RFP 283-20-0556 Attachment 1a_PWS.docx

RFP No. 283-20-0556 Attachment No. 1a

Performance Work Statement

Project Title: “Behavioral Health Services Information System (BHSIS)”

A. BACKGROUND

1. General Description of the Behavioral Health Services Information System (BHSIS)

Section 505 of the Public Health Service Act (42.U.S.C. 290aa) edicts that the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA) shall be headed by an official to be known as the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use. Section 505 of the Public Health Service Act (42.U.S.C. 290aa - 4) requires the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), acting through the Assistant Secretary, to collect data on substance abuse and mental health treatment services, including:

Mental Health

· the number and variety of public and nonprofit private treatment programs;

· the number and demographic characteristics of individuals receiving treatment through such programs;

· the type of care received by such individuals; and

· such other data as may be appropriate.

Substance Abuse

· the number of individuals admitted to the emergency rooms of hospitals as a result of the abuse of alcohol or other drugs;

· the number of deaths occurring as a result of substance abuse, as indicated in reports by coroners in coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;

· the number and variety of public and private nonprofit treatment programs, including the number and type of patient slots available;

· the number of individuals seeking treatment through such programs, the number and demographic characteristics of individuals receiving such treatment, the percentage of individuals who complete such programs, and, with respect to individuals receiving such treatment, the length of time between an individual’s request for treatment and the commencement of treatment;

· the number of such individuals who return for treatment after the completion of a prior treatment in such programs and the method of treatment utilized during the prior treatment;

· the number of individuals receiving public assistance for such treatment programs;

· the costs of the different types of treatment modalities for drug and alcohol abuse and the aggregate relative costs of each such treatment modality provided within a State in each fiscal year;

· to the extent of available information, the number of individuals receiving treatment for alcohol or drug abuse who have private insurance coverage for the costs of such treatment;

· the extent of alcohol and drug abuse among high school students and among the general population; and

· the number of alcohol and drug abuse counselors and other substance abuse treatment personnel employed in public and private treatment facilities.

The collection and reporting of service and program data depend upon the capability of providers and State agencies to collect and report such data, and on the uniformity and standardization of data content within and across data reporters. The major national source of service and program data is the Behavioral Health Services Information System (BHSIS), which is administered by SAMHSA’s Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality (CBHSQ).

The purpose of this contract is to collect, manage, and analyze the data from the six (6) major inter-related components within the BHSIS contract. These include:

1. Inventory of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Treatment Facilities(I-TF) (This inventory system was formerly the Inventory of Behavioral Health Services (I-BHS) more details in task 2);

2. National Substance Use and Mental Health Services Survey (N-SUMHSS) (Pronounced: ‘n-sums’). This survey was previously two separate surveys know as National Mental Health Services Survey (N-MHSS) and National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS). Under this contract, the contractor will begin 2021 data collections and all related work for N-SUMHSS beginning in September 2020 (see task 3 for details). This facility survey is an annual survey of substance abuse and mental health treatment facilities listed on the I-TF;

3. Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS), a collection of substance abuse treatment admissions and discharges to publically-funded substance abuse treatment facilities (more details in task 4);

4. Mental Health-Client Level Data (MH-CLD), collections of mental health client level data from publically-funded mental health treatment service facilities (more details in task 5);

5. Uniform Reporting System (URS) Tables required for Mental Health Block Grant application procedures, which represents data collection efforts in coordination with CMHS Mental Health Block Grant program data needs (more details in task 6); and

6. Behavioral Health Treatment Services Locator - The N-SUMHSS data is used to populate the Locator. The Locator is a confidential and anonymous source of information for persons seeking treatment facilities in the United States or U.S. Territories for substance use/addiction and/or mental health problems (more details in task 8)

2. The Contribution of the Behavioral Health Services Information System (BHSIS) in Satisfying Federal Goals and Priorities

a. SAMHSA’s Data Strategy

The Behavioral Health Services Information System addresses priority areas 1, 3 and 4 of the SAMHSA Strategic Plan;

1. Combating the Opioid Crisis through the Expansion of Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Support Services,

3. Advancing Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Support Services for Substance Use, and

4. Improving Data Collection, Analysis, Dissemination, and Program Policy and Evaluation.

It specifically meets the goals of Objectives;

1.1 strengthening public health surveillance,

3.5 strengthening federal coordination to improve substance use prevention, treatment, and recovery support services,

4.1 developing consistent data collection strategies to identify and track mental health and substance use needs across the nation, and

4.3 promoting access to and use of the nation’s substance use and mental health data and conduct program and policy evaluations and use the results to advance the adoption of evidence-based policies, programs and practices.

