The Area Agency on Aging of Tarrant County's Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, a United Way of Tarrant County program, investigates and helps resolve complaints on behalf of nursing home and assisted living residents and advocates for their rights. It's free, independent of any facility, and acts only with the resident's consent.
How this actually works
Families sometimes confuse the ombudsman with a regulatory enforcement body, but the two roles are different and complementary. The ombudsman advocates specifically for an individual resident and can attend a care conference alongside the family, but does not license, inspect or fine a facility -- that's HHSC's role. One rule surprises a lot of adult children: an ombudsman acts only with the consent of the resident (or their legal representative), so if a parent has capacity and doesn't want a complaint pursued, that decision stands even when the rest of the family disagrees. Reach the Tarrant County program at 817-258-8000, or the statewide line at 800-252-2412 if you're outside Tarrant County.
