Substance Abuse Monitoring System: Introduction

The Substance Abuse Monitoring System, created by the Minnesota Department of Human Services, is a collection of county-level data obtained from multiple sources to help communities, counties and the state identify the nature and magnitude of substance abuse-related problems, assess services and measure changes over time. This package of tools is designed for policy-makers, planners, community coalitions and others interested in substance abuse-related prevention, treatment and planning efforts in Minnesota. The Substance Abuse Monitoring System provides a context for initiating and maintaining community dialogue about substance abuse issues.

For each county, the Substance Abuse Monitoring System presents data on 23 indicators from human services, education, law enforcement and health care sources, including:

Indicators of community, family and personal risk factors known to affect the likelihood of developing substance abuse problems

Indicators of behaviors that can occur as the result of substance abuse problems

Direct measures of alcohol, tobacco and other drug use

Chemical dependency treatment admission figures

Technical problems? Contact: andrew.koebrick@state.mn.us