NCJ Number
217485
Date Published
December 2006
Length
73 pages
Annotation
This annual report summarizes the work of the Office of the Ombudsman of the State of Hawaii for fiscal year 2005-2006.
Abstract
A total of 4,870 inquiries were received by the Office of the Ombudsman during fiscal year 2005-2006, representing a 1-percent increase from the previous year. Of these inquiries, 70 percent were classified as complaints within the jurisdiction of the Office. The remaining inquiries included 492 non-jurisdictional complaints and 970 requests for information. The report presents staff notes and summarizes outreach efforts of the Office before turning to a description of a legislative recommendation provided by the Office during the fiscal year and later acted upon by the State legislature. The recommendation culminated in the repeal of Section 28-8(c) of the Hawaii Revised Statutes that required the first deputy attorney general and all other deputies to take the oath of office required of other public officers. The next section presents a series of statistical tables that illustrate the types and numbers of inquiries during fiscal year 2005-2006 as well as the means through which inquiries were received and the distribution of population and inquirers by residence. Selected case summaries are presented that detail particular cases acted upon by the Office of the Ombudsman. The selected cases involved a number of the State’s department’s including the Department of Accounting and General Services, the Department of Health, the Department of Human Services, and the Department of Education. Specific cases regarded credit for direct child support payment, an alleged violation of the Hawaii Administrative Procedure Act, denial of a building permit application, denial of general assistance benefits, and improper use of a prosthesis purchase agreement. Tables, appendix