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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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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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3/5/2024 3:40:01 PM
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City Clerk
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Agenda Packet
Agency
Planning & Building
Item #
13
Date
8/15/2023
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Gimme Shelter and a Pound of Advice <br />To operate at its highest potential, OCAC needs to have a good working relationship with <br />the rescues. Rescues want to have a good working relationship with OCAC. During <br />Grand Jury interviews, both management at OCAC and representatives of rescues <br />indicated a desire to work to resolve their differences, and both expressed the welfare of <br />the animals as being their highest priority. <br />OCAC will benefit if it has a robust outreach program to continually recruit volunteers and <br />will benefit by engaging with the rescue community to mend the fractured relationship <br />that has developed between them. <br />Human Resources <br />_The _OCAC shelter is a 24/7 facility that requires adequate staffing during all hours to <br />meet the highest standards of animal welfare. <br />Continuity of leadership at the OCAC shelter has been a challenge over the past four <br />- - years with turnover in management and supervisorial staff level positions. Over the past <br />four years, two executive directors have been hired with interim leadership having to be <br />provided on two separate occasions. The Chief Veterinary position went unfilled for <br />months until the current Chief Veterinarian was brought onboard in May 2022. Between <br />September 2021 and May 2022, the shelter did not have a chief or a staff veterinarian <br />and services were provided by one contract veterinarian. <br />OCAC is under the direction of-OC Community Resources (OCCR). However, day -to - <br />..day human resource and recruitment support for the shelter is performed by OC Human <br />Resource Services (OCHRS). OCHRS provides separate, targeted human resource <br />support for OCAC's recruitment, labor relations, and employee relations needs. <br />Personnel turnover in critical job categories, such as kennel attendants, can add huge <br />pressure to the remaining staff. Vacancies in critical positions strain shelter operations <br />and impact animal welfare. There are currently 21 allocated Animal Care Attendant <br />positions out of the 136 shelter staff positions. The 21 animal care attendants are <br />assigned to fill the shelter's attendant needs over the 7-day shelter week. There is <br />-- - reason for concern and urgency when even one Animal Care Attendant position goes <br />unfilled. <br />and practices exacerbate high turnover and make filling vacant positions <br />--------- difficult. Current county practice allows an employee to promote out of their shelter <br />- - - position, or any position, at any time, even while they are still within their probationary <br />period. The ease and fluidity of transitioning adds to the shelter's understaffing and <br />staffing volatility. <br />-_-Staff vacancies, which have been as high as 23%, negatively impact shelter operations <br />- and have taken as long as six months or longer to fill. Delays in filling staff positions <br />- =--- - -disrupt shelter operations. Delays have resulted in qualified candidates declining job <br />offers because they have accepted other positions. Animal Care Attendant and <br />Veterinarian positions are particularly critical and vital to the welfare of the shelter's <br />animals. While OCCR has taken some steps to correct hiring delays, there needs to be <br />an increased sense of urgency when posting and filling critical vacant positions. <br />ORANGE COUNTY GRAND JURY 2022 1 2023 PAGE 13 OF 51 <br />
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