Ohioans who want to report fraud or waste as the state spends millions in federal stimulus money might have a hard time figuring out whom to call.

The state is one of 36 that have no guidelines on their recovery-tracking Web sites for reporting abuse, according to the Project on Government Oversight, an independent nonprofit group in Washington, D.C., that investigates government corruption.

Ohio Inspector General Thomas P. Charles investigates fraud and waste in state government, and his Web site does include complaint forms and instructions for filing them.

But there is no link between his site and the state's recovery site. And his site gives no specifics on making complaints about stimulus funding.

Ohioans shouldn't have to hunt for the information, said Marthena Cowart, spokeswoman for the Project on Government Oversight.

"Citizens of Ohio who wish to provide information concerning possible wrongdoing with the distribution or execution of contracts using stimulus funds would never find where to report it judging by the current state Web site," she said.

"Clear instructions with a link to the inspector general's Web page should be posted prominently."

Putting that information on the state's recovery Web site, recovery. ohio.gov, makes sense, said Amanda Wurst, spokeswoman for Gov. Ted Strickland.

"It's a reasonable way to ensure that government employees and anyone else know the watchdog provisions of the Recovery Act," Wurst said.

The $787 billion federal stimulus bill approved in February provides protection to contractors and state and local employees who report fraud and waste.

The governor's office is working with the inspector general's office to set up controls to prevent problems, Wurst said. But she said there's no timeline for linking to Charles' Web site.

Charles said he expects it to happen soon and pointed out that his office has been adding investigators to keep an eye on the state's stimulus money.

Though 14 states list some sort of contact for filing complaints on their recovery sites, seven have both easy-to-find information about whistleblower protections and filing a complaint, according to the Project on Government Oversight.

One of those is Florida. Click on "Contact Us" on the home page of the state's recovery site, fla recovery.com, and the Florida inspector general's phone number and a Web link appear under the heading "To Report Waste or Fraud."

And the inspector general's site includes a full explanation of whistleblower protections.

Ohio's site does promise in an FAQ section that: " Both federal and state governments will have significant monitoring, reporting, and risk management responsibilities to protect against fraud, mismanagement, and waste."

dcaruso@dispatch.com