B. OBJECTIVES

This contract includes the following broadly-defined domains or responsibilities:

a) In coordination with SAMHSA employees, the Contractor shall be responsible for combining the existing 2 surveys into a consolidated survey called the National Substance Use and Mental Health Services Survey (N-SUMHSS). The Contractor shall also be responsible for planning and designing new data collection instruments and procedures during the Base Year of this contract;

b) Starting in Base Year, conducting, collecting and analyzing annual N-SUMHSS;

c) Processing, updating, and cleaning I-TF, TEDS, N-SUMHSS, MH-TEDS and MH-CLD, and URS data from states and providers;

d) Applying efficient and effective statistical data management practices for BHSIS data systems and devising new file structures and data elements prior to file construction;

e) Producing the annual National Directory of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Treatment Programs and Services, and maintaining and improving the on-line Behavioral Health Treatment Facility Locator (hereafter referred as BH Locator) at https://findtreatment.samhsa.gov;

f) Migrating the BH Locator to a new format similar to findtreatment.gov;

g) Producing analytic files, public-use data files, codebooks, and annual data reports from N-SUMHSS, TEDS, MH-TEDS and MH-CLD, and URS datasets;

h) Providing support for responses to special data tabulation requests;

i) Producing special analytic reports involving one or more of the data sets, or other related data;

j) Planning and arranging meetings with State substance abuse and mental health data staff across the country; and

k) Providing technical assistance to the States on BHSIS data-related projects;

Please see the chart below, outlining the major tasks in this contract and corresponding timeline.

ANTICIPATED MAJOR TASK TIMELINE

Task 1: Project Management

Task 2: Inventory of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Treatment Facilities (I-TF)

Task 3: National Substance Use and Mental Health Services Survey (N-SUMHSS)

CBHSQ review of annual reports, approval, upload reports, data files, all other material to DocSite, SAMHSA and SAMHDA.

Task 4: Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) and Mental Health Treatment Episode Data Set (MH-TEDS)

Task 5: Mental Health Client Level Data (MH-CLD)

Task 6: Uniform Reporting System (URS) Tables

URS data due from states/territories

December 1st

States/territories review draft output tables and submit changes, if any

Ensures all changes received are processed and data collection activities end.

Sends the full versions of the URS output tables to CMHS and CBHSQ via the COR

Submits the URS SQL database backup file and final state/territory URS tables to WebBGAS contractors for upload (Will be posted on BHSIS sites as needed).

Submits section 508-compliant URS Output Tables to the COR for posting on the SAMHSA website and DocSite.

Task 9: State Payments and Agreements

Payments are quarterly: February, May, September, and November.

Task 10: Special Projects and Analyses

Task 11: Turnover at the end of Contract

* Specific dates will be discussed at Kick-off meeting.

** Task timelines will apply for each option year unless otherwise stated or adjusted due to unforeseen circumstances. If the timeline conflicts with the Deliverables (Attachment 1c), please follow the timeline in the Attachment 1c.

C. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

The Contractor shall account for project funding necessary to meet all requirements specified in Section C, including but not limited to activities supporting IT security and privacy, Section 508 compliance, and web content development, management, and migration.

1. Independently, and not as an agent of the Government, the Contractor shall furnish the necessary personnel, labor, equipment, software, services, materials, and supplies, except as otherwise noted specifically herein to perform the work set forth below.

2. All work under this contract will be monitored by the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR).

The Contractor is required to follow the general information technology requirements – the DTM and OC Requirements – please see Attachment 1b.

D. SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS

Task 1: Project Management/Transition

The Contractor shall develop and implement agile project management methods to coordinate all work under this contract. These methods shall be used to ensure work is completed within or before expected timelines and budgets, efficiently, and that quality control procedures are implemented for the best quality products.

Task 1a: Startup at beginning of contract

The Contractor shall coordinate an orderly transition of the project from the previous contractor or the Government during the time between the award of this contract and expiration of the previous contract, for which the final option period is scheduled to end on June 29, 2021. The Contractor shall ensure that all activities are transitioned smoothly and with no interruption or break in any services and data collections.

a) The Contractor shall, at the Contracting Officer’s (CO’s) discretion, participate in meetings with the previous Contractors or COR to effect a smooth transition and to receive detailed information on the operation of the BHSIS Contract.

b) Within the transition period, the Contractor shall ensure the following:

1. Ensure receipt from the previous Contractors, or SAMHSA, complete documentation and all government furnished property, hardware, software, materials and data necessary to support continuation of full services, capabilities and outstanding technical and related work inherited from the previous Contractors, and promptly notify the COR of any omissions or deficiencies.

2. Ensure that during the transition period, the Contractor’s personnel receive training from the previous Contractors’ senior personnel in all system operation and maintenance functions.

