Primary Department: Institute of Forensic Sciences
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Luis A. Sanchez, MD, Executive Director & Chief Medical Examiner
Secondary Department: Choose an item.
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official:
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Financial Authorization
Project ID (if applicable):
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB)
MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable):
MWBE Current Participation (if applicable):
Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable):
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): Choose an item.
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request for approval to use general funds to pay for the 2024 assessment activities fees, $22,300 and annual fees, $16,200, for a total of $38,500 to ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB), the accrediting body for the HCIFS Crime Laboratory.
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Background and Discussion:
The ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) is the accrediting body for the HCIFS Crime Laboratory. The program requires yearly assessments and annual fees. The total cost of last year’s charges was $38,500. ANAB conducted an onsite surveillance assessment of the Crime Laboratory on October 15-17, 2024. The purpose of this review was to verify the Institute’s continued compliance with the ANAB ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation program. Additionally, the laboratory was audited against the American Board of Forensic Toxicology (ABFT) standards and the FBI Quality Assurance Standards (QAS) for Forensic DNA Testing Laboratories.
Expected Impact:
To continue to maintain the crime laboratory’s accreditation since 1999
Alternative Options:
n/a
County Strategic Plan Goal: 1. Make Harris County safer and more just.
County Strategic Plan Objective: B: Reduce criminal legal system exposure that does not advance public safety.
Justice/Safety Initiative (Goal 1): N/A
Infrastructure Initiative (Goal 2): Choose an item.
Economy Initiative (Goal 3): Choose an item.
Health Initiative (Goal 4): Choose an item.
Climate/Resilience Initiative (Goal 5): Choose an item.
Housing Initiative (Goal 6): Choose an item.
Additional notes related to the Strategic Plan:
Prior Court Action (if any):
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Location:
Address (if applicable): 1861 Old Spanish Trail, Houston, TX 77054
Precinct(s): Choose an item.
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Fiscal and Personnel Summary |
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Current Fiscal Year Cost |
Annual Fiscal Cost |
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Labor |
Non-Labor |
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Recurring Expenses |
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Funding Sources |
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Existing Budget |
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1000 - General Fund |
$ |
$38,500 |
$38,500 |
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$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Total Existing Budget |
$ |
$38,500 |
$38,500 |
$ |
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Additional Budget Request (Requires Fiscal Review Request Form) |
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Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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$ |
$ |
$ |
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$ |
$ |
$ |
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Total Additional Budget Request |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Total Funding Sources |
$ |
$38,500 |
$38,500 |
$ |
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Grants - Proposed Budget (For Grants Items only) |
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Labor |
Non-Labor |
Total |
No. of Grant Years |
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Local Match Source - Existing Budget: Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Local Match Source - Additional Budget Request: Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Grant Funds Applied for/Awarded (Total) |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Personnel (Fill out section only if requesting new Position Control Numbers (PCN)s) |
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Current Position Count for Service |
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Additional Positions Request |
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Total Personnel |
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County Attorney’s Office Legal Review (for Harris County Code Items only) |
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CAO Reviewer Name and Title |
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CAO Review Completion Date |
Click or tap to enter a date. |
Anticipated Court Date: 12/11/2025
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): Click or tap to enter a date.
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or ARPA related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Cristina Juarez, Finance Manager, Institute of Forensic Sciences, Michal Pierce, Senior Director, Quality Management, Institute of Forensic Sciences
Attachments (if applicable): Letter, Invoice Copies (2)