Orange County Vector Control District Orange County Vector Control District "a Study in Little Known Services"

Additional Recommendations 4

These recommendations are not explicitly linked to specific findings.

• R30-39
  69 69 71 59 50 29 4 31 56 75 3 30 15 119 9 5
• R40-49
  45 146 103 82 61 61 6 64 112 72 10 45 26 161 19 15
• R50-59
  45 182 126 92 82 74 7 82 145 72 25 45 53 167 40 17
• R60-69
  13 116 80 45 42 50 9 47 83 36 22 27 34 86 27 11 70+ 7 23 16 14 10 9 0 9 21 8 6 6 7 21 5 2 Not indicated 3 8 6 5 4 5 2 3 5 5 2 3 3 7 1 1 Total Counts 269 582 480 350 304 254 32 262 469 346 69 170 140 686 169 55 Percentages 32% 68% 58% 42% 54% 46% 11% 89% 58% 42% 29% 71% 17% 83% 75% 25% GRAND JURY RIDE-ALONGS Members of the 2011-2012 Grand Jury rode with inspectors on their daily rounds.8 They observed how the inspectors prepare for work at the OCVCD yard, and how they organize their daily tasks. Riders traveling with inspectors observed their treatment of open drains, storm channels, standing water, ponds, and unattended swimming pools. Such pools can be treated every three months for up to three years. Inspectors were typically welcomed by the residents. Where rats have been reported the inspectors checked property and homes for signs of infestation. Inspectors go through the property with the occupant, pointing out possible entry areas and food sources. They also educate residents on how to alleviate problems. In some cases the inspectors leave traps with detailed instructions for their use. Inspectors are assigned wide geographical areas. They perform their work with diligence and dedication. Ride-along observers indicated that inspectors are well-trained and more than willing to show and explain their services to residents. The ride-alongs also gave insight into the difficulty inspector’s encounter in recording information. Tasks that have proven cumbersome are separate computer programs used for documenting work orders, unattended pools, mosquito treatment, and rat infestation. These are 7 Figure 1, August 2011 Public Survey 8 Ride-along interviews; October 20, 26, & 27, 2011 all maintained in stand-alone programs. Every inspector must download information from multiple programs to arrange his daily work schedule. At the end of the day the inspector must manually enter all actions taken into these various programs. INSPECTION OF OTHER ORANGE COUNTY LABORATORIES The 2011-2012 Orange County Grand Jury conducted visits and discussions with officials of the Agricultural Commissioners Laboratory and the Orange County Health Care Laboratory to determine similarities and to understand the relationship between them. Orange County Health Care Laboratory The Orange County Health Care Laboratory is an infectious disease laboratory that is staffed by 39 professionals. Twenty-eight persons are Certified Microbiologists with a minimum education of Master’s degree. Eleven are laboratory technicians with Bachelor degrees in Biology (most are working on their Masters degrees). The laboratory is connected to the Center for Disease Control and The Food and Drug Administration for real time reporting of information by way of the Infectious Disease Data Sharing Network. It actively participates in emergency response networks involved with infectious diseases. The laboratory has the capacity to do mapping of infectious disease cases by area, much the same as OCVCD maps vectors. Test results in the lab are entered into a database system in order to share the information with the Center for Disease Control, The Food and Drug Administration, Orange County Health Care Agency, and local hospitals in a timely manner. The laboratory also maintains a “Water Laboratory” in the southern portion of the county, the purpose of which is to test water at the beaches for the County and the State Coastal Commission. Agricultural Commissions Laboratory The Agricultural Commissioner’s laboratory is staffed by two scientists and two Systematic Entomologists. They identify insects that live on plants or insects that grow in soil or roots in the county of imported. When identifying a harmful insect, the laboratory issues a citation for the crop or load of plants to be returned to its origin or destroyed. The laboratory also oversees the destruction of these plants, if necessary. FINDINGS/CONCLUSIONS “In accordance with California Penal Code Sections §933 and §933.05, the 2011-2012 Grand Jury requires responses from each agency affected by the Findings/Conclusions presented in this section. The responses are to be submitted to the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court”. Based on the research of the Orange County Vector Control District the Orange County Grand Jury puts forth the following Findings/Conclusions. F1. The field staff of OCVCD has to deal with older technology in dispatching, reporting and coordinating their activities. This requires extra time dedicated to formalizing reports. Acquiring current technology that links databases would lessen the time spent in the office and allow more time in the field, better serving the community. (R1) F2. The laboratories of the Agricultural Commissioner, Health Care Agency, and Vector Control have little inter-relationship with respect to their functions and specialized equipment. Little or no communication exists among the labs for sharing of disease information impacting the public. (R2) F3. The OCVCD does not exercise all of its abatement rights under the California Health and Safety Code sections 2060-2067. It fails to issue citations and levy