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Auditor findings prompt ORS plan for analytics and an ombuds office as lawmakers weigh cuts
Summary
Office of Recovery Services officials told the committee they have begun implementing state auditor recommendations on data governance and proposed a child‑support ombuds modeled on the child protection ombuds program, while staff described reduction options that could reduce collections and cost federal match revenue.
The Office of Recovery Services (ORS) updated the Social Services Appropriations Subcommittee on Jan. 26 about steps to address a June 2025 limited review by the state auditor and about plans for data analytics and a proposed ombuds office — even as the committee reviewed possible ORS cuts.
Georgia Wood, ORS division director, summarized three audit finding areas (outdated database design/data governance, misaligned modernization commitments, and lack of internal code ownership) and 11 recommendations. ORS and the Department of Technology Services are moving to improve code‑review participation, create a data governance team, and modernize the database architecture. ORS described a two‑phase analytics plan that extracts data into a data lake and then a data warehouse and uses AWS QuickSight for reporting; the base monthly cost was estimated at about $27,000 with an expected ~10% annual increase.
Wood also presented a proposal to create a child‑support ombuds modeled on the existing child protection ombuds: initial staffing would mirror the child protection office with one program administrator and two assistant ombuds at a projected personnel cost of about $358,000 annually; ORS estimated the program could touch roughly 1,600 cases per year if modeled on current complaint rates.
Staff also flagged three ORS reduction options on the table: eliminating 15 probationary staff (savings ~$354,900 ongoing), terminating the criminal non‑support program and employee wellness Calm app (savings ~$309,100 ongoing), and canceling the ORS modernization contract with Deloitte (savings ~ $241,200 ongoing and ~$60,300 one‑time). ORS cautioned those cuts would impair the agency’s ability to meet federal timeframes, reduce enforcement and collections and could cost an estimated $428,000 in federal revenue.
"Line 107 proposes eliminating 15 probationary staff which would impact our ability to meet statutory time frames, provide customer service, and pursue collection of child support," Wood told the committee. She added that child support enforcement staff currently carry about 695 cases each and that losing positions could push some caseloads as high as roughly 840 per worker depending on allocation.
What happens next: committee members did not vote on the reduction options that day; staff and ORS were asked to provide more detail on federal funding exposure, scope of the ombuds statutory changes proposed, and possible case acceptance criteria to manage workload.
The committee approved a related block of motions (CQ1, technical authorizations) by voice vote and deferred final funding judgments until follow‑up material was supplied.
