The Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control has been recognized with achievement awards from the National Association of Counties twice over, first for the Robotic Process Automation Project and for their Care Voucher program.

The awards honor innovative, effective county government programs that strengthen services for residents.

A collaborative initiative between DACC and Los Angeles County’s Internal Services Department, the ACC RPA project uses software that can learn, mimic, and then execute rules-based business processes. In this award-winning program, DACC uses this specially designed software to read rabies vaccination data from records provided by veterinary hospitals and automatically integrate it into DACC’s animal management software system. Rabies vaccination information is required to protect public health, enforce animal licensing laws, and generate licensing revenue to support department operations.

Implementing this solution has reduced processing time from 5-10 minutes per rabies certificate to less than one minute, resulting in a total saving of 714 labor hours over a span of six months. Additionally, the bot is equipped with features for handling exceptions and errors, enabling it to process forms with varying formats and content. Compared to manual entry, the RPA solution is highly efficient and effective.

“We’re honored to be recognized by the National Association of Counties for this program, which is the result of a team effort between our department and ISD,” said DACC Director Marcia Mayeda. “The RPA Project aligns with our mission to provide high-quality, effective, and innovative services to pet owners across LA County.”

“ISD is grateful for the opportunity to support our communities through the important work by LA County departments,” said ISD Director, Selwyn Hollins. “We applaud our colleagues at DACC for this prestigious award.”

NACo also recognized DACC’s Care Voucher program, a vital service that helps low-income constituents meet their pet’s needs even when times are tough. Services covered by Care Vouchers can include grooming, boarding, food/supplies, and veterinary services. Care Vouchers fall under the department’s Pets Are Family program, a bold initiative that aims to reduce barriers to pet retention and prevent animals from entering DACC animal care centers.

The Care Voucher program is completely funded by grants and donations. DACC issued $500K in Care Vouchers in 2022 and will exceed that amount in 2023.

“The Care Voucher program makes a tremendous difference in keeping pets with the families that love them,” said Director Marcia Mayeda. “We remain committed to being a community resource for pets and their families.”

Each year, NACo’s Achievement Awards are given in 18 categories that reflect the vast, comprehensive services counties provide. The categories include children and youth, criminal justice and public safety, county administration, information technology, health, civic engagement and more. Launched in 1970, the program is designed to recognize innovation in county government. Each nominated program is judged on its own merits and not against other applications.

“The Achievement Awards demonstrate excellence in county government and the commitment to serve our residents every day,” said NACo President Denise Winfrey. “This year’s winners represent some of the most innovative and collaborative efforts we have seen in over 50 years of presenting these awards.”

For more information about NACo’s Achievement Awards, click here.