THE REPORT OFFERS AN OVERVIEW OF THE OMBUDSMAN FOR CORRECTIONS OFFICE, A DESCRIPTION OF THE ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONS OF THE OFFICE (INCLUDING AN ORGANIZATIONAL CHART AND A FLOWCHART DEPICTING THE COMPLAINT-PROCESSING PROCEDURE), AND A DETAILED STATISTICAL/NARRATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE OMBUDSMAN'S CONTACTS WITH INMATES DURING THE YEAR. THE ANALYSIS COVERS THE TYPES AND NUMBERS OF CASES RECEIVED AND CLOSED, TIME TAKEN TO RESOLVE CASES, CASE DISPOSITION, AND BREAKDOWNS OF THE CASELOAD BY INSTITUTION, CASE CATEGORY, AND OTHER VARIABLES. DURING THE YEAR THE OFFICE RECORDED 1,402 CONTACTS, OF WHICH 1,188 WERE WITHIN THE OMBUDSMAN'S JURISDICTION AND WARRANTED THOROUGH INVESTIGATION. APPROXIMATELY 84 PERCENT OF THE CASES RECEIVED WERE CLASSIFIED AS COMPLAINTS. FULL OR PARTIAL RESOLUTION WAS ACHIEVED FOR 76.3 PERCENT OF THE CASES CLOSED. AMONG IMPORTANT CHANGES DURING THE YEAR WERE THE DEVELOPMENT OF A POLICY FOR TRANSFERRING SELECT LONG-TERM INMATES TO MEDIUM AND MINIMUM SECURITY FACILITIES, DEVELOPMENT OF A COMPREHENSIVE INMATE EMPLOYMENT POLICY THAT INCLUDES GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES, AND THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS' ASSURANCE THAT STAFF POSITIONS IN INSTITUTIONS WOULD NOT AUTOMATICALLY BE RESTRICTED TO A PARTICULAR SEX WITHOUT ADEQUATE JUSTIFICATION. MINNESOTA'S OMBUDSMAN STATUTE AND A SUMMARY OF THE OFFICE'S POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE YEAR ARE APPENDED. TABULAR DATA ARE INCLUDED. (LKM)