Welcome

The Health and Social Services Ombudsman (HSSO) is an independent office created by Senate Bill 1380 to review state child welfare program complaints. The office is intended to support foster and biological parents in the child welfare system and enable improvements by collecting data that can be used to implement system changes.

Ensuring safety Idaho’s children today and envisioning a stronger child protection system for the future.

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SERVICES FOR YOUTH

Are you living in a Division of Youth Services, youth center or an out of home placement and have questions or concerns?

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WHAT WE DO

As an independent agency we work on behalf of Idaho’s children and families. We listen to the public about their experience with and concerns about child protection, research and investigate those issues, and determine the best way to resolve each inquiry. Our work also allows us to collaborate with lawmakers, professionals and other stakeholders to advance legislation and policies that will have a lasting, positive impact on our children and families.

How We Work For Idaho

The Health and Social Services Ombudsman (HSSO) is an independent office created by Senate Bill 1380 to review state child welfare program complaints. The office is intended to support foster and biological parents in the child welfare system and enable program improvements by collecting and analyzing data that can be used to implement system changes.

The HSSO focuses on ensuring resources and services are appropriately and efficiently provided to Idaho children in foster care, protective supervision, or residential treatment facilities in Idaho in addition to:

•Receiving and responding to complaints related to services provided to Idaho children in foster care, protective supervision, or residential treatment facilities;

•Informing service recipients and their families of their rights under state and federal law;

•Compiling and analyzing data regarding trends, problems, and challenges in providing health and social services for purposes of recommending changes to Idaho child welfare laws;

•Reporting annually to the Governor, Legislature, Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, Judiciary, and other state agencies on the work of his office and Idaho child welfare system operations; Educating the public about the role of the office.

The HSSO was created to ensure the state complex child protection system consistently provided high quality services to every child family and community in Idaho.

LISTEN
We listen to people about their experience with and concerns about child protection services.

INVESTIGATE
We research and investigate concerns reported by any Idahoan about service delivery within the child protection system.

RESOLVE
We determine the best way to resolve concerns- that might mean bridging communication barriers or resolving conflicts based on misunderstanding.

IDENTIFY TRENDS
We identify trends where the community’s needs have changed, and the system hasn’t had the funding, resources, or practices to keep up with it. As a result, we make public recommendations for system improvement.

INITIATE CHANGE
We convene lawmakers, professionals and other stake holders to advance legislation and policies that have a lasting, and positive impact on children and families.

Our Impact

Our work plays an important role in increasing collaboration within the system, identifying opportunities for improvement and advocating for the policies, funding and resources professionals need to best serve children and families.