The ombudsman is attached to the state Legislature, and investigates complaints about state and county executive branch agencies.

In its 2004 annual report, the ombudsman's office told of two disputes involving child-support issues that it helped to resolve.

One involved a father in North Carolina who was told by CSEA here in early December 2002 that he was delinquent in child support. He was given 15 days to respond to the notice or face consequences, including possible confiscation of his tax refunds.

The father denied he was delinquent in payments but because of the holiday season, his letter wasn't received within the 15-day deadline.

The state dismissed his protest letter because it wasn't received on time, then rejected another protest letter from him. The agency changed its mind after the ombudsman intervened and after the agency discovered the father "was current in his payments and did not have a child-support debt," the ombudsman reported.

Another case handled by the ombudsman involved a Hawai'i parent who was evading notice from the agency about a proposed reduction in the level of child support she was receiving from her child's father.

The father, who also lived on the Mainland, complained that he had been trying to modify his payments for two years but that nothing had happened because the state couldn't serve the mother with the legal papers.

The ombudsman worked with the agency, which then determined that because a "diligent effort" had been made to personally give her the paperwork, all the agency had to do was mail her the notice by regular mail, which it did.

The state ombudsman's office can be reached at 587-0770 or complaints@ombudsman.state.hi.us.