Primary Department: Institute of Forensic Sciences
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Pramod Gumpeni, M.D., Interim Executive Director & Chief Medical Examiner
Secondary Department: N/A
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official:
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Donation
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): N/A
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A - Not a grant item
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request for approval to accept from Texas Center for the Missing (TCM) a total donation of $127,500 per year, provided each year for two years to fund a time-limited Anthropology Fellow for Unknown Decedent Identification.
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Background and Discussion:
Texas Center for the Missing (TCM) routinely partners with the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences (HCIFS) to identify unknown decedents. Together, the agencies approached leadership at Service Corporation International (SCI), commonly recognized as Dignity Memorial, the largest provider of funeral, cremation and cemetery services in North America (based in Houston and with a large presence throughout the greater Houston area) as a potential source for funding a dedicated Unknown Decedent Identification fellow position. Dignity Memorial eagerly agreed to contribute the funds necessary to create a position at the HCIFS for a two-year period via TCM. As such, TCM is donating the salary and benefits for an Anthropology Fellow for Unknown Decedent Identification to serve the HCIFS for two years, as well as additional funding for related operational needs. The position, approved for creation by Commissioners Court on July 9, 2026, will be full-time and dedicated to the identification of unknown decedents for whom the HCIFS has medicolegal jurisdiction. The HCIFS currently has jurisdiction over approximately 300 unknown decedents. These are primarily older cases (1970s - 1990s) that were buried in the county cemetery, and which predate current DNA and other technologies now available for identification. The HCIFS has approximately 150 unknown decedent cases for which no DNA specimens have been extracted. Approximately half of those cases have a known burial location at the county cemetery and are potential candidates for exhumation and DNA extraction.
The role of this time-limited Anthropology Fellow for Unknown Decedent Identification will be:
- Review and update HCIFS unknown decedent case files and recommend cases for exhumation.
- Resubmit fingerprints for all possible unknown decedents.
- Coordinate potential exhumations with Harris County Bereavement Services.
- Develop a biological profile (e.g., age, sex, ancestry, stature, etc.) for each exhumed decedent.
- Extract and submit DNA specimens from exhumed decedents to the HCIFS Forensic Genetics Division.
- Coordinate with external forensic genetic genealogy service providers.
- Coordinate media releases for unknown decedents with Texas Center for the Missing.
The details of the funding donation offered by TCM are as follows:
- A total donation of $127,500 per year, provided each year for two years.
- $115,000 / year for an Anthropology Fellow for Unknown Decedent Identification - $75,000 annual salary plus Harris County benefits.
- Remaining $12,500 / year spent on exhumation costs and other operational / administrative needs.
- The project is expected to start as of September 1, 2026, assuming final approval of the project by Commissioners Court on August 6, 2026.
- The position is assumed to be time-limited to two years, with no current plan to continue the donation after that time.
Expected Impact:
This project and position will help bring answers to families searching for a missing loved one who have waited years, sometimes decades, to find out what happened.
Alternative Options:
Decedents would remain unidentified indefinitely.
County Strategic Plan Goal: N/A
County Strategic Plan Objective: N/A
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: N/A
Prior Court Action (if any):
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Date |
Agenda Item # |
Action Taken |
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07/09/2026 |
424 |
Creation of Postdoctoral Anthro Fellow position |
Location:
Address (if applicable): 1861 Old Spanish Trail, Houston, TX
Precinct(s): Countywide
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Anticipated Court Date: 8/6/2026
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): 9/1/2026
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or ARPA related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Julie Spence Prine, JD, MFS, Chief of Staff and Chief Operating Officer, HCIFS
Attachments (if applicable): Donation Letter, Job Description