Supporting Statement B

Supporting Statement – Part B

Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods

1. Describe (including a numerical estimate) the potential respondent universe and any sam­pling or other respondent selection method to be used. Data on the number of entities (e.g., establishments, State and local government units, households, or persons) in the universe covered by the collection and in the corre­sponding sample are to be provided in tabular form for the universe as a whole and for each of the strata in the proposed sample. Indicate expected response rates for the collection as a whole. If the collection had been conducted previously, include the actual response rate achieved during the last collection.

The respondent universe consists of state Medicaid directors (or a designated respondent) and director of the single state agency for substance abuse (or a designated respondent)from each state with a section1115 substance use disorder (SUD) demonstration. The current number of states with a section 1115 SUD demonstration is 27 (including the District of Columbia). We intend to sample the universe of respondents. Because of the small sample size, the requirement for states with a section 1115 demonstration to cooperate with CMS’s federal independent evaluator, and our procedures to minimize response burden, we expect a 100% response rate.

2. Describe the procedures for the collection of information including:

- Statistical methodology for stratification and sample selection,

Our data collection includes all participating states and thus we will not use a sampling strategy.

We will conduct the Demonstration Characteristics Interview with the state Medicaid director or their designated staff and will conduct the Implementation Interview with both the state Medicaid director and the director of the single state agency for substance abuse or their designated staff. A protocol has been created for each set of interviews. The implementation interview will also use a demonstration features grid. We will prepopulate the grid with information abstracted from state demonstration documents. Prior to the implementation interview we will send the prepopulated grid to state Medicaid directors to review and provide clarifications and missing information. During the interview we will use the grid to guide the discussion.

- Estimation procedure,

An estimation procedure is not applicable

- Degree of accuracy needed for the pur­pose described in the justification

This is not applicable because we will not have an estimation procedure and will need 100% accuracy identifying respondents.

- Unusual problems requiring specialized sampling procedures, and

No specialized sampling procedures are necessary.

- Any use of periodic (less frequent than annual) data collection cycles to reduce burden.

This is a one-time data collection. We plan to conduct subsequent interviews annually, but those data collections are not included in this request because their focus will be identified, and protocols will be developed closer to the data collection period.

3. Describe methods to maximize response rates and to deal with issues of non-response. The accuracy and reliability of information collected must be shown to be adequate for intended uses. For collections based on sam­pling, a special justification must be provid­ed for any collection that will not yield 'reliable' data that can be generalized to the uni­verse studied.

Per the interview protocol in the Supporting Statement Part A, we are implementing strategies to reduce burden and increase response. Initial contacts will be made through the CMS project officer that is in regular contact with the state (Attachments 1.a. & 2.a.) RTI will immediately follow-up with states to make direct contact and schedule a call at a time dictated by the respondent (Attachments 1.b. & 2b.). The team will follow-up after a period of non-response and will work the CMS project officer to ensure participation.

4. Describe any tests of procedures or methods to be undertaken. Testing is encouraged as an effective means of refining collections of information to minimize burden and improve utility. Tests must be approved if they call for answers to identical questions from 10 or more respondents. A proposed test or set of tests may be submitted for approval separate­ly or in combination with the main collection of information.

We adapted the program characteristics grid (Attachment 1.b.) from a template used for abstracting data on awardee features for another CMS meta-evaluation. The approaches to conducting qualitative data collection outlined in Supporting Statement Part A, including the interview protocols, are based on similar evaluations RTI has conducted for federal agencies.

5. Provide the name and telephone number of individuals consulted on statistical aspects of the design and the name of the agency unit, contractor(s), grantee(s), or other person(s) who will actually collect and/or analyze the information for the agency.

Name	Telephone number	Agency unit, contractor, grantee, or other persons
Jesse Hinde	919-541-1209	RTI International
Tami Mark	301-816-4612	RTI International
Anna Sommers	202-974-7884	RTI International
Holly Stockdale	781-370-4027	RTI International
Brian Bruen	919-541-6625	RTI International
Katie Quinn	919-541-7008	RTI International
Joshua Clemson	919-541-4057	RTI International
Alex Besser	919-541-8739	RTI International
Kenneth Fassel	202-728-2476	RTI International
Kyle Emery	919-541-6453	RTI International
Anupa Bir	781-434-1708	RTI International
Susan Haber	781-434-1721	RTI International
Michael Trieger	410-786-0745	Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
Danielle Daly	443-379-3289	Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)

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