In the base year of this contract, the Contractor shall be responsible for the following tasks:

a) Start all N-SUMHSS data collection work activities,

b) Aiding in the decommissioning and archiving of all the datasets and documents on this public facing website (wwwdasis.samhsa.gov) and transitioning all these datasets and documents to SAMHDA,

c) Transitioning and assuming responsibility of all other data collection activities and tasks, including TEDS, MH-TEDS, MH-CLD, URS Tables and I-TF,

d) Creating and programming new N-SUMHSS Data Collection Instrument and building back-end environment in the SAMHSA AWS Cloud,

e) Implementing and improving the interface for BH Locator to mimic the redesigned Substance Use Facility Locator (FindTreatment.Gov)

f) Although SAMHSA DTM personnel will be responsible for designing and building the new AWS infrastructure, the new Contractor shall be responsible for migrating the data and applications to the SAMHSA Environment, and

g) Revising the existing Authority to Operate (ATO) for this contract encompassing all new/changed security controls or assets, including the new N-SUMHSS.

Note for reference and budgeting purposes: The Contractor shall coordinate the deployment of all new systems and applications into SAMHSA’s approved environments (e.g. SAMHSA cloud, SAMHSA local data center, or other SAMHSA approved platforms) based on the following guidelines:

a) The Contractor shall be responsible for maintaining its own development and testing environment where all code development will occur.

b) The Contractor shall coordinate with DTM for the deployment and testing final systems/applications on the Staging and Production environment that will be maintained and operated by SAMHSA.

Contractor staff will be required to go through SAMHSA badging requirements. This contract does not require clearances. The Government will provide laptops to key personnel, including developers and systems engineers to help facilitate access to internal environments (servers, AWS Cloud, etc.).

IT work plan

· Within four (4) weeks after the Contract Effective Date (CED), the Contractor shall create and submit draft system’s Privacy Impact Assessments, Entity Relationship Diagrams, Physical and Logical diagrams, information types along with data types and related relationship diagrams for the data that is being stored, processed and transmitted within the system. The above information shall be submitted to SAMHSA Security through the COR for approval and validation.

· Within four (4) weeks after the CED, the Contractor shall meet with the COR and Chief Information Security Officer at a Privacy and Security Kick Off meeting to plan an implementation schedule that attains an ATO prior to system entering the production stage. (This meeting can be held virtually.)

· The contractor is responsible for submitting all required materials 30 days prior to the ATO anniversary date for review by the SAMHSA Security team, and contractor must follow SAMHSA continuous monitoring schedule.

Data Classification Note: Based upon preliminary review of the Performance Work Statement (PWS) and the existing Authorization to Operate (ATO) currently in place, the data residing within this system is anticipated to be categorized as a “Moderate”. The Contractor shall continue operating under the current system ATO starting at the award of this contract, while working to revise the existing ATO to include all new/changed security controls or assets for this contract within 180 days of contract award. Please see Security and Privacy Requirements section of the Attachment 1b for example deliverables for the ATO.

Task 1b: Kick off meeting & Requirements

The Contractor shall conduct a kickoff meeting with the COR/ACOR and other SAMHSA stakeholders within ten (10) calendar days after the CED. The Project Manager shall draft the kickoff meeting agenda, which shall include reviewing the PWS and deliverables. It shall also identify SAMHSA and all other 3rd party systems the Contractor needs to access and a plan to gain access. The kickoff meeting shall occur in person, at SAMHSA, located in Rockville, MD.

For reference and budgeting purposes, please assume:

a) One (1) kickoff meeting in the first year,

b) Essential staff, not to exceed ten (10) if not local,

c) $650 airfare, $100 ground, $256 hotel per night, $76 M&IE for one (1) day, and $57 M&IE for two (2) days,

d) Kick off meeting onsite will last no longer than two (2) days.

Task 1c: Project Meetings & Communication (with COR & IT)

Formal meetings between the Contractor and the COR shall be scheduled weekly, and additional as needed. These meetings shall take place in a mutually acceptable location to both parties. It is understood that the Contractor may not be located within close proximity to SAMHSA, so in lieu of working together in the same physical space, collaboration and meetings can be facilitated using a wide variety of tools including phone calls, emails, video conferencing, and shared digital workspaces. The COR and Project Manager shall work together to determine the best tools for this after contract award.

The Contractor shall participate in technical meetings as determined necessary by the COR. For reference, current meetings include:

a) a monthly change control board meeting

b) weekly meetings with core SAMHSA staff

c) bi-monthly meetings with SAMHSA management

d) bi-monthly meetings with SAMHSA stakeholders

e) up to two (2) on-site meetings at SAMHSA with essential staff, not to exceed ten (10) if not local, and

f) more often as agreed upon between the Contractor and COR if local travel is possible.

