THE BROAD PURPOSE OF THE OMBUDSMAN OFFICE, WHICH BEGAN OPERATIONS A LITTLE OVER 7 YEARS AGO, IS TO FOSTER EFFICIENT AND EQUITABLE CORRECTIONS ADMINISTRATION BY APPROPRIATE AND PROMPT ACTION ON THE COMPLAINTS AND REQUESTS RECEIVED BY THE OFFICE. THE REPORT DISCUSSES THE ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTION OF THE OMBUDSMAN OFFICE, INCLUDING THE TYPE OF COMPLAINTS RECEIVED, THE METHODS BY WHICH EACH WAS INVESTIGATED, AND THE ULTIMATE RESOLUTION ACHIEVED. IN FISCAL YEAR 1979, THE OMBUDSMAN MADE SOME CHANGES IN RECORDKEEPING AND REPORTING DESIGNED TO BETTER HANDLE THE WORKLOAD OF THE OFFICE, WHICH INCREASED FROM 1,402 IN FISCAL YEAR 1978 TO 2,207 FOR FISCAL YEAR 1979. COUNTY FACILITIES ACCOUNTED FOR MOST OF THE INCREASE IN THE CASELOAD. THE OVERALL CATEGORICAL DISTRIBUTION OF CASES CHANGED ONLY SLIGHTLY OVER THE PAST YEAR. OF THE 11 CATEGORIES, ONLY 4 INVOLVED CHANGES OF MORE THAN 2 PERCENT IN THEIR SHARE OF THE TOTAL CASES: PAROLE, MEDICAL, THREATS/ABUSE, AND OTHERS. THE MEDICAL, THREATS/ABUSE, AND 'OTHER' CATEGORIES INCREASED, WHILE THE PAROLE CATEGORY DECREASED. ROUGHLY FOUR OF EVERY FIVE CASES CLOSED WERE COMPLAINTS. THE APPENDIXES CONTAIN THE OMBUDSMAN FOR CORRECTIONS STATUTE, OMBUDSMAN POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS, AND THE BUDGET. TABULAR DATA ARE PROVIDED. (RCB)