discharge.
I
For additional definitions and information, please access the
tabs on the
N-MHSS informational website at http://info.nmhss.org.
For additional definitions and information, please access the
tabs on the
N-MHSS informational website at http://info.nmhss.org.
Prepared
by Mathematica Policy Research
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| File Title | N-MHSS 2014 FAQs |
| Subject | FORM |
| Author | Mathematica staff |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2021-01-28 |