The Ombudsman may:
- Investigate complaints
- Answer questions regarding your issue or complaint and make referrals if possible
- Provide information about department procedures or policies
- Attempt to resolve complaints not resolved at the local office level
- Advocate for improvements within the child welfare system that will aid individual children and/or families
To request assistance or an investigation into a complaint, contact our office via the information listed below. If you need to report a child that is at risk of imminent harm, please call the Arkansas Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-482-5964.
Anyone connected to a child welfare case or child welfare investigation may file a complaint with our office. This includes, but is not limited to, parent, child, grandparent, foster parent, attorney, caseworker, or judge involved in a child welfare case.
We will contact you by phone or email within 48 hours of receiving your complaint or request for assistance. With the information that you provide, we will conduct an initial investigation that will include reviewing relevant records and interviews with involved parties if warranted. This will allow us to know if we can make some referrals to other agencies, suggest some solutions that may resolve the issue, or if we need to expand our investigation and look deeper into the policies and procedures that are or are not being used.
Contact
Telephone: 501-661-7975 or 501-661-7974
Email: childwelfareombudsman@uams.edu