2012-16558. 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 [phone].

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: Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS)—New

The Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) is a compilation of client-level substance abuse treatment admission and discharge data submitted by States on clients treated in facilities that receive State funds. TEDS is related to SAMHSA's Drug and Alcohol Services Information System (DASIS) (now the Behavioral Health Services Information System (BHSIS)), and was previously approved as part of the DASIS data collection (OMB No. 0930-0106). SAMHSA is now requesting OMB approval for TEDS separately from the other DASIS/BHSIS activities.

The BHSIS data collections involve primarily facility-level data systems, including the Inventory of Behavioral Health Services (I-BHS), which is an inventory of substance abuse and mental health treatment facilities, the National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS), and the National Mental Health Services Survey (NMHSS, OMB No. 0930-0119). The N-SSATS and NMHSS are census surveys of treatment facilities. In contrast, TEDS is a client-level data system that collects admission and discharge records from state substance abuse agencies. Therefore, SAMHSA is requesting OMB approval for the TEDS client-level data collection separately from the BHSIS facility-related activities.

TEDS data are collected to obtain information on the number of admissions and discharges at publicly-funded substance abuse treatment facilities and on the characteristics of clients receiving services at those facilities. TEDS also monitors trends in the demographic and substance use characteristics of treatment admissions. In addition, several of the data elements used to calculate performance measures for the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment (SAPT) Block Grant are collected in TEDS.

This request for OMB approval includes a request to continue the collection of TEDS client-level admissions and discharge data. Most states collect the TEDS data elements from their treatment providers for their own administrative purposes and are able to submit a crossed-walked extract of their data to TEDS. No significant changes are expected in the TEDS collection (other than recording the TEDS burden hours separately from the DASIS/BHSIS burden hours.)

Estimated annual burden for the TEDS activities is shown below:

Type of respondent and activity	Number of respondents	Responses per respondent	Hours per response	Total burden hours
STATES:
TEDS Admission Data	52	4	6.25	1,300
TEDS Discharge Data	52	4	8.25	1,716
TEDS Crosswalks	5	1	10	50
Total	52			3,066

Send comments to Summer King, SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer, Room 2-1057, One Choke Cherry Road, Rockville, MD 20857 or email a copy to [e-mail]. Written comments must be received before 60 days after the date of the publication in the Federal Register.

Cathy J. Friedman,

Public Health Analyst.