April 30, 2018

Audience: Executive Leadership, Foster Caregivers, Shelter/Rescue Staff & Volunteers, Veterinary Team

Organization: Cat Adoption Team
Investigator(s): Karen Green, Kristi Brooks and Amy Fischer
Grant Amount: $60,500
Project Type: Phase 3
Project Status: Research Complete

Project Summary

Cat Adoption Team evaluated their program to teach organizations how to implement their Fostering 4 Rock Stars (F4RS) model for training and supporting foster caregivers. Three animal welfare organizations were engaged in this training, which focused on providing caregivers with foster kits, supporting caregivers by providing access to mentors, and making kittens available for adoption before spay/neuter. All groups increased their lifesaving capacity through adoption of the F4RS model. Based on pre- and post- project satisfaction surveys, staff and foster volunteer perceptions of the groups' foster programs also improved significantly.

Objective(s)

To measure the effectiveness of a new system for teaching organizations how to implement Cat Adoption Team's Fostering 4 Rock Stars (F4RS) model.

Methods

The F4RS model includes foster mentors, foster training, a foster manual, foster kitten supply bags and foster kitten pre-adoption. Three animal welfare organizations were engaged in training to implement F4RS, and progress was tracked over the following year. The project included onsite training at Cat Adoption Team, phone and email support. Groups ranged from a new, three-person shelter with no existing foster program to a large, multi-campus shelter with a well-established foster program.

Results

  • All groups increased their lifesaving capacity through adoption of the F4RS model. There were more foster homes, more kittens who received foster care, increased live release rates, and one shelter was able to expand services to include neonatal kittens (bottle babies).
  • Based on pre- and post- project satisfaction surveys, staff and foster caregiver perceptions of the organizations' foster programs also improved significantly.

Conclusions

The Fostering for Rock Stars model benefitted all three shelters. Participating organizations also benefitted from one-on-one support after the onsite training to find creative solutions to the challenges they faced.