In its may 19, 2016 "recommendation to the attorney general," the national commission on forensic science recognized a shortage of board certified forensic pathologists and a backlog of cases in…

This Project Grant award from the Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Assistance will provide $132,454 to the Virginia Department of Health Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to train one forensic pathology fellow. The funding supports the National Institute of Justice Research, Evaluation, and Development Project Grants program, which aims to foster the development of new knowledge and tools that can be applied to reduce crime and advance justice at the state and local level.

Specifically, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will use the award to intensify its accredited twelve-month forensic pathology fellowship program. The fellow will receive training to meet board certification standards, including performing forensic autopsies, external examinations, and casework. This will increase the number of qualified forensic pathologists in Virginia and nationally by mentoring one fellow. The funding is needed to address a shortage of board-certified forensic pathologists and growing backlog of cases requiring investigation in Virginia due to rising caseloads and shrinking state budgets for medical examiner services.

In its may 19, 2016 "recommendation to the attorney general," the national commission on forensic science recognized a shortage of board certified forensic pathologists and a backlog of cases in most medical examiner and coroner offices. These problems affect the quality, completeness and timeliness of death investigations, which can have a negative impact on families who lost their loved ones and on criminal justice proceedings. The commonwealth of virginia is impacted by this shortage and, through its office of the chief medical examiner (OCME), proposes to address this through an application for funding to identify and intensively train one forensic pathology fellow. Forensic pathologists conduct death investigations in order to understand cause and manner of death, as well as the circumstance surrounding deaths. A critical component of the shortage in virginia relates to the increase of sudden, violent and suspicious deaths requiring a death investigation in the context of shrinking state budgets for medical examiner services. In the period between 2011 and 2020, virginia's OCME has had a 119.1% increase in the number of cases investigated statewide. Deaths attributed to accidental causes (particularly overdoses and falls), homicides, and natural deaths under OCME jurisdiction all rose substantially, while suicides and deaths due to undetermined manners increased minimally. This project will meet two goals: first, IT will increase the number of qualified forensic pathologists in virginia and the united states by mentoring and training one forensic pathology fellow to meet board certifiable standards. The virginia office of the chief medical examiner's forensic pathology fellowship is an accredited twelve month training program. Training includes the performance of forensic autopsies and external views; prep