Maine Office of Substance Abuse Data Systems Overview
By Jo
McCaslin and Jamie Clough
The Office of Substance Abuse (OSA) in the Department of Mental Health, Mental
Retardation and Substance Abuse Services, has many projects underway to make use of
technology in data collection and management, and to serve the public. This article will
outline four major initiatives which include combinations of data collection, Web
development and reporting. They are: Treatment Data System, Maine Safe and Drug-Free
Schools Data Collection Project, Information and Resource Center online catalog, and the
Intervention Data System (Driver Education and Evaluation System).
The Treatment Data System (TDS) - Designed by OSA staff in
response to a legislative mandate and building on additional Federal reporting
requirements, this data collection system has tracked admission/discharge substance abuse
treatment data from treatment agencies since 1989. The TDS was originally designed for a
mainframe environment but was migrated to a server in 1997. Currently, agencies submit
data using a data entry system developed in FilePro. Data is submitted on disk, E-mail or
by paper forms which are then hand entered. This data is then imported into Oracle tables
and used to develop a variety of reports.
OSA uses the TDS data for a variety of purposes including federal reporting and
legislative requirements, needs assessment, public information requests, and for
performance-based contracting. Agencies that receive state/federal substance abuse funds,
Driver Education and Evaluation Program (DEEP) certified agencies/providers, methadone
treatment agencies and substance abuse Medicaid reimbursable agencies are required to
submit data to this system. There are approximately 40 contracted treatment agencies and
80 DEEP agencies who provide TDS data.
Analysis and development are underway to make this system a Web-based application,
where agencies can submit their data online through either data entry screens or through
an FTP process that will run the data through a series of edits which either accept or
reject the data. It is planned that continued development will provide agencies with the
ability to produce reports as soon as data has been entered (including performance-based
contracting reports so that agencies can monitor their own progress) and automate federal
reporting requirements.
Maine Safe and Drug-Free Schools Data Collection Project - This
is a collaborative project between Research Triangle Institute (RTI), the Maine Office of
Substance Abuse and the Maine Department of Education to enhance the state’s capacity
to collect data related to drug use and violence among youth. This Project also supports
new federal reporting requirements for the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act
Program which last year involved the development of a PC-based data reporting system. A
stakeholders meeting to define the terms for meeting federal reporting requirements was
also held. In addition, training sessions for Local Educational Agency program
coordinators were held in the spring of 1999.
This year’s plans include implementation of a Web-based data collection system,
and training will be conducted on these Web-based application. Training will also cover
the use of information from this new data collection system to plan and evaluate local
programs and activities. For this year, data will be collected over the Web by RTI's
system using Coldfusion and ACCESS. Over the next year, the database will be converted to
Oracle and moved to the State's system.
Information and Resource Center (IRC) Library Management System
- This system is propriety software based on Oracle from The Library Corporation (TLC).
The system includes a circulation module, cataloging module based in library standards of
MARC and Z39.50, a bookings module, and a Web interface. It contains all library holdings
and provides statistical records of loans and activity. The Web interface will be
available to the public this summer. It will allow people to search the library’s
collection and see what is available. Next year a component will be added allowing people
to place orders and future bookings from the Web.
Intervention Data System - Driver Education and Evaluation
Program (DEEP): Individuals who have an alcohol or drug related motor vehicle offense,
(for example Operating Under the Influence) are legally mandated to complete one of
DEEP’s education and assessment programs, as well as accept treatment if appropriate.
Demographic data from DEEP’s programs and community-based treatment providers is
collected and submitted via the Treatment Data System. DEEP utilizes its own Oracle-based
data system to register and track clients’ status in relation to completing programs.
DEEP has access to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles’ database to access information
regarding the specifics of an individual’s offense(s), such as the date of offense,
and the blood alcohol of record. DEEP’s programs are self-supporting, so funds
collected and expended are tracked through MFASIS. Within the next several months, DEEP
will be making some changes to its programs. It is anticipated that those changes may
allow DEEP to move to a Web-based registration system some time in the future.
The not-so-future implementation of Web-based applications will allow OSA to respond to
data and resource needs in a way that was never before possible. It will be interesting to
see what additional assistance can be provided upon completion of these four new
initiatives.
Jamie Clough is the Office of Substance Abuse Information Systems Team Leader. She
has been with OSA for over 10 years, playing a lead role in the development of many of
OSA's data initiatives during this tenure. Her work straddles not only the technological
side of OSA but also data analysis and research. She can be reached via E-mail at Jamie.Clough@state.me.us or by telephone at
287-2597.
Jo McCaslin is the Office of Substance Abuse Information and Resource Center
Coordinator. She has been with OSA for 16 years. Ms. McCaslin has a Masters of Library and
Information Science degree from the University of South Carolina. In addition to work
within the special library, she is currently the OSA Webmaster and Webmaster for the Maine
Youth Suicide Prevention Initiative. She can be reached via E-mail at jo.mccaslin@state.me.us or by telephone at
287-8917.
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