Online Program

How Stable are Responses Over Time

Keywords: Prefilled Data, Stability of Respondent Response

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is mandated by Congress to collect data on the provision and utilization of substance abuse treatment services. As part of this mandate, SAMHSA (1) maintains a national inventory of facilities that offer substance abuse treatment and prevention services; (2) conducts an annual multi-mode survey of all known substance abuse treatment facilities; and (3) maintains a national database on clients admitted to substance abuse treatment programs. Together, these components form the Drug and Alcohol Services Information System. Mathematica Policy Research partners with the prime contractor, Synectics for Management Decisions, Inc. to collect the data for the annual survey and works with SAMHSA to continue to improve the quality of the data. Although this multi-mode survey has had response rates in the middle 90s, over time the response rate has declined slightly and there has been concern over facility burden. This paper will explore the stability of the response, over time, while responding to a direct request from our recurring respondent base to reduce their burden.