This study assesses the relationship between the presence of Oregon volunteer long-term care ombudsmen and externally handled abuse complaints, survey reports, and regulatory sanctions. In 1987, new amendments to the Older Americans Act mandated long-term care ombudsmen access to nursing homes. No studies have systematically examined the relationship between these empowered ombudsmen programs and regulatory abuse investigations, survey findings, or sanction activities. Contrary to pre-1987 studies, this research found that the presence of ombudsmen was related to increased abuse reporting and abuse complaint substantiations, more survey deficiencies, and higher sanction activity.