Our shelter is also high volume and we have a lot of foster needs. We have one main person who organizes fosters and is the main point of contact, with our kennel staff and vet staff giving her a hand. If a foster is needed for an animal, the kennel staff prepares the animal(s) for foster and alerts the coordinator that a foster is needed and put a sign for 'foster needed' on the kennel. We have a closed Facebook group for our fosters and volunteers and the coordinator posts the animals that are in need there. If a foster responds that they can take the animal, the foster coordinator prepares the contracts and alerts the vet staff (if there are medications needed), fills out cards for the foster with next vaccination dates and emergency and non-emergency contacts, and places all the needed paperwork on the animal's kennel. When the foster comes to the shelter to pick up the animal, anyone from our kennel department can help. They simply check the paperwork on the kennel (which has the foster's name on it), make sure all needed supplies are gathered, and the fosters are on their way.
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Jennifer Nemec
Animal Behavior Specilist
Sioux Falls Area Humane Society
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Original Message:
Sent: 08-26-2023 07:24 AM
From: August Hutchins
Subject: How to keep track of pets in need of foster homes
Hello,
I am a foster coordinator for a local municipal shelter. I am looking for suggestions on how to post our pets in need of foster homes so that our foster volunteers can see who is available. I have seen other shelters use things like Trello boards but we are concerned that this will be too much work to maintain as we are a high volume shelter with very little staff working in the foster department. I am looking for other suggestions that we can use to help fosters keep track of who is in need. Currently we just send out emails when pets are in need of foster homes.
Any suggestions are appreciated!
#CaseManagement*
#DataandTechnology
#FosterPrograms
#PeopleManagement(includingVolunteerIntegration)
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August Hutchins
Foster Coordinator
Hillsborough County Pet Resource Center
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