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New Health and Social Services Ombudsman describes role, asks for higher personnel funding to attract staff
Summary
Trevor Sparrow, the newly appointed health and social services ombudsman, told the Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee the office will investigate foster‑care and residential complaints, can conduct agency reviews and recommended staff pay above agency baseline to recruit qualified hires.
The office created last session to monitor Idaho child welfare received its first in‑committee presentation on Jan. 15, with the newly appointed ombudsman outlining the office’s scope and a budget analyst describing a personnel funding request.
Alex Williamson, a budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, told the committee the Office of Health and Social Services Ombudsman was created by legislation last session and was appropriated three full‑time positions and $470,000 for fiscal year 2025. Williamson said about $450,000 of that amount is ongoing general fund appropriation and $20,000 was one‑time capital outlay to establish the office.
Trevor Sparrow, appointed to the post on Nov. 27, said the office will receive complaints and concerns from parents, foster parents and other citizens about cases involving children in state care and will investigate whether agencies handled cases “appropriately and ethically.” Sparrow said the office also can conduct proactive agency reviews and make legislative recommendations.
When asked which agencies the office will assist, Sparrow said the primary focus is the foster‑care system but that the law permits investigations of any residential setting housing children, including juvenile corrections. Sparrow said he has discussed coordination with Health and Welfare staff and that, based on his meetings with department leadership, he believes congregate care placements have been eliminated and short‑term placements have ended; he attributed that understanding to his meetings with Department of Health and Welfare leadership.
Williamson told the committee the Department of Human Resources reviewed the office’s personnel budget and recommended increasing the personnel allocation so the office could hire and retain candidates at pay levels above 80% of policy; that increase is an ongoing general fund request in the governor’s recommendation.
Sparrow said the office has adopted standards from the United States Ombudsman Association and intends to build a multidisciplinary team that could include legal, nursing and social work expertise. He said citizen review panels and volunteers could be helpful in research and policy work.
No formal action on the office’s FY 2026 request was taken during the Jan. 15 hearing; the appropriation will be considered in subsequent budget votes.
