Welcome to Dayton Ombudsman
The Ombudsman Office investigates complaints about government agencies and services for residents of Montgomery County. We also have a wealth of knowledge about government programs which can assist our neighbors. The Long-Term Care Ombudsman program investigates complaints about the care provided in nursing homes, adult care facilities, group homes, and in-home care services. We welcome your questions, inquiries and complaints!
The Ombudsman Column
"Woman had billing issue with local social service agency" - April 24, 2025
Recently a woman contacted the Ombudsman with a complaint about a local social service agency billing matter for services provided to her parents. The funding for the home health care services is funded through Medicaid, and the services are provided to support her parents to remain in their own home and to not move into an institution. She believes that she has not been billed correctly, because the charges are irregular. Show More...The daughter initially contacted her case manager at the agency, who referred the daughter to the agency’s finance office. She contacted the finance office and was referred back to the case manager. The woman felt that she was getting “the run-around.” After attempting to gain an explanation for her billing questions and having no success, she contacted the Ombudsman for help.
The Ombudsman contacted the agency about the daughter’s billing questions. The staff agreed to examine the woman’s complaint. The Ombudsman followed up with the daughter and learned that she had received a call from the agency staff to report they were looking into the billing and would call her after researching the matter. The Ombudsman followed up with the agency and learned that the agency had, in fact, made billing errors amounting to several hundred dollars, and that a reimbursement was being prepared for the daughter.
The daughter later called to report the reimbursement had been received. She was grateful for Ombudsman intervention and didn’t think the corrections would have been made had we not become involved....Show Less
"Ombudsman assists caller with Social Security question" - April 10, 2025
This week the Ombudsman received a complaint from a man expecting funds from the removal of the Federal Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). The WEP reduced benefits for individuals who receive a pension based on employment that was not subject to Social Security payroll tax. The Social Security Fairness Act went into effect Feb. 25. This means that by Feb. 25, individuals whose Social Security benefits were previously impacted by the provision of WEP will begin to receive retroactive benefit payments. Show More... This impacts many public sector workers. The Social Security Administration reports that over a million people have already received retroactive benefits. Going forward, those individuals will receive their full monthly Social Security benefits.
Our caller reported that many of his relatives and friends have already received repayments, but he has not. He retired from local municipal service, currently is receiving a pension from the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS), and Social Security benefits after paying into that system for over 20 years.
The Ombudsman contacted the Social Security Administration about the man’s questions. The staff person explained that telephone calls are returned, but in many cases, people do not answer calls from unsolicited numbers. The Social Security office outgoing lines may not be identified on caller ID as SSA or government, which would encourage people to answer the calls. The agency staff attempt several calls a day for several days, and then, due to heavy workload and shrinking staff, must move on.
The national teleservice center for the SSA at 800-772-1213 is the better option for this type of inquiry because they have a much larger telephone system t Our caller was advised to contact the national teleservice center and invited to call back with the outcome. The man received the timeline for receipt of his benefits and was grateful to have received direction that led to a positive outcome to his concerns....Show Less
"Man gets help ending child support order after death of kids’ mother" - March 11, 2025
The Ombudsman received a call from a man trying to terminate his child support order. The child support order is from another county in Ohio. Because the man and his children now reside in Montgomery County, the Ombudsman agreed to take the case. Show More...The mother of the children died five months ago in the other county, and now the man has custody of his children. He had delivered a death certificate to the child support agency and had waited for the support order to be stopped. Five months later, the support was still being withheld by his employer.
The Ombudsman contacted the Child Support Enforcement Agency and learned that the death certificate the man had brought them was not certified. Since a certified death certificate is required, no action had been taken to stop the court order. Since the mother’s death, the money received from the withholding by the man’s employer was being held by the Agency. The Ombudsman instructed the man to obtain a certified death certificate and take it to the Agency. The man promptly delivered the certified death certificate, and it was forwarded to the court for processing. In the meantime, the man received a notice from the IRS that his tax return would be intercepted to pay child support. He was also worried that if he were listed as in default, he might have his driver’s license suspended.
