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New Health and Social Services Ombudsman introduces office to JFAC; requests personnel funding to recruit
Summary
Trevor Sparrow, newly appointed ombudsman, described the office's role monitoring Idaho's foster care system and said the office was appropriated three FTP and $470,000 (mostly ongoing); the office is seeking additional personnel dollars recommended by DHR to recruit and retain qualified staff.
Trevor Sparrow, the recently appointed ombudsman for the Office of Health and Social Services Ombudsman, appeared before the Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee on Jan. 15 to introduce the new office and its FY2026 staffing and budget posture.
Alex Williamson, a budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, told the committee the office was created last session by Senate Bill 1380 and is administered within the Department of Self‑Governing Agencies. Williamson said the office was appropriated three full‑time positions and an ongoing FY2025 appropriation of roughly $470,000, including $20,000 in one‑time capital outlay to set up the office.
Sparrow, who the governor appointed Nov. 27, described the office's core duties: receiving complaints and concerns related to children under state care — primarily the foster care system — investigating those complaints, evaluating agency practices and making recommendations. "Any parents that have had their children taken away, foster parents that are currently in the system ... any of those individuals that have any vested interest in those children can file a complaint with the office and then we investigate those things," Sparrow said.
Representative Handy and Senator Wintrow asked about the office's scope. Sparrow said the law primarily focuses on the foster care system but also authorizes investigations into other residential placements for children, including juvenile corrections and other state‑housed facilities.
Williamson told the committee the governor's FY2026 recommendation includes an ongoing request to increase personnel dollars. The Department of Human Resources recommended increasing the personnel allocation so new hires could be recruited and retained at pay levels "above 80% of policy," Williamson said, and the governor supported that increase in the recommendation. Sparrow said the office is following United States Ombudsman Association standards and intends to build a multidisciplinary team that could include legal, nursing and social‑work expertise.
Sparrow said the office will also use citizen review panels and volunteers for research and policy analysis when appropriate. "I think the opportunity is great with those citizen review panels," he said, citing areas such as the high rate of incarcerated women in Idaho and related foster care impacts.
The committee heard the presentation and asked clarifying questions about scope and staffing; no committee votes were taken during the hearing. Sparrow said he and staff are continuing to hire and implement statutory reporting requirements; LSO materials noted a memo and interim report submitted under Senate Bill 1459 (2024) were available to committee members.
