Primary Department: Institute of Forensic Sciences
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Luis A. Sanchez, M.D., Executive Director & Chief Medical Examiner
Secondary Department: N/A
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official:
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Grant - Award
Project ID (if applicable): N/A
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Current Participation (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): 0
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): Choose an item.
N/A: Application submitted prior to requirement/policy change
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request by the Institute of Forensic Sciences for approval to accept from the Office of the Governor grant funds in the amount of $495,390.79, with no required match, for the FY 2025 Paul Coverdell Forensic Sciences Improvement Grant Program.
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Background and Discussion:
The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences (HCIFS) Crime Laboratory provides analytical services to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, Harris County Constables’ Offices, and more than 50 other law enforcement agencies within Harris County. The population of Harris County was 4.8 million in 2022 with over half of these citizens served by law enforcement agencies that routinely submit evidence to the HCIFS. The HCIFS operates two separate forensic services: Medical Examiner and Crime Laboratory. The former is charged with determining the cause and manner of death of statutory cases that most times require forensic toxicology testing. The Crime Laboratory is a traditional forensic laboratory with sections dealing with seized drugs, forensic DNA, firearms identification, human performance toxicology, and trace evidence.
The Medical Examiner service continued to see significantly higher numbers of death cases in 2023 compared to pre-pandemic levels, resulting in a 30% increase in cases requiring toxicology testing over that of 2019. Drug toxicity is a factor in over 50% of accidental deaths in Harris County, with fentanyl and heroin being the top two opiates/opioids listed in cause of death for the past five years. The number of opioid-related deaths in 2023 is estimated to be similar to 2022, with fentanyl continuing to be found in approximately 80% of opioid-related deaths. Our Forensic Toxicology laboratory is responsible for detecting toxic drugs and determining their quantities when detected in both opioid- and non-opioid-related deaths. While more efficient methods have been developed or adopted by the laboratory for the detection and quantitation of these drugs, the continued higher caseload challenges our ability to complete cases within our turnaround time goals. Quick turnaround times in toxicology are required so medical examiners can complete autopsy reports within the 60-day timeframe required by accreditation.
Case submissions to the Drug Chemistry laboratory decreased ~10% in 2023 compared to 2022, however the number of items submitted per case is still twice as high as pre-pandemic levels, resulting in more testing per case. While the number of opioid-positive results in drug chemistry was lower in 2023 due to a lower number of case submissions, opioid-positive cases are still more than twice as high as seen in 2019. Decreased case submissions have helped decrease of backlog and turnaround times in the Drug Chemistry lab but our goal is to aid the criminal justice system by completing the majority of seized drug cases where a suspect has been placed in jail in 5-10 days. The overtime hours and equipment purchases will aid our ability to maintain service levels and work towards completing that goal.
The Trace Evidence laboratory, while not impacted directly by opioids, also has a persistent backlog. This program seeks to address both opioid and non-opioid work in a concerted approach that provides for overall backlog reduction and maintenance of goal turnaround times. HCIFS receives substantial support from Harris County with sufficient funding for normal operations; however, on occasion we need additional funding for unexpectedly high caseloads or for upgrading or replacing lab equipment. This program has been indispensable in obtaining funds for these purposes.
We seek funds for overtime compensation and associated fringe benefits for analysts performing opioid-related analyses in Drug Chemistry and Toxicology. A total of $23,444.18 is requested for the 16 staff members of Drug Chemistry and $49,710.35 for 33 analysts and technicians employed in Forensic Toxicology. Overtime funds of $8,736.26 for non-opioid-related Trace Evidence analysis is also requested for the 2 members of that section. Total cost of overtime compensation and fringe benefits is $81,890.79.
In another part of our backlog and turnaround time reduction initiative, we are requesting $30,000 for the outsourcing of infrequent and time-consuming analyses on non-opioid medical examiner toxicology cases for novel drugs than cannot be tested in-house. This will allow the laboratory to focus on higher throughput testing, avoid backlogs, and reduce turnaround time.
Aging instrumentation is one of the biggest concerns for maintaining adequate service levels for our criminal justice partners. While we have the benefit of service agreements to augment repair costs, after a certain age, most instruments are no longer covered by such contracts or supported by vendors. As a result, when the instruments become inoperable, the downtime could be considerable on non-updated equipment given that parts and/or qualified service may not be available from third parties. To that end, we wish to replace a two Gas Chromatograph-Flame Ionization (GC-FID) detectors (opioid-related - $70,000) and six high precision weight balances (opioid-related - $60,000) for Drug Chemistry. We also wish to purchase a Triple Quadrupole Gas Chromatograph/Mass Spectrometer (GC/QQQ) (non-opioid-related $210,000) for Toxicology. Additionally, we request $3,500 of non-opioid funding to purchase a carbon coater thickness monitor for the scanning electron microscope in Trace Evidence.
Finally, we seek $40,000 in consumable laboratory supplies for use in non-DNA forensic casework that will be split between Drug Chemistry and Toxicology ($39,000 opioid-related) and Trace Evidence ($2,000 non-opioid-related).
Expected Impact:
Our program aims to provide assistance in four keys areas: (1) Purchase of scientific instrumentation to maintain and improve methods in Drug Chemistry, Toxicology and Trace Evidence; (2) outsourcing of specialty Toxicology cases; (3) overtime compensation for Forensic Analysts in Drug Chemistry, Toxicology and Trace Evidence; and, (4) purchase consumables to be expended in parts (1) and (3).
Alternative Options:
There are few, if any, alternative options for this program.
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): N/A
Economy Initiative (Goal 3): N/A
Health Initiative (Goal 4): N/A
Climate/Resilience Initiative (Goal 5): N/A
Housing Initiative (Goal 6): N/A
Additional notes related to the Strategic Plan:
There are currently no initiatives applicable to this item
Prior Court Action (if any):
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Date |
Agenda Item # |
Action Taken |
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1/30/2024 |
24-0379 |
Approval for application |
Location:
Address (if applicable):
Precinct(s): Countywide
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Grant Funds Applied for/Awarded (Total) |
$495,390.79 |
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$495,390.79 |
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Anticipated Court Date: 1/23/2025
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date):
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or COVID-19 related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Wendi Welch, Budget Manager
Attachments (if applicable): Award Letter, Auditor Form 1294 - Simultaneous Award and Revenue Certification, Grant information package with Budget, Grant Application Package previously approved.