Sec. 4. (a) The governor shall appoint the ombudsman. The ombudsman serves at the pleasure of the governor. An individual may not be appointed as ombudsman if the individual has been employed by the department of child services at any time during the preceding twelve (12) months. The governor shall appoint a successor ombudsman not later than thirty (30) days after a vacancy occurs in the position of the ombudsman.

     (b) The office of the department of child services ombudsman:

(1) shall employ at least two (2) full time employees to assist the ombudsman with receiving, investigating, and attempting to resolve complaints described in section 5 of this chapter; and

(2) may employ technical experts and other employees to carry out the purposes of this chapter.

     (c) The office of the department of child services ombudsman may not hire an individual to serve as an ombudsman if the individual has been employed by the department of child services during the preceding twelve (12) months.

     (d) The ombudsman and any other person employed or authorized by the ombudsman:

(1) are subject to the same criminal history and background checks, to be performed by the department of child services, that are required for department of child services family case managers; and

(2) are subject to the same disqualification for employment criteria as department of child services family case managers.

As added by P.L.182-2009(ss), SEC.55. Amended by P.L.48-2012, SEC.1.