Shelter Advocate Job Description

Minimum Operational Standards for Animal Shelters

There are a lot of states and localities that do not have uniform regulation of animal shelters. Minimum operational standards for shelters should be set as a matter of law in order to protect the mental and physical health of populations of animals housed within the shelter. Minimum standards for primary enclosures and enrichment can help ensure that shelters are places where health or behavioral problems are not exacerbated but may be appropriately managed or addressed.

Minimum standards can help ensure that animals don't become less likely to be adopted as a result of the shelter experience, thus preserving their potential for adoption or live-release to animal rescue organization. The legal authorization for shelters to reduce or waive adoption and placement fees is supported by the ASPCA. The situation where fees are mandated by law or policy can make it hard for animal rescue organizations to transfer animals from shelters to rescues.

Shelters may have to pay more in fees in certain situations where funds could be saved by releasing the animal. Giving shelters the flexibility to lower or waive fees in the case of individual adoptions, as a component of an adoption promotion or campaign, allows shelters to expand adoption opportunities to adapt to economic and community dynamics. There is a

Shelters should not use the expired holding periods or owner relinquishment as license to immediately kill animals because they are legally up to no good. Shelters should take steps to find placement for dogs based on breed. Shelters and communities share responsibility for ensuring adequate resources are available to support the quality of care for sheltered animals and placement programs that lead to adoption.

Shelters should retain discretion in the adoption and placement of animals with serious medical issues or where there are valid concerns about behavior aggression. There is a The capacity of potential adopters or animal rescue organizations to provide adequate care for animals with serious medical or behavior conditions must be considered.

Guidelines and protocols for domestic violence service delivery

In order to ensure the effective and timely implementation of national or sub-national legislation and policies on shelters, relevant state ministers and departments should develop, in full collaboration with shelter workers and advocates, realistic guidelines, instructions and directives. The key service components provided by shelters and methods of service delivery are outlined in the guidelines and protocols. Scottish Women's Aid developed domestic violence service standards in response to the need for benchmarks and a framework for measuring the value of shelter specialist services.

The standards aim to help shelters document their practices to create evidence and demonstrate their contributions to women. The standards focus on five themes: staff skills, accessible services for children and young people, safety and security, effective partnerships, and representation of women's voices to other agencies. An assessment of 28 shelters in 2012 and an evaluation of the standards informed their finalization for use by members of the network.

In addition to specific service requirements, directives can be used to guide the development of effective partnerships between shelters and other service providers. Shelter advocates and workers need to work with officials at different levels of state and other community stakeholders. Guidelines should be written to outline the training and capacity development needs for public officials who are responsible for funding and who may not be familiar with issues of violence against women.