Item 13 - OC Grand Jury's Investigative Report, Findings, and Recommendations Regarding Group Homes and the Orange County Animal Care Shelter

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Gimme Shelter and a Pound of Advice To operate at its highest potential, OCAC needs to have a good working relationship with the rescues. Rescues want to have a good working relationship with OCAC. During Grand Jury interviews, both management at OCAC and representatives of rescues indicated a desire to work to resolve their differences, and both expressed the welfare of the animals as being their highest priority. OCAC will benefit if it has a robust outreach program to continually recruit volunteers and will benefit by engaging with the rescue community to mend the fractured relationship that has developed between them. Human Resources _The _OCAC shelter is a 24/7 facility that requires adequate staffing during all hours to meet the highest standards of animal welfare. Continuity of leadership at the OCAC shelter has been a challenge over the past four - - years with turnover in management and supervisorial staff level positions. Over the past four years, two executive directors have been hired with interim leadership having to be provided on two separate occasions. The Chief Veterinary position went unfilled for months until the current Chief Veterinarian was brought onboard in May 2022. Between September 2021 and May 2022, the shelter did not have a chief or a staff veterinarian and services were provided by one contract veterinarian. OCAC is under the direction of-OC Community Resources (OCCR). However, day -to - ..day human resource and recruitment support for the shelter is performed by OC Human Resource Services (OCHRS). OCHRS provides separate, targeted human resource support for OCAC's recruitment, labor relations, and employee relations needs. Personnel turnover in critical job categories, such as kennel attendants, can add huge pressure to the remaining staff. Vacancies in critical positions strain shelter operations and impact animal welfare. There are currently 21 allocated Animal Care Attendant positions out of the 136 shelter staff positions. The 21 animal care attendants are assigned to fill the shelter's attendant needs over the 7-day shelter week. There is -- - reason for concern and urgency when even one Animal Care Attendant position goes unfilled. and practices exacerbate high turnover and make filling vacant positions --------- difficult. Current county practice allows an employee to promote out of their shelter - - - position, or any position, at any time, even while they are still within their probationary period. The ease and fluidity of transitioning adds to the shelter's understaffing and staffing volatility. -_-Staff vacancies, which have been as high as 23%, negatively impact shelter operations - and have taken as long as six months or longer to fill. Delays in filling staff positions - =--- - -disrupt shelter operations. Delays have resulted in qualified candidates declining job offers because they have accepted other positions. Animal Care Attendant and Veterinarian positions are particularly critical and vital to the welfare of the shelter's animals. While OCCR has taken some steps to correct hiring delays, there needs to be an increased sense of urgency when posting and filling critical vacant positions. ORANGE COUNTY GRAND JURY 2022 1 2023 PAGE 13 OF 51