fines for violations of the codes against property owners, including banks, who own foreclosed property. Issuing fines could lead to recouping costs of remediating unattended property and lower assessments to all other taxpayers. (R3) F4. The OCVCD maintains a database of over 3000 abandoned swimming pools throughout Orange County that are basically unattended breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Considerable time is devoted to treating and following up on the condition of these pools. (R3) F5. The OCVCD has the largest Board of Trustees of any independent special district in Orange County. Thirty-five members represent all the cities and the County Board of Supervisors. Meeting for an hour monthly to discuss and vote on district business presented to them by the staff does not appear to provide adequate oversight. Thirty-five Trustees is an overly large amount for the task of efficient, cost effective governance of this district. (R4) F6. The OCVCD’s Communication Department is striving to provide better service to the public and improve its public outreach. Communication and public outreach needs to continue improving. The OCVCD website has no ability to place threat warnings on cities websites. (R5) F7. Currently the overwhelming majority of the citizens of Orange County have little or no knowledge of the OCVCD. In most cases they do not know what the vector control mission entails or how it serves the community. (R6) F8. Based on a survey conducted by OCVCD in 2009, the district earned a 94 % approval rating from citizens who had used their services. The 2011-2012 Grand Jury surveyed prospective jury members in August 2011. Only 17% of the respondents surveyed have ever contacted OCVCD. Of those that had used OCVCD, 75% were satisfied with the response. (R6) F9. The OCVCD Inspectors are State certified, dedicated and knowledgeable. They perform their services well. The OCVCD is a well-run and well-resourced operation fulfilling its core mission. OCVCD conducts effective and efficient day-to-day operations. RECOMMENDATIONS In accordance with California Penal Code Sections 933 and 933.05, the 2011-2012 Grand Jury requires responses from each agency affected by the Recommendations presented in this section. The responses are to be submitted to the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court. Based on the research of the Orange County Vector Control District the 2011-2012 Orange County Grand Jury puts forth the following recommendations: R1. OCVCD’s Director of Communication should develop and acquire hardware and software to eliminate the time consuming data acquisition and report writing input that is currently required. R2. OCVCD should take the lead in forming a coalition with the Agricultural Commissioners Agency and the Health Care Agency to explore sharing information. R3. OCVCD should start exercising the authority granted to it in the Health and Safety Code and issue citations to individuals, real estate agencies and banks that refuse to maintain swimming pools under their control. R4. The Board of Trustees should explore downsizing itself to a manageable group of appointed citizens, not elected officials. The Board should consider membership along the lines of the Supervisorial Districts with an appointed representative from each district. Furthermore, the appointees should have some background in biology or related health careers. R5. OCVCD should explore teaming with the Webmasters and the County CEO Information Technology, to ensure immediate posting on city websites of vital public health conditions. R6. OCVCD should engage the services of a public relations firm to develop ways to make the name and services more recognizable to the general public. REQUIRED RESPONSES “In accordance with California Penal Code Sections 933 and 933.05, the 2011-2012 Grand Jury requires responses from each agency affected by the Findings and Recommendations presented in this section. The responses are to be submitted to the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court. ”“Not later than 90 days after the grand jury submits a final report on the operations of any public agency subject to its reviewing authority, the governing body of the public agency shall comment to the presiding judge of the superior court on the findings and recommendations pertaining to matters under the control of the governing body, and every elected county officer or agency head for which the grand jury has responsibility pursuant to Section §914.1 shall comment to the presiding judge of the superior court, with an information copy sent to the board of supervisors, on the findings and recommendations pertaining to matters under the control of that county officer or agency head and any agency or agencies which that officer or agency head supervises or controls. In any city and county, the mayor shall also comment on the findings and recommendations…” Comments to the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court in compliance with the Penal code Section 933.05 are requested or required as shown below: Responses Required to Findings/Conclusions and Recommendations are required from the OCVCD Board of Trustees and requested from the Health Care Agency, which is a department of the County, and the Agricultural Commissioner. Findings OCVCD HCA Ag Com F1 X F2 X X X F3 X F4 X F5 X F6 X F7 X F8 X F9 X Recommendations R1 X R2 X X X R3 X R4 X R5 X R6 X OCVCD = Orange County Vector Control District) (HCA= Health Care Agency) (Ag Comm. = Agricultural Commissioner)