The long-term care ombudsman program plays a vital role in promoting policies and consumer protections to improve long-term services and supports at the facility, local, state, and national levels. Created by the Older Americans Act, the ombudsman program’s implementation can vary from state to state which may have serious impacts on outcomes for both individuals and facilities. This presentation will cover the long-term care ombudsman program’s background and implementation as well as the results of a study conducted with national data that examined some of the outcomes of state-level variations in ombudsman program practices.