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During the site visit, team members meet with current staff and administrators, shadow employees, observe standard practices, study workloads, understand roles, and evaluate community interaction—enabling the team to assess the agency’s ability to provide the needed services. In addition, The HSUS requests an opportunity to meet with members of any citizens’ advisory committee (if applicable) as part of the evaluation process. Other active community members with a vested interest in animal care and control may also be considered for a brief meeting.
The HSUS strongly believes that the success of any animal sheltering, care, or control program depends upon the success of all of the agency’s services. As an example, to evaluate adoption procedures, one must look at many related areas, including (but certainly not limited to) facility accessibility, traffic flow (both animal and human), animal care and handling, veterinary care procedures, facility structure, employee morale, and public perceptions. Therefore, The HSUS ASC team will conduct a comprehensive and thorough review into all areas of animal care, control, and sheltering provided by the agency.
Keeping in mind community needs, perceptions, and expectations, The HSUS ASC program encompasses the following three key components:
- Shelter Facilities and Operations: The team will conduct a thorough on-site review of the animal shelter and its operations. This will include accessibility to the public (such as facility location and hours of operation), staff training, client service, policies and procedures involving incoming animals, animal care and handling, employee safety, risk management, record keeping, health care and veterinary services, redemption, adoptions, and euthanasia. In addition, the team will review all animal-related record-keeping forms, including statistics, and any routine or required documentation or reports (weekly/monthly/annually).
- Animal Control/Field Services (if applicable): The team will study all animal care and control field services efforts. Emphasis will be placed on a review of existing and pending laws and regulations governing animal care and control, current law enforcement programs and procedures, animal capture methods and equipment, field officer staffing and training, response times, client service, rabies and quarantine policies, and community demographics.
- Management and Administration: The team will study overall agency management and governance, including staffing and other human resources issues, resource development, contractual relationships and obligations, program costeffectiveness, strategic and long-range planning, the dynamics of internal and external relationships (including those with area animal interest groups), staff training, volunteer programs, community outreach programs, and other external communications. General budgeting and strategic and long-range planning will also be evaluated.
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