Santa Clara County Grand Jury
• 2025-2026
San José Animal Care Center: The need to strengthen transparency, performance, and trust
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 5 findings
F1
The ventilation system in the isolation areas was not functioning correctly, allowing potentially contaminated air to escape into clean, heavily trafficked areas of the facility.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
The City should inspect and adjust ventilation systems as needed to ensure they function properly in both isolation rooms and throughout the facility. This recommendation should be implemented by October 31, 2026, or sooner if possible.
F2
The number of animals taken by rescue partners has declined significantly since 2021.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
The City needs to develop a plan and timeline to repair, maintain and expand relationships with rescue partners with the goal of increasing the number of animals placed for rescue. This recommendation should be implemented
F3
The current provision of public spay and neuter services is insufficient to meet the volume of animals in the communities SJACS serves.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
The City should expand public spay and neuter services, either at the shelter, in community spay clinics, or by partnering with more organizations to provide services. This recommendation should be implemented
F4
SJACS has changed some shelter data categories, methodologies, and historical data, and does not consistently note changes in the public data portal or explain resulting inconsistencies.
Related Recommendations (4)
R4a
The City must provide accurate, clear, and complete data so the public can assess performance. Formal protocols for data handling, security, and publication should be established to ensure data is accurate, standardized, and consistently reported. This recommendation should be implemented
R4b
The City should report the shelter’s available capacity as suggested by the City Auditor on the SJACS public data portal and website to communicate to the public how often the shelter is operating at capacity, over capacity, or under capacity. This recommendation should be implemented
R4c
The City should require that when SJACS makes changes to its posted data or to data categories, that SJACS should consistently provide the public with a rationale for the modification and note the change. This recommendation should be implemented
R4d
The City should report the number of animals turned away due to capacity limitations on the SJACS public data portal, quarterly at the City Council’s Neighborhood Services & Education Committee meetings, and yearly in SJACS annual report. This recommendation should be implemented
F5
There is a trust gap between SJACS and some animal advocates.
Related Recommendations (3)
R5a
To rebuild public trust, the City should issue a public follow-up report to the 2024 audit that clearly explains improvements made and how it will monitor consistent implementation of new processes and training and sustain ongoing improvements. This recommendation should be implemented
R5b
The City should establish a community advisory group composed of residents from each City Council district and each contract city. This group should elevate neighborhood and resident concerns, improve communication about the shelter’s services and needs, and foster meaningful engagement between shelter staff and the communities they serve. This recommendation should be implemented
R5c
The City should conduct a public needs assessment to determine how best to meet the needs of the communities SJACS serves. This recommendation should be implemented