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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 03-17-2009-13-1 Information Item 1=nfo~ma-(-;o~ =-I-em . ~,o ®,. ,, '.G ta. Orange County Animal Services 501 W. Franklin St, Suite 106, Chapel Hill, NC 27514 (919) 968-2287 Memorandum DATE: March 17th, 2009 SUBJECT: Pet Co-Located Sheltering During Disasters FROM: Bob Marotto -Animal Services Director F Rojas Montes de Oca, Jr -Colonel, Emergency Services Director Clint Osborn, Captain -Emergency Management TO: County Manager's Office and Board of County Commissioners Concept In late 2007 the Board of County Commissioners requested through the County Manager's Office that the Animal Services Department and the Emergency Services Department explore the possibility of changing the existing model for emergency sheltering of pets during a disaster. In the current model, pets that arrive at an emergency shelter are transported by Animal Services staff from the emergency shelter directly to the animal shelter for the duration of the owner's stay at the emergency facility; the model that the Board has proposed involves animals being sheltered at the same emergency facility as their owners for the duration of the owner's stay. This new model is known as Companion Animal Co-Location, or "co-location" for short. Background ~ History To explore the Board's suggestion, Emergency Services and Animal Services staff began by looking for existing co-location models that have been successfully developed and employed in other areas with similar risks as North Carolina. This search included looking for: • Equipment packages • Safety and health guidelines • Operations toolkits • Funding sources In addition, early research indicated that North Carolina Emergency Management (NCEM) and North Carolina Division of Agriculture and Consumer Safety (NCAg) have teamed up to offer these materials and very limited program support to local jurisdictions that are interested in creating this unique capability. The NCEM/NCAg "system" is modeled after systems developed in Florida and is currently being deployed to counties throughout the state under the name "Companion Animal Mobile Equipment Pet Co-Located Sheltering March 17th, 2009 Page 2 Trailer", abbreviated to CAMET. Several counties were initially offered a CAMET, and there are two located in the area, though both are several counties away. In the first half of 2008, members of Emergency Services and Animals Services created a presentation for all of the agencies that are partners in emergency sheltering with the goal of raising awareness for the concept, provoking initial questions and identifying any limiting agents for development of an Orange County CAMET. The original presentation was shared with the County Manager's office, both school systems, the Health Department, Social Services Department and the Orange County Chapter of the American Red Cross. While all of the representatives posed questions, all indicated that their operations would to allow such a practice. One of the major points of emphasis throughout these discussions was that in a co- located environment, the human living areas and the pet living areas are distinct and separate and are not co-mingled. Shelter clients with a pet are allowed structured visitation and are expected to care for their pet, but pets are not allowed in human living spaces. In addition, standards would have to exist for health and safety reasons that would prohibit certain categories of animals as well as those with health issues. The original presentation and a very brief report were provided to the Board on February 19th, 2008, and the Chairman indicated that the initiative would be put on a future agenda for feedback. In developing the budget for 2008/2009, Emergency Services requested two CAMET trailers in the budget at approximately $34,000 based on initial interest in the project by the Board as well as partner agencies. Neither of the CAMETs was in the final approved 2008/2009 budget. To follow up for Board feedback, Animal Services and Emerq~ency Services sent an update to the Board in the Manager's Memo on the August 19t , 2008, Board meeting. In that memo, several key actions steps were identified including: • Development of SOPs on basis of best practices • Acquiring an Orange County owned CAMET • Mobilization of human resources needed to operate a pet co-located shelter, which will include community volunteers as well as select County staff. • Training of County Staff and volunteers in the set up operation In addition, staff projected the fourth quarter of 2009 as the earliest target date for launching the co-location capability, presuming ongoing financial and planning support for the initiative. Pet Co-Located Sheltering March 17th, 2009 Page 3 Progress Since the Last Update and Future Actions In December 2008 staff members from Animal Services, Emergency Services, the Health Department and the Red Cross all met for awork-session and developed a set of Standard Operating Guidelines for a future Orange County CAMET based on best practices. These guidelines will form the basis for operating a co-located shelter as and all training on the equipment and operations of the co-located facility will be based on these guidelines. Based on efforts to date, the following action steps are required to meet a start date of December 1, 2010: • Formal approval and participation of the. Orange County CAMET concept by all relevant agencies • Acquiring funds for the first CAMET ($20,000) • Development of the training course for CAMET staff • Designation of an Orange County government sub-unit to be responsible for staffing the CAMET during a disaster with guidance, leadership and logistical support from Animal Services and Emergency Services and supplemental staffing by community volunteers • Mobilization and training of staff and volunteers assigned to CAMETs • Amulti-period exercise of the CAMET To address acquisition of the CAMET, Emergency Services will again request project funding in the 2009/2010 budget. In the meantime, another round of discussions is beginning with the objective of obtaining formal approval of the concept and addition of pet co-location to the Orange County Multi-Agency Emergency Shelter Plan. Once the responsibility for staffing the CAMET during a disaster is assigned to sub-unit of Orange County Government, the CAMET training will be developed and training can begin for assigned staff and interested volunteers. After training has been completed the CAMET members will be exercised and any problems will be fixed and co-location will be a reality in Orange County. If the equipment is not approved in the 2009/2010 budget, Emergency Services staff will continue to seek alternative funding options as well as to secure the necessary approvals from emergency sheltering partners. Fortunately, animals will continue to receive humane emergency sheltering with the Animal Services staff at the Orange County Animal Shelter until such time as the equipment is in place and training has been provided to begin pet co-location.