Ombudsman Services
Coaching, Assistance, and Investigation
Our Role / What We Do
The Arizona Ombudsman-Citizens’ Aide office provides a unique service because we offer objectivity to citizens who complain when they think the Arizona government has treated them unfairly. The first thing our investigators do is listen to the person’s complaint. For some people, this is the first time they feel that anyone in government actually hears them. Then, we determine the nature of the dispute and respond appropriately to resolve the issue. We group responses into three categories: coaching, assistance, and investigation.
Coaching
Many residents resolve their concerns once we inform them of the services available. We help educate citizens on the options available to them based on their specific complaints. We help define issues and rights, identify options, refer people to appropriate employees or departments, redirect citizens to services outside our jurisdiction, explain agency policies and information, offer conflict management strategies, and develop reasonable expectations. When people present problems outside our jurisdiction, we point them to those with the appropriate jurisdiction.
Assistance
Sometimes, coaching is not enough, and residents need our office to communicate directly with government agencies. Most of these types of complaints result from a simple mistake or miscommunication. In such circumstances, we contact the appropriate agency on the citizen’s behalf, facilitate communication between the parties, or coordinate an action between agencies. Our investigators continually work to foster relationships with agency personnel in every state agency to enable the efficient resolution of complaints before escalation.
Investigation
Some complaints are more serious and do not lend themselves to informal techniques. When the nature of the complaint warrants, we may decide to investigate. We work with the impacted individuals and agency personnel to ensure that the agency complies with the law and behaves fairly. Although we cannot compel an agency to follow our recommendations, most administrators are eager to resolve constituent problems and agency mistakes once we bring it to their attention. If the allegations are unsubstantiated and the agency performed correctly, we stand up for them and explain our findings to complainants. If we find the opposite, and the agency erred in some fashion, then we ask the agency to correct the situation for the complainant as best as possible. If necessary, we will write investigative reports of our findings and recommendations. When such a report is final, we publicly post it and send it to the agency we investigated, the legislature, the governor, and the complainant(s).