The Contractor shall take meeting minutes when asked and deliver to COR within one (1) business day after the meeting. Format of meeting minutes shall be determined by COR and Project Manager, but shall include discussion items and action items at a minimum.

The COR and other SAMHSA product owners/stakeholders will be available to confer with the Contractor on a daily basis during core work hours/days. The Contractor is expected to acknowledge emails, phone calls, or other correspondence from the COR within one (1) business day.

Task 1d: Reporting Requirements

Weekly Report

The Contractor shall send a weekly project tracking sheet by close of business (COB) on a specific weekday to be agreed upon with the COR, each week, starting in the first week of the second contract month (or other fixed date as mutually agreed upon by the COR and Project Manager), and weekly thereafter. These weekly reports are done in tandem with, and to supplement, the weekly meetings specified in task 1c.

The weekly project tracking report layout may be updated, changed, or altered, with input from the Project Manager and/or COR at any time throughout the contract to better suit reporting needs.

For reference, the current project tracking report is in PDF, and includes the following information:

a) Summary of significant accomplishments and results obtained

b) Current or anticipated problems that may impede performance/schedules and the proposed corrective actions

c) Goals for the next month

d) Status of overall progress

e) Summary of personnel time in hours for the last month, by task and subtask, and estimated percent of total time expended

f) Chart of costs, by task, for both the month and the cumulative total

g) Financial status table that displays the funds to date that have been obligated, expended, committed, and projected to be expended by year

Monthly Report

The Contractor shall submit a monthly report by the 15th calendar day of the second contract month (or other fixed date as mutually agreed upon by the COR and Project Manager), and monthly thereafter.

The monthly report layout may be updated, changed, or altered, with input from the Project Manager and/or COR at any time throughout the contract to better suit reporting needs.

For reference, the current monthly reports include the following information:

a) narratives on activities performed on each task and subtask that month

b) problems encountered and proposed solutions

c) plans for upcoming months

d) Monthly expenditures broken out by task. An example of the current template can be found in technical documentation, attachment 1d.

Annual Report

The Contractor shall submit an annual report by the 10th calendar day of the 11th month in the contract year. The COR and Project Manager may work together to assess specific goals for the annual report but in general, the annual report shall include:

a) activities during the previous year of the contract, broken out by task

b) plans for the next contract year (unless it is the final year of the contract)

c) challenges for the past year

d) anticipated challenges for the coming year

e) summary on expenditure of funds throughout the year

f) plans for expenditure of funds for coming year, and

g) Recommendations for improvements (on operations, tasks, etc.).

Task 1e: Electronic Document Repositories

In consultation with the COR, the Contractor shall help maintain and update an internal repository for all contract related documents. These include all documents and materials developed under the contract, organized in an easily accessible manner. Work plans, meeting minutes, agendas, inventories, and all other working materials that cannot be made public shall be maintained in this repository. The Contractor, COR, other SAMHSA staff, and other SAMHSA contractors (as determined necessary) shall have access to this repository.

In consultation with the COR, the Contractor shall commit to working in the open and use industry best practices which includes the regular use of open source code. As all documents, code and associated data are developed, the Contractor shall collaborate with SAMHSA to ensure they are consistent with standards for privacy and security. All development under this contract shall be dedicated fully to the public domain. For more information, see federal open source policy (https://sourcecode.cio.gov/). (FAR 52.227-14) SAMHSA intends that all software and documentation delivered by the Contractor, will be owned by SAMHSA and committed to the public domain. This includes, but is not limited to: data, documents, graphics, code, plans, reports, schedules, schemas, metadata, architecture designs and the like; all new open source software created by the Contractor and forks or branches of the current open source software where the Contractor has made a modification; and all new tooling, scripting configuration management, infrastructure as code, or any other final changes or edits to successfully deploy or operate the software.

To the extent that the Contractor seeks to incorporate in the software delivered under this contract any software that was not first produced in the performance of this contract, SAMHSA encourages the Contractor to incorporate either software that is in the public domain, or free and open source software that qualifies under the Open Source Definition promulgated by the Open Source Initiative. In any event, the Contractor shall promptly disclose to SAMHSA in writing, and list in the documentation, any software incorporated in the delivered software that is subject to a license.

If software delivered by the Contractor incorporates software that is subject to an open source license that provides implementation guidance, then the Contractor shall ensure compliance with that guidance. If software delivered by the Contractor incorporates software that is subject to an open source license that does not provide implementation guidance, then the Contractor shall attach or include the terms of the license within the work itself, such as in code comments at the beginning of a file, or in a license file within a software repository.

In addition, the Contractor shall obtain written permission from SAMHSA before incorporating into the delivered software any software that is subject to a license that does not qualify under the Open Source Definition promulgated by the Open Source Initiative. If SAMHSA grants such written permission, then the Contractor’s rights to use that software shall be promptly assigned to SAMHSA.

