Abstract funding is requested to support the iowa department of public safety, division of criminal investigation, criminalistics laboratory, the department of public health, state medical examiners…

The Iowa Department of Public Safety (DPS) was awarded a $294,696 Formula Grant under the U.S. Department of Justice's Paul Coverdell Forensic Science Improvement Grant Program (CFDA 16.742) with a start date of October 1, 2024 and an end date of September 30, 2026.

The grant funding will be used to support the DPS Criminalistics Laboratory, the Department of Public Health State Medical Examiner's Office, and the Waterloo Police Department Forensics Unit. Key activities include:

• Providing overtime for DPS criminalists and evidence technicians to clear cases and reduce turnaround time, hiring a part-time criminalist, and purchasing equipment to detect and test for opioids and other drugs
• Delivering training to state and local death investigators/pathologists, contracting for autopsies, and enhancing the case management system at the State Medical Examiner's Office
• Supporting the Waterloo Police Department Forensics Unit's accreditation, including training and proficiency testing.

The grant aims to improve the quality, timeliness, and capabilities of forensic science and medical examiner/coroner services in Iowa.

Abstract funding is requested to support the iowa department of public safety, division of criminal investigation, criminalistics laboratory, the department of public health, state medical examiners office, and the waterloo police department. Criminalistics laboratory: the 2024 base award will be utilized by the iowa department of public safety, criminalistics laboratory to provide overtime for criminalists, and evidence technicians to clear cases and reduce case turnaround time, a part-time criminalist, and equipment to be used to detect and test for opioids and other drugs. Department of public health, office of state medical examiner: the 2024 base award will be utilized by the iowa department of public health, office of state medical examiner to provide training to state and local death investigators/pathologists. The funding will also be utilized to contract for autopsies, and to purchase hours from the case management system vendor to provide enhancements to the system to enhance case entry efficiency and reporting capabilities. Waterloo police department grant funding will support the waterloo police departments forensics unit in becoming/maintaining accreditation, including training and ongoing proficiency testing.