Trevor Sparrow tells senators he will build a data-driven ombudsman office for Health and Welfare's youth cases

Trevor Sparrow, the governor's nominee for the newly created Idaho Health and Social Services Ombudsman, told a Senate committee his office will focus on impartial investigations and data collection to improve outcomes for the state's most vulnerable youth.

Sparrow described prior law-enforcement and corrections work, a decade as director of the Idaho Youth Challenge Academy and said the program helped "approximately 2,400 youth get back on their feet," including GED attainment and diplomas. He said the ombudsman office "intends to illuminate and bring to light" best practices, will adopt standards from the United States Ombudsman Association and train staff as professional mediators to help resolve complaints.

Sparrow told senators he began in the position in December and has already been contacted by parents and advocacy groups. He said the office has identified a reporting system to accept complaints online and by phone, intends to produce data reports for lawmakers and agency leaders, and expects to hire a deputy "in the next few days." He described plans to work closely with the Department of Health and Welfare and its new leadership.

Sen. Melissa Wintrow and others asked how the ombudsman's office would interact with citizen review panels and whether the statutes governing those panels might need revision to improve their effectiveness. Sparrow said he expects to use citizen review panels' regional expertise to identify patterns and regional problems and acknowledged "there's room for improvement" in statutes that govern their operations and funding. He suggested panels could investigate regional drivers of child-welfare issues such as rates of incarcerated women.

Committee members said they will take up Sparrow's confirmation at the committee's next scheduled meeting; no confirmation vote was recorded in the transcript provided.