For reference, the current BHSIS contract maintains:

a) an internal access only website with dual-factor authentication,

b) website provides access to select users,

c) website maintains all documentation, reports, materials, etc. developed under BHSIS, and

d) is updated on an ongoing basis, keeping all historical documentation.

Task 2: Inventory of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Treatment Facilities (I-TF)

Note: For budgeting purposes, access to I-TF will occur at contract award, but O&M and full transition is anticipated to start on approximately April 1, 2021 in the Base Year of the Contract. Please note that some work may begin based on dependencies with other tasks (i.e. NSUMHSS).

The Inventory of Behavioral Health Services (I-BHS) includes a master list of all organized substance abuse treatment and mental health treatment programs known to CBHSQ. Starting with this contract, the I-BHS will be known as the Inventory of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Treatment Facilities (I-TF). The substance abuse treatment providers in the inventory that are licensed, certified or otherwise recognized by the individual State substance abuse agencies are flagged as “State approved” in the I-TF file. Other facilities are coded as “non-State approved.” Non-state approved facilities that the state substance abuse agency indicates as legitimate may be coded as “Directory eligible.” For substance abuse treatment facilities, only “State approved,” “Directory eligible,” federal facilities, or SAMHSA-certified Opioid Treatment Programs may be listed in SAMHSA’s on-line Behavioral Health Treatment Services Locator, https://findtreatment.samhsa.gov, and the National Directory of Drug and Alcohol Abuse Treatment Programs. The mental health treatment providers in the inventory that meet specified criteria may be listed in SAMHSA’s on-line Behavioral Health Treatment Services Locator and the National Directory of Mental Health Treatment Programs. The I-TF is used by SAMHSA and many States as the principal means of identifying treatment providers within the substance abuse and mental health service system. It contains a unique national numbering system for treatment facilities and is continuously updated as CBHSQ is notified about new facilities, closures, mergers, etc.

For reference, as of February 25, 2020, the current I-BHS (to be renamed I-TF) lists 22,099 active substance abuse treatment facilities (of which 17,277 are State-approved) and 15,122 active mental health treatment facilities. The total number of listings maintained in the current system (including all active, inactive facilities, facilities that may be administrative only, etc.) is 134,379.

The I-TF is updated through several mechanisms:

1. State substance abuse and mental health agencies may request that their facilities’ status change (open, closed, merged, etc) to update in the I-TF;

2. facilities may request to be added to the I-TF; the

3. National Substance Use and Mental Health Services Survey (N-SUMHSS) may identify new facilities to be added; and

4. Special “augmentation” efforts to identify new or missing facilities through searches of external provider listings add new facilities.

Records for facilities that are currently listed as inactive are also retained in the I-TF system; no facility is ever physically removed from the I-TF, it can only be listed as inactive if the facility does not or no longer provides treatment services. If a facility changes its location, the original record shall be retained and a new record shall be created. If a facility does not participate in N-SUMHSS, it shall be listed as non-response.

For reference, as of February 2020, I-BHS (to be renamed I-TF) maintains current and historical information on about 68,793 active and inactive treatment, administrative, and other non-treatment facilities.

Task 2a: I-TF Operation and Maintenance (O&M)

The Contractor shall maintain, update, make recommendations on improvements, and implement approved changes to the I-TF. Contractor shall:

a) be responsible for continuously updating the I-TF, based on information received from a variety of sources (e.g., CBHSQ, State substance abuse and mental health agencies, facilities, surveys, augmentation procedures, etc.),

b) provide updated BH Locator information to keep the BH Locator current,

c) be responsible for quality control, preparation of special queries, data entry, and generating reports and data files as requested by the COR,

d) be responsible for responding to e-mail queries sent through the BH Locator’s feedback mechanism,

e) operate a toll-free telephone line to facilitate communication between state representatives regarding updates to the I-TF available during business hours, or other times as determined by the COR,

f) maintain and update, as necessary, the operations manual and make recommendations for modifications,

g) produce computer-generated provider listings and electronic files to be used by the States and CBHSQ in connection with the N-SUMHSS surveys and in response to other special requests,

h) maintain an electronic file of the I-TF extract for the N-SUMHSS survey mailing lists,

i) produce address label files for SAMHSA mailings,

j) provide a monthly accounting report of I-TF facilities to the COR, and

k) maintain and update listings of State Substance Abuse Agency Directors, State Mental Health Agency Directors, State I-TF representatives, N-SUMHSS representatives, TEDS representatives, State BHSIS Data Plan Managers, and State Opioid Treatment Authorities (SOTAs).

