[View the PDF conference program and view the PDF statistical outcomes.]
In what surely must be a world record, a community volunteer training conference went from concept to execution in a little over two months—and was an enormous success. The Arizona Animal Welfare League's Malin Borg and Jeannine Alexander describe the conference genesis, goals and accomplishments.
In 2006, more than 100,000 animals were surrendered to Maricopa County shelters. Caring for these animals requires the sheltering and rescue community to rely heavily on volunteers. During the winter of 2006, a multi-agency discussion started about the benefits of creating some form of standardized, competency-based training for all animal welfare volunteers. This discussion evolved into meetings attended by management-level or executive representatives of the largest organizations in the state. The discussions centered on identifying the primary needs within the organizations, the benefits of such a training collaboration, and how such a training tool would work. Within a very short period of time the discussions matured into concrete plans for an initial two-day conference followed by continuing education and certification programs with basic and advanced tracks.
The goal of this conference was three-fold:
- to attract new volunteers and provide those volunteers with the knowledge and tools needed to more quickly become valuable additions to the community's volunteer base.
- to provide further training for current volunteers by taking advantage of the different areas of expertise existing within the different animal welfare organizations in Arizona.
- to present the identified needs of the animal welfare community as a whole, how each organization fits into the community response to homeless companion animals, and to teach tolerance and mutual understanding of our community partners.
The first Arizona Animal Advocates Volunteer Conference was held in Phoenix, Arizona in February 2007 with 134 volunteer-attendees. 23% of the attendees were new. 77% were active volunteers representing 22 different organizations. Attendees were primarily Maricopa County residents, but a few came from Tucson, Casa Grande and Flagstaff.
The speakers and trainers from state-wide animal welfare organizations were selected for their individual expertise, and represented six different agencies: Arizona Animal Welfare League and SPCA (adoption guarantee shelter, Phoenix), Arizona Humane Society (traditional shelter, Phoenix), Humane Society of Southern Arizona (traditional shelter, Tucson), Maricopa County Animal Care and Control (county animal control, Phoenix), Second Chance Center for Animals (adoption guarantee shelter, Flagstaff) and AZCATS (TNR group, Phoenix).
Conference Results
The most encouraging result of the conference, as reported on the evaluation forms, was that 77 percent of the attendees left feeling "increased motivation" to donate their time to animal welfare – in just one weekend. The second, and perhaps more important result is that 84 percent of the attendees indicated that they would like to complete the certification program and continue on to an advanced curriculum (81%).
In addition, the event drew a broader cross-section of the animal welfare community than originally anticipated, as members of twenty-two (22) organizations registered for the event. This included two county animal control agencies, two humane societies, two adoption guarantee shelters, rescue groups, a feral cat group, and advocacy groups.
Certification Program
The attendees of the conference indicated that they were overwhelmingly interested in completing a certification process (84%) and likewise were interested in pursuing an advanced certification (81%). This indicates that the currently available training opportunities offered throughout the community are insufficient. Part of the mission of this initiative is to raise the standards of working knowledge of those involved with the animal rescue/sheltering community. Having a greater variety and more advanced tools will allow the participants to have more beneficial interaction with the animals in our care. For example, their increased skills and knowledge will ultimately enhance adoptability and retention by further promoting the transformation of the "shelter/rescue animal" to a "well-adjusted" companion animal/pet that is ready to assume a place within a new family.
The four training components that remain as requirements for completion of the initial certification process will require smaller groups and hands-on training. In these components the cognitive/academic knowledge that the attendees acquired at the conference will be applied to the practical, real-life situations that they encounter while working with animals.
The four remaining components are (choice of dog or cat track): dog/cat handling and restraint, dog/cat breed identification and temperament characteristics, in-depth dog/cat behavior, and Ambassador Training. Ambassador Training is required so that the participants can confidently and clearly speak about animals and animal care, representing the animal welfare community at public events and in social interactions. This certification would provide in-depth training in singular topics that encourage the participants to take a leadership role in the areas of specialization.
The Maricopa animal welfare community has entered an unprecedented era of cooperation and collaboration. The community remains careful to protect and eager to act on the recently achieved momentum. Successful completion of the introductory conference, knowledge-based exam, and the four practical components will culminate in the award of Certified Animal Advocate Volunteer status. We hope to certify our first volunteers late this spring/early summer.
The Advanced Certification Program
This certification has as its purpose to increase the depth of knowledge within specialized fields and consequently translate to broadened community participation within that specialty. Some examples of advanced "majors" of specialization include: Foster (developmental, behavioral and medical), Community Disaster Response (animal sheltering and technical rescue), Medical (CPR/First Aid, spay/neuter clinic assistance) and Behavior (enrichment, training and behavior protocol implementation).
Postscript
Because we had so little time, it was hard to broadly publicize this event. But even with very little advertising, people had to be turned away because the venue couldn't accommodate them.
We would like to hold the conference once a year and use it as a recruitment tool to attract greater numbers of people not already affiliated or volunteering with any organization. Next year we will be able to really utilize the media and get the word out.
Our certification program will begin this summer. Many volunteers have already expressed interest.
