BackThe Iowa office dedicated to making state and local government better last year fielded over 4,000 requests for help, according to a new annual report released by Ombudsman Ruth Cooperrider.
The Office of Ombudsman can investigate complaints about state and local government agencies in Iowa, with the exceptions of the governor, legislators, and judges. Members of the general public, inmates in Iowa’s correctional system, and government officials from across the state came to the Ombudsman for information and help in resolving a variety of complaints.
Investigators in the office opened 4,135 cases in 2014, according to the report. Of those cases:
- 2,782 were complaints about state and local government agencies within its jurisdiction.
- 431 were requests for information about government agencies within its jurisdiction.
- 889 were complaints or information requests about matters outside of its authority.
- 33 were treated as special projects for other activities related to the work of the office.
Report highlights include:
- A message from Ombudsman Cooperrider.
- Details of a public report the Ombudsman issued in early 2015 entitled: “Neither Fair Nor Impartial: An Investigation into the Iowa Department of Corrections’ Sanctions Against an Inmate.”
- Articles on special topics, including: mental health placement issues, new legislation proposed on child support, and Iowa’s corrections system.
- Summaries of notable complaint investigations.
- A table that shows how 2014 contacts were distributed among government agencies in Iowa.
- A map that shows how 2014 contacts were distributed among Iowa’s 99 counties.
The Ombudsman’s 2014 Annual Report is available under the following link.
Source: Office of Ombudsman, State of Iowa, USA