A staff person at the Child Support Enforcement Agency was contacted and the default status was corrected because the certified birth certificate had been received. After receipt of the certified death certificate, the paperwork was processed at the court to stop the order, and the employer was notified so that withholding from the father’s pay could be stopped. A copy was also sent to the Child Support Enforcement Agency so that the money in holding could be released. Later the man received the money that was in holding with the Agency and was relieved and glad that his problems with the agency were now resolved....Show Less
"Citizens appreciate getting some help with PIPP process" - November 9, 2023
The Ombudsman received a complaint from a woman about her recertification for the Percentage of Income Plan (PIPP) through the Miami Valley Community Action Partnership. She reported having submitted her documents to recertify for the program three times and she emailed the Ombudsman the documents she had submitted to the agency. Show More...Nonetheless, her PIPP subsidy was canceled, and her utilities are in arrears over $700. She asked the Ombudsman to assist.
The Ombudsman contacted the agency on the woman’s behalf, explained her report and shared the documents the woman had sent with the agency. The agency responded that the woman’s application has been processed, and that the staff person at the agency would contact the woman to inform her of the application status. The Ombudsman contacted the woman and she reported that she did receive a telephone call from the staff person at the Miami Valley Community Action Partnership informing her that the application was processed and apologizing for the inconvenience.
The woman thanked the Ombudsman for the resolution and for her professional services.
A veteran also contacted the Ombudsman Office about the delay in processing his application for PIPP. He submitted his award letter from the Social Security Administration to the agency over two months ago. The man had been notified that he was about to receive a shut off notice for his utilities. He requested that the Ombudsman find out what is taking so long. The Ombudsman learned that the man’s application was in the queue. The next day the Ombudsman received a call from the man. The man informed the Ombudsman he received a call that his application had been processed. He thanked the Ombudsman for helping him. ...Show Less
"Catch-22 situation with medical records is quickly solved" - September 7, 2023
A woman contacted the Ombudsman for help obtaining copies of medical records. The woman had been granted Social Security Disability based on medical reports obtained from physicians and submitted to the Social Security Administration (SSA). The woman had been directed by the physicians to contact the SSA for copies of the reports. When the woman contacted the Social Security Administration, she was told to contact the physicians. The woman felt caught in a catch-22 situation and contacted the Ombudsman for assistance. Show More...
The Ombudsman contacted the SSA concerning the woman’s request. Staff at the agency reported a high volume of citizen requests and agreed to send the woman a CD of her electronic records. The CDs are provided rather than paper copies when the citizen’s folder with the agency is completely electronic, as in the case of this woman. The woman later called to report that she had received a CD from the SSA. The CD contained a great deal of information, but not the medical reports she was seeking.
The Ombudsman is familiar with the agency CDs and believed the CD to be complete. The Ombudsman instructed the woman on how to check the CD for further information. The woman called later to report that a friend had been able to open the medical reports on his computer, and that now the woman had all the information she had been seeking and was satisfied.
...Show Less
Recent Comments on our Column Posts
You do such great work for the residents of the Dayton area. Thank you for all you do.
I read your column with interest. You may be aware of the terrible amount of imposter scams. I often hear scam presentations where people are told Medicare and Social Security will not call them. That is not an absolute statement, as you know. But this incident described in your article reminds me of several recent situations where I have heard presenters tell folks at senior centers that.
This older adult from your article did the right thing being suspicious of the calls, especially with the uptick in scams based on current events. But unfortunately this was one of the situations where the SSA will actually call people. I am very glad you were there to step in and help him. Thanks again for the great work you do!
-from a Dayton area resident
THE OMBUDSMAN column, a production of the Joint Office of Citizens’ Complaints, summarizes selected problems that citizens have had with government and social services, utilities, schools and nursing homes in the Dayton area. Contact the Ombudsman by writing to 11 W. Monument Ave., Suite 606, Dayton 45402, or call 937-223-4613, or send email to ombudsman@dayton-ombudsman.org
