FY2015 DNA Capacity Enhancement and Backlog Reduction Program-Tarrant County Medical Examiner

The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s (TCME) Office is a regional medical examiner’s facility located in Fort Worth, Texas that provides services to Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and Johnson Counties. These counties represent a core population of approximately 2.75 million citizens. The Medical Examiner’s Office operates a multi-discipline crime laboratory that offers Forensic Biology and DNA analysis. The Forensic Biology/DNA laboratory not only serves the Medical Examiner, District Attorney, and other Tarrant County agencies, but also provides analysis on a fee for service basis to law enforcement agencies throughout the four counties served. It also serves many other agencies throughout North Central Texas and the rest of the United States. The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) has allocated $6,087,273 for the state of Texas and the TCME Crime Laboratory has been offered $347,774 as its share of the formula grant.
The proposed project would fund salary and benefits for a Forensic Biologist to assist in the initial screening of biological samples, salary and benefits for a Senior Forensic Biologist to perform DNA analysis, purchase computer equipment for the Senior Forensic Biologist, purchase casework and training supplies, purchase an automated extraction robot, and fund required continuing education for up to six analysts annually.
The Federal funding from this award will be used for the following goals and objectives:
Increase capacity, decrease the DNA backlog, and decrease the DNA case turnaround time by:
1. funding salary and benefits for a Forensic Biologist (serologist) to screen forensic samples for the presence of biological fluids prior to DNA analysis, and a Senior Forensic Biologist to perform DNA analysis.
2. equipping the grant-funded Senior Forensic Biologist with required computer and scanner hardware to appropriately perform the requirements of the position
3. providing training supplies for the Senior Forensic Biologist, and caseworking supplies for the additional examiners in the laboratory
4. the purchase of a Qiagen EZ1 Advanced XL robot for the automated extraction of DNA
5. providing the required continuing education for analysts within the laboratory.

nca/ncf.