Report by the Office of the D.C. Auditor HRA.Animal.Shelter.Contract (PDF)
From the Office of the D.C. Auditor:
“In the last two years the Humane Rescue Alliance (HRA) contracted with the D.C. Department of Health (DC Health) to provide animal shelters and animal control in D.C. the agency did not maintain proper control over contract deliverables— a lack of oversight that impacted animal care, shelter inspections, finances, spay/neuter capabilities, and dangerous dog investigations, according to a new report by the Office of the D.C. Auditor (ODCA).
In 2023, HRA volunteers and former employees formed the group called HRA Volunteers for Reform that went public alleging the mistreatment of animals at the two HRA shelters. The group contacted ODCA to report potential contract violations prompting the discretionary audit to determine if DC Health was ensuring that HRA adhered to terms of the animal care and control contract.
“During the audit period DC Health ended the contract with HRA and replaced the contract administrator among other steps to address concerns raised by advocates and confirmed in our review,” D.C. Auditor Kathy Patterson said. She noted DC Health, in written comments on the report, agreed with the audit findings and recommendations and committed to ensuring future contract compliance. “We will follow up with DC Health to ensure that the promised improvements in contract oversight are in place,” Patterson said.
ODCA’s review included interviews with stakeholders and reviewing reports from HRA to DC Health during the audit scope, March 2023 through September 2024. The audit team also conducted four visits to the city’s two animal care facilities—1201 New York Avenue NE and 71 Oglethorpe Street NW, three unannounced. During each site visit, the audit team took photographs and recorded observations included in the report.
ODCA’ s findings include:
Only two inspections: DC Health only completed one formal inspection at each location in an 18-month period and reported no deficiencies.
Reimbursing the non-permittable: Overall, DC Health reimbursed HRA $911,348 for goods and services submitted in 19 invoices during the audit period. Seventeen of those invoices contained $53,084 in reimbursed expenses that were not permitted in the contract.
Missing reports: Of the contract’s eight required reports, four reports were not generated, were missing required sections, or provided on the incorrect schedule. This caused gaps in information regarding contract service delivery, data, and activity; 14 sections of statistics, including animal populations, vaccinations administered, law enforcement activities, adoption/outreach events); and year-end summaries (including all service delivery data and activity).
Notifications of Infraction: No fines were levied or collected from April 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024. As a result, there were no consequences for poor animal ownership in D.C., and no revenue was collected for any violations.
No mandated low-cost spay/neuter clinics: DC Health did not provide low-cost spay and neuter clinic services to District residents between April 1, 2023, and September 30, 2024, because the Animal Education and Outreach Fund, funded from a $2 fee included in dog licensing, did not have revenue activity until September 13, 2024. The District does collect a fee for licenses and renewal of licenses for dogs, and the funds were allocated to the general fund.
Soiled cages, spotty exercise: During site visits to the shelters, the audit team observed dog feces in the cages of 25 out of 77 dogs, some with multiple instances of feces. At the Oglethorpe Street location with 125 dogs, the audit team observed that 12 dog cages contained feces, and at least one contained multiple instances of feces in the same cage.
Both shelter locations maintained exercise schedules on large white boards organized by day of the week and/or time of day. Given the scheduling procedures, the visiting audit team could not determine whether an animal had been exercised, and some animals had no records of any exercise in a given week.
Dangerous dog investigations: DC Health’s standard operating procedures (SOPs) to conduct dangerous dog investigations and issue determinations to the dogs’ owners did not limit the time these steps can take and did not require that cases be tracked. In 14 of 19 cases, the dog was not seized from the owner, which means that a dangerous or potentially dangerous dog remained in the community awaiting DC Health’s determination. According to DC Health’s determination letters, 17 out of 19 (89%) cases determined during the audit scope involved harm of an animal and 10 out of 19 (53%) involved harm to a human. It took an average of 266 days for DC Health to decide on the status of a dog and notify the owner during our scope. Of those 266 days, 118 days lapsed between the dog attack and the completion of HRA’s investigation, and another 148 days elapsed between the completion of HRA’s investigation and DC Health’s determination, on average.
The contract between DC Health and the Humane Rescue Alliance ended on December 31, 2024, and DC Health began a contract with the Brandywine American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) on October 29, 2024. The recommendations related to the findings identified in this report are applicable to present and future contracts.”