Duties of the state long-term care ombudsman

The state long-term care ombudsman shall: 1. Identify, investigate, and resolve complaints made by, or on behalf of, long-term care residents; 2. Investigate and resolve complaints involving long-term care service providers, representatives of providers, public agencies, or health and social service agencies or complaints that pertain to administrative action, inaction, or decisions that may adversely affect the health, safety, welfare, or rights of a long-term care resident, including the appointment and functions of guardians and representative payees; 3. Provide assistance to a long-term care resident in protecting the resident's health, safety, welfare, or rights; 4. Provide a long-term care resident with information and procedures to protect the long-term care resident's rights and to obtain health, safety, welfare, or rights services from long-term care service providers, public agencies, or health and social service agencies; 5. Develop and monitor the effectiveness of complaint registration and complaint resolution mechanisms that provide a long-term care resident regular and timely access to ombudsman services; 6. Represent the interests of a long-term care resident before governmental agencies; 7. Seek administrative and legal remedies to protect the health, safety, welfare, or rights of a long-term care resident; 8. Research, evaluate, comment on, and monitor the development and implementation of federal, state, and local laws, administrative rules, regulations, and other federal, state, and local policies and actions, pertaining to the health, safety, welfare, and rights of a long-term care resident; 9. Recommend changes and facilitate public comments on laws, rules, regulations, policies, actions, and decisions pertaining to the health, safety, welfare, and rights of a long-term care resident; 10. Provide training for the local and volunteer ombudsman and encourage the development of citizen organizations to take part in the ombudsman program; 11. Provide technical assistance for the development of a long-term care resident councils and family councils for the protection of each long-term care resident's well-being and rights; and 12. Perform other operations and projects required by federal and state aging services.