Task 2b: I-TF Updates

CBHSQ conducts annual “augmentation” efforts to identify new or missing facilities in the I-TF through periodic searches of external provider listings to add new facilities. Each year of the contract, in consultation with the COR, the Contractor shall develop a detailed written plan and schedule for a combined substance treatment facility, substance abuse and mental health treatment facilities and mental health treatment facility augmentation effort for the I-TF. After COR approval, the Contractor shall implement the plan in each year of the contract.

For reference, previous annual augmentations put forward that:

a) The Contractor shall identify and assess any additional relevant files or other sources and assess their appropriateness for identifying treatment facilities not in the I-TF; gain access to the relevant files; match acquired files against the current I-TF facility files for identification of missing facilities; and document the matching passes and file management. Currently, the sources for the augmentation include the N-SUMHSS, American Hospital Association (AHA), American Business Information (ABI), and various mental health associations,

b) The Contractor shall review the most recent augmentation form and the augmentation procedures and make recommendations for modifications needed to improve the identification of new substance abuse treatment facilities and mental health treatment facilities. The Contractor shall assess, modify, and refine the computer assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) version of the augmentation screener, and test and demonstrate the CATI procedures and instrument to the satisfaction of the COR before implementation,

c) The Contractor shall develop formal training materials for a training session for CATI interviewers and, following approval by the COR, conduct the training. The training shall be conducted at the Contractor’s facilities and the Contractor is responsible for any travel arrangements and costs associated with assembling interviewers at the training site,

d) Using CATI methodology, the Contractor shall conduct the screening calls, keeping accurate and complete accounting of the matching and screening process,

e) The Contractor shall record all CATI calls for quality control. These tapes (and transcription) shall be made available to the COR upon request,

f) After completing screening interviews, the Contractor shall determine which newly identified treatment facilities are unique and which are duplicates of facilities already on the I-TF, and add the unique facilities to the I-TF with the appropriate origin code, whether substance abuse or mental health,

g) Following completion of the augmentation activities, the Contractor shall prepare and submit two (2) reports on augmentation activities: (1) a methodological report describing the approach taken, lists searched, matching procedures, etc.; and (2) a data report presenting augmentation outcomes including separate entries for substance abuse treatment facilities and mental health treatment facilities. Following COR review and approval of draft reports, electronic versions of final reports shall be submitted in a format specified by the COR, and

h) The Contractor shall explore alternative methods of data collection for the augmentation screener that can facilitate updates to the list of facilities to be included in the N-SUMHSS.

Technical Documentation on this system can be found in attachment 1d.

Task 3: National Substance Use and Mental Health Services Survey (N-SUMHSS)

The National Substance Use and Mental Health Services Survey (N-SUMHSS) is an annual census of all active substance abuse treatment and mental health treatment facilities listed on the I-TF inventory. (There are some exclusions, such as treatment units within jails, prisons and other correctional settings, and non-state approved solo practitioners).The National Substance Use and Mental Health Services Survey (N-SUMHSS) collects information on the location, organization, structure, services and utilization of substance abuse/mental health treatment.

Historically CBHSQ collected these data through two (2) separate data collections: the NSSATS & NMHSS. Information on the N-SSATS and N-MHSS can be found at (https://www.samhsa.gov/data/data-we-collect/n-ssats-national-survey-substance-abuse-treatment-services) and (https://www.samhsa.gov/data/data-we-collect/n-mhss-national-mental-health-services-survey), respectively. The government combined these into one data collection (National Substance Use and Mental Health Services Survey (N-SUMHSS)) to help reduce respondent burden, increase efficiency, and better manage resources. This data collection effort will start in March of 2021, with all N-SUMHSS related development and programming starting when this contract is awarded in September of 2020. Please note that the N-SUMHSS survey has already been developed by SAMHSA, so this task does not include any work related to the creation, modifying or editing of the actual survey.

The National Substance Use and Mental Health Services Survey (N-SUMHSS) collects facility-specific characteristics, such as: location; organizational structure and ownership; types of services and specially-designed programs/services offered; and payment/funding sources. The survey also collects facility caseload data, such as: one day census counts of residents; and aggregated counts of clients by age, gender, race, and ethnicity. Facilities include public and private psychiatric hospitals; non-federal general hospitals with separate psychiatric services; U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers; residential treatment centers for children; residential treatment centers for adults; freestanding outpatient clinics and partial care programs; and multiservice (non-hospital) mental health facilities. Data are used for publication in SAMHSA reports, program administration, planning, and policy analysis.

The National Substance Use and Mental Health Services Survey (N-SUMHSS) reports on treatment characteristics at the facility level and on the number of persons in treatment on the survey reference date or other facility characteristics including workforce characteristics.

The Contractor shall participate in a transition of the project from the previous contractor or the Government during the time between the award of this contract and expiration of the previous contract, for which the final option period is scheduled to end on June 29, 2021. The Contractor shall ensure that all activities are transitioned smoothly and with no interruption or break in any services and data collections.

Task 3a: N-SUMHSS Development

The N-SUMHSS is a new data collection, and upon award of this contract, the contractor is expected to begin work on data collection planning and development activities for the 2021 N-SUMHSS. The Contractor shall be responsible, in collaboration and per direction from SAMHSA and the COR, in participating in activities related to the development of the N-SUMHSS.

These activities include, but are not limited to:

a) within three (3) weeks after the CED, developing and submitting to the COR and SAMHSA for approval, a proposed tool/solution for the new N-SUMHSS data collection (web-based, mail and CATI questionnaire instruments and procedures),

b) working with SAMHSA and the COR to help determine infrastructure requirements so SAMHSA can help build out an environment on the SAMHSA AWS Cloud or help develop specifications for an approved AWS Cloud environment outside of SAMHSA if deemed the best solution,

c) working in consultation with the COR to develop outreach materials and an outreach plan to States that will participate N-SUMHSS, to help educate them on the new survey and new reporting processes, requirements, etc.,

d) developing the N-SUMHSS data collection tool and all processes, materials, and finish testing, etc. no later than March 2021,

e) creating and maintaining an N-SUMHSS information website, displaying definitions for terms in the questionnaire, frequently asked questions, etc., for use by survey respondents,

f) creating an N-SUMHSS operations manual, and continuously updating in consultation with SAMHSA, the COR and other stakeholders,

g) in consultation with the COR and designated CBHSQ staff, representatives of the States and other data users, the Contractor shall develop, revise and pretest the N-SUMHSS questionnaire, including web-based and mail versions, and

h) developing processes for integrating new N-SUMHSS data into the BH Locator.

Task 3b: N-SUMHSS Preparation, Data Collection & Processing

The N-SUMHSS will be conducted every year, with data collection planned to start March 2021. The full cycle of planning, obtaining clearances, pretesting, data collection, data processing, and data analysis, spans a period of approximately three (3) years.

The N-SUMHSS collects statistical data on the numbers, characteristics, and services of substance abuse and mental health treatment facilities, nationwide and shall be used to provide an update to the substance abuse/mental health treatment facility portion of the Behavioral Health Treatment Services Locator and /Directory. The N-SUMHSS also collects additional statistical data on facility characteristics and on the numbers and characteristics of persons served. The N-SUMHSS will collect client counts questions each survey year and any special topics questions, as requested by SAMHSA.

The Contractor shall maintain, update, make recommendations on improvements, and implement approved changes to the N-SUMHSS Data Collection and related systems. The Contractor shall:

a) review the web-based, mail, and CATI questionnaires and procedures used in the N-SUMHSS, (assuming substantial revisions every (3) three years and minor revisions/adjustments more often), and make recommendations in collaboration with the COR and SAMHSA,

b) in consultation with the COR and designated CBHSQ staff, representatives of the States and other data users, develop, revise and pretest N-SUMHSS questionnaire, including web-based and mail versions when significant revisions are made, and submit to the COR all results and recommendations,

c) collaborate with substance abuse agency staff designated as N-SUMHSS and I-TF contacts in each State and Territory, and maintain an up-to-date listing of these contacts on the BHSIS Resource Center at https://dasis3.samhsa.gov/brc/login,

d) work closely with the substance use and mental health state and federal contacts to solicit state letters of support for the survey (to be included in the survey packets mailed to respondents), obtain assistance in non-response follow up, and seek state input on other facility-related issues,

e) provide states with lists of non-responding facilities after the second survey packet mailing, and if requested by States, the Contractor shall provide mailing labels for the non-responding facilities,

f) maintain and update N-SUMHSS information website, and develop new content for all survey relations information and materials needed for facilities during data collections,

g) operate a toll-free telephone line and e-mail address to facilitate communication between the Contractor and the States and to serve as a helpline for facilities to use when they have questions about or problems with responding to the N-SUMHSS,

h) develop the web-based version of the questionnaire to include data that does not typically change from year to year pre-filled with the previous year’s data so that the respondent need only verify correctness or change data (as many variables as possible shall be pre-filled),

i) maintain the website and the security of the data, receiving responses and assuring their security, and providing assistance to facilities choosing the web option,

j) build in as many quality controls and edit checks as possible into the web-based instrument, and ensuring mobile/tablet friendliness,

k) reproduce N-SUMHSS questionnaire and supplying, developing and/or reproducing other materials to be included in the survey packet (e.g., State letters of support, advance letter and cover letter, survey fact sheet, web instruction sheet, postage-paid return envelope, etc),

l) contractor shall also develop, subject to COR’s review and approval, a plan for imprinting facility mailing information and other facility identifiers on the questionnaire,

m) develop respondent letters, paper questionnaires, and other related documents in Spanish for facilities operating in Spanish-speaking areas, and also provide bilingual interviewers for the CATI mode of the survey and assist with the helpline,

n) be responsible for mailing the survey packets to each of the N-SUMHSS eligible treatment facilities on the I-TF, with the first mailing timed so that facilities receive the questionnaire on or about the last working day of March of each contract year,

o) encourage facilities to respond primarily by web,

p) develop, subject to COR’ s review and approval, procedures for administering the N-SUMHSS questionnaire via CATI to facilities that have failed to respond by mail or by web,

q) be responsible for locating, contacting, and collecting data from the facilities, including follow-up with initial non-respondents, within a six to seven (6-7)-month field period, and calculating survey response rate (in collaboration with the COR and SAMHSA),

r) develop, subject to the COR’s approval, a detailed system for tracking and monitoring questionnaire status throughout all stages of the survey process; including, but not limited to, number of survey packets mailed, number of additional facilities added during the course of the survey fielding, number of facilities completing the paper questionnaire, web questionnaire and CATI interview, number of facilities closed, number of refusals, etc.,

s) develop and implement a system for transmitting information from returned N-SUMHSS questionnaires, the web version, and the CATI version which have changes made to the facility information (director’s name, facility name, location and mailing addresses, phone numbers, etc.) to I-TF staff so that the I-TF can be updated on a flow basis, and

t) develop and implement, subject to the COR’s review and approval, a formal training program for editors and associated staff working on all aspects of the survey; at least two (2) editor debriefings – one shortly after editing has started to identify problems that need to be fixed, and another later in the editing period.

Task 3c: Ongoing N-SUMHSS Mini-Surveying & Data Collection

Newly identified facilities are added to the I-TF on a continuous basis. States are encouraged to add facilities as they open; facilities are discovered during the course of N-SUMHSS; and facilities contact CBHSQ asking to be added to the Inventory so that they can be listed in the Directory/Locator. Approximately 150 new State-approved facilities are added to the Inventory each month. Approximately six (6) weeks before the N-SUMHSS reference date, a file of all the active treatment facilities on the I-TF at that time is created. This file becomes the list frame for the N-SUMHSS. In the past, if a facility was not listed on the I-TF at the time the file was created, it would have to wait until after the next N-SUMHSS cycle to appear in the Directory/Locator. Because being listed in the Directory/Locator is a strong motivation for survey participation, CBHSQ developed a procedure for collecting services data from newly identified facilities between main cycles of the survey. This data collection, known as the “mini N-SUMHSS”, is in operation throughout the year, and enables facilities to be added to the BH Locator in a timelier manner. After a facility has responded to the “mini N-SUMHSS” and has been listed on the Locator, it must respond to the next regularly scheduled N-SUMHSS in order to maintain the listing.

This task requires the Contractor, in collaboration with the COR, to develop a “mini N-SUMHSS” and procedures for the ongoing collection of these data and inclusion in the I-TF and BH Locator.

This task also includes, but is not limited to, activities that require the Contractor to:

a) review the questionnaires and procedures used in the previous year’s “mini N-SUMHSS” and submit written recommendations to the COR for revisions for the upcoming year,

b) ensure the questionnaire be limited to those items that are published in the Directory/BH Locator, and basic items needed for categorizing facilities,

c) assume that the questionnaire will take approximately forty five (45) minutes to complete and that the data will be collected by CATI and the Web,

d) develop a system for transmitting data collected in the “mini N-SUMHSS”, on a flow basis, to the I-TF staff and system,

e) add new State-approved facilities to its tracking system for the “mini N-SUMHSS” on an ongoing basis, sending letters or faxes to each facility director invite the facility to participate in the “mini N-SUMHSS”,

f) follow up with non-response facilities to the “mini N-SUMHSS”,

g) contact newly identified facilities during the regular survey and take the information collected from these facilities to be processed separately from the regular survey so that it can be added to the BH Locator on an ongoing basis, and

h) compile a file of the completed “mini N-SUMHSS” interviews, other outcomes (e.g., facility closed, not providing substance abuse treatment, not providing mental health treatment), and changes in facility name, address and other pertinent information and update the BH Locator with the new information on and ongoing basis.

Task 4: Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) and Mental Health Treatment Episode Data Set (MH-TEDS)

Note: For budgeting purposes, this task is anticipated to transition on approximately April 1, 2021 in the Base Year of the Contract.

The Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) is a repository of national data on clients admitted to substance abuse treatment programs, most of which receive public funding through the state substance abuse agencies. TEDS obtains demographic and drug history data on individuals admitted to these programs.