Ex-TV reporter now DHS ombudsman

A reporter known for his Seven on Your Side consumer affairs segments on KATV has been hired to fill a new job fielding complaints at the Arkansas Department of Human Services, the department announced Wednesday.

Jason Pederson, 49, will start work Monday as the department’s ombudsman for state programs such as Medicaid, food stamps and child care assistance, department spokeswoman Amy Webb said. He’ll also coordinate with, but won’t be in charge of, other department ombudsmen who field complaints about particular subjects, Webb said. For instance, the department’s Office of Long Term Care ombudsman helps investigate allegations about nursing homes.

Pederson, whose last day at KATV was Friday, said he hopes to be “a help to people who are kind of lost.”

“DHS is so big, and it can be kind of intimidating and hard to navigate,” he said. “What I envision the ombudsman doing, first and foremost, is helping Arkansans navigate DHS if they’re having trouble doing that.”

Pederson began working as a broadcast journalist in El Dorado in 1993 and moved to KATV two years later, according to a Human Services Department news release.

Pederson said his contract with KATV expired Oct. 1. He was looking for a job paying more because his wife, Mary Carol, is expected to lose her job with Family Life Ministries as it moves its operation to Florida.

He initially applied for a job as the Human Services Department’s chief legislative liaison. By the time he was scheduled to interview for the position, however, it had been filled. He said he agreed to meet with department Secretary Cindy Gillespie and other department officials anyway.

During the meeting, he said, department officials quizzed him about Seven on Your Side, which uses a team of volunteers to field calls from consumers and help resolve complaints. He said department officials contacted him the next day, and he agreed to return and discuss the ombudsman’s job.

Pederson’s annual salary will be $80,242, Webb said. In the news release, the department said he’ll help create a “client Bill of Rights” and educational material for applicants and aid recipients.