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New ombudsman office to oversee foster‑care complaints briefs JFAC; director seeks higher pay bands to recruit staff
Summary
Presentation described the Office of Health and Social Services Ombudsman created by last year's legislation; the office has 3 FTE, $470,000 ongoing general‑fund appropriation for FY2025, and the ombudsman asked for higher personnel compensation to recruit qualified staff.
Legislative analysts and the newly appointed ombudsman explained the role and budget of the Office of Health and Social Services Ombudsman during the Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee hearing.
LSO analyst Alex Williamson reviewed the office's origin and funding. The office was established by the 2024 Legislature through Senate Bill 1380, Williamson said, and LSO provided the committee a memo filed to meet interim‑report requirements set out in Senate Bill 1459 of 2024. For fiscal year 2025 the office was appropriated roughly $470,000 from the general fund, including $395,000 allocated for personnel costs and $20,000 one‑time capital outlay to establish the office.
Trevor Sparrow, the governor's November appointee as ombudsman, told the committee his office will receive and investigate complaints about the provision of health and social services to children in state care, including the foster‑care system. "We investigate those things, make sure that the agency is handling those cases appropriately and ethically," Sparrow said, summarizing the office's duties. He added the office can perform non‑complaint investigative reports of agencies and make legislative recommendations.
Williamson and Sparrow told the committee that the Department of Human Resources recommended increasing the office's personnel dollars so the new positions could be hired at rates above 80% of policy to recruit and retain qualified staff; the governor's recommendation supports that request. Sparrow also said the office has adopted the U.S. Ombudsman Association standards and plans to assemble a multidisciplinary team, which could include legal, nursing, and social‑work expertise.
Committee members asked about the office's jurisdiction. Sparrow said the office will primarily focus on the foster‑care system but can also investigate complaints related to residential placements for children, including juvenile corrections. He said, based on discussions with Health and Welfare leadership, Idaho no longer has children in congregate care or in short‑term rental placements for the foster system.
Senator Wintrow raised the possibility of coordinating with existing citizen review panels to use volunteer reviewers for policy‑level research; Sparrow said he had already discussed potential collaboration with Health and Welfare staff and saw opportunities to use citizen volunteers for research and policy recommendations.
The committee did not take formal action during the presentation; staffing and compensation for the office will be considered as part of the committee's broader personnel and maintenance budgeting process.
