Mission

The Office of the Independent Ombudsman for state supported living centers serves as an independent, impartial and confidential resource, assisting residents, their families and the public with services and related complaints and issues, which deal with the state supported living centers.

Principles

Independence: The Office of the Independent Ombudsman is impartial and independent in structure, function and appearance. The independent ombudsmen exercise sole discretion about how to respond to a concern, except as directed by state law.

Flexibility: The independent ombudsmen are flexible in their schedules and approaches to effectively meet the needs and requests for assistance in serving people living at state supported living centers.

Accessibility: The independent ombudsmen are easily accessible to residents, family members, staff members or other interested parties. The office pledges to maintain optimum accessibility by continuously seeking innovative avenues to increase awareness and access.

Confidentiality: The independent ombudsmen respect the confidentiality of the person, the family member(s), the SSLC staff or other involved party as well as associated records and documents.

Integrity: The independent ombudsmen consistently demonstrate honesty, truthfulness, fairness and ethical behavior.

Credibility: The independent ombudsmen ensures all information gathered through investigations and evaluations are accurate and derived from legitimate sources, and develops a reputation of dependability among residents, family members, advocates, staff, the legislature, and the public.

If you have other concerns

To report suspected cases of abuse, neglect or exploitation at an SSLC or anywhere, contact HHS Complaint & Incident Intake at 1-800-458-9858.

Contact the Long-term Care Ombudsman's Office about the quality of care at a nursing home or assisted-living facility at 800-252-2412.

For other issues related to HHS, contact the HHS Ombudsman at 877-787-8999.