National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services: 2003
In Brief
A total of 13,623 facilities responded to the N-SSATS survey in 2003 and reported a one-day census of 1,092,546 clients enrolled in substance abuse treatment on March 31, 2003
More than 60 percent of the facilities surveyed in 2003 were operated by private non-profit entities, one-quarter were operated by private for-profit organizations and the remainder were operated by Federal, State, local, or tribal governments
Eighty percent of facilities provided outpatient care, 28 percent provided residential treatment and 7 percent offered hospital inpatient care
The National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS) is an annual census of all known facilities in the United States, both public and private, that provide substance abuse treatment.
This issue of The DASIS Report presents results highlights from the 2003 N-SSATS. Conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), N-SSATS is designed to collect data on the location, characteristics, and use of alcoholism and drug abuse treatment facilities and services throughout the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and other U.S. jurisdictions.
In the United States and its jurisdictions 13,623 substance abuse treatment facilities responded to the 2003 N-SSATS, reporting that there were 1,092,546 clients in substance abuse treatment on the survey reference date of March 31, 2003. The survey response rate in the United States and its jurisdictions was 96 percent.
Mix of Mental Health &
Substance
Abuse Treatment Services
3,600
26%
General Health Care
249
2%
Other/Unknown
266
2%
Total
13,623
100%
Table 3. Client Substance Abuse Problem Treated at Facility: 2003
Facilities
Substance Abuse Problem
Number
Percent
Clients with Both Alcohol and
Drug
Abuse
11,508
93%
Clients with Drug Abuse Only
9,628
78%
Clients with Alcohol Abuse
Only
9,765
79%
Total
12,398
Note: Excludes 1,225 facilities that were not asked or did not respond to this question. Facilities may be included in more than one category.
Table 4. Type of Care Offered: 2003
Facilities
Type of Care
Number
Percent
Outpatient
10,893
80%
Regular
Outpatient
9,967
73%
Intensive
Outpatient
5,902
43%
Day
Treatment/Partial
Hospitalization
2,156
16%
Detoxification
1,501
11%
Methadone/LAAM
Maintenance
955
7%
Residential
3,793
28%
Short Term
1,596
12%
Long Term
3,142
23%
Detoxification
957
7%
Hospital Inpatient
1,013
7%
Treatment
662
5%
Detoxification
900
7%
Total
13,623
Note: Facilities may be included in more than one category.
Table 5. Facilities with Opioid Treatment Programs (OTPs): 2003
Facilities
Program Type
Number
Percent
Maintenance Only
361
34%
Detoxification Only
124
12%
Both Maintenance and
Detoxification
582
54%
Total
1,067
100%
Table 6. Facility Payment Options: 2003
Facilities
Type of Payment Accepted
Number
Percent
Cash/Self Payment
12,291
90%
Private Health Insurance
9,234
68%
Medicare
4,746
35%
Medicaid
7,151
53%
Other State-Financed Health
Insurance
4,854
36%
Federal Military Insurance
4,736
35%
No Payment Accepted
575
4%
Other Payment Assistance
354
3%
Sliding
Fee Scale
8,705
64%
Treatment at No Charge for
Clients Who Cannot Pay
7,549
55%
Note: Facilities may be included in more than one "type of payment accepted" category.
Table 7. Facility Capacity and Utilization of Residential and Hospital Inpatient Care: 2003
Residential
Hospital Inpatient
Number of Facilities
3,204
583
Number of Clients
95,689
10,630
Number of Designated Beds
101,920
13,378
Utilization Rate
94%
80%
Number of Designated Beds
per Facility
32
23
Note: Excludes 636 facilities not reporting both client counts and number of beds, facilities whose client counts were reported by another facility, and facilities that included client counts from other facilities. Excludes facilities offering outpatient care only.
Table 8. Facilities Offering Programs or Groups for Specific Client Types: 2003
Facilities
Client Type
Number
Percent
Any Program or Group
11,486
84%
Adolescents
4,359
32%
Clients with Co-Occurring
Mental
and Substance Abuse Disorders
4,783
35%
Criminal Justice Clients
(Other than
DUI/DWI Clients)
3,634
27%
Persons with HIV/AIDS
1,484
11%
Gays/Lesbians
755
6%
Seniors/Older Adults
999
7%
Pregnant/Postpartum Women
1,851
14%
Women Only
4,779
35%
Men Only
3,636
27%
DUI/DWI Offenders
4,454
33%
Other Groups
1,937
14%
Note: Facilities may be included in more than one category.
Note: Facilities may be included in more than one category.
The Drug and Alcohol Services Information System (DASIS) is an integrated data system maintained by the Office of Applied Studies, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). One component of DASIS is the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS). TEDS is a compilation of data on the demographic characteristics and substance abuse problems of those admitted for substance abuse treatment. The information comes primarily from facilities that receive some public funding. Information on treatment admissions is routinely collected by State administrative systems and then submitted to SAMHSA in a standard format. TEDS records represent admissions rather than individuals, as a person may be admitted to treatment more than once. State admission data are reported to TEDS by the Single State Agencies (SSAs) for substance abuse treatment. There are significant differences among State data collection systems. Sources of State variation include completeness of reporting, facilities reporting TEDS data, clients included, and treatment resources available. See the annual TEDS reports for details. Approximately 1.9 million records are included in TEDS each year.
The DASIS Report is prepared by the Office of Applied Studies, SAMHSA; Synectics for Management Decisions, Inc., Arlington, Virginia; and by RTI International in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina (RTI International is a trade name of Research Triangle Institute).
Information and data for this issue are based on data reported to TEDS through March 1, 2004.
The DASIS Report is published periodically by the
Office of Applied Studies, Substance Abuse
and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
All material appearing in this report is in the public domain and may be reproduced or copied without permission from SAMHSA. Additional copies of this report or other reports from the Office of Applied Studies are available on-line: http://www.oas.samhsa.gov. Citation of the source is appreciated. For questions about this report please e-mail: shortreports@samhsa.hhs.gov
This page was last updated on May 16, 2008.
SAMHSA, an agency in the Department of Health and Human Services, is the Federal
Government's lead agency for improving the quality and availability of
substance abuse prevention, addiction treatment, and mental health
services